Well, I can't say that I'm sorry for picking up either of these. The Schwarz M7 was a pleasant surprise - mostly for the really good sound quality (real clear bells at the end of the symphony). I'll discuss the Schwarz M7 second.
I'm going to keep the Sinopoli/Dresden M4 (Profil). However, I really believe that it should have a warning sticker on the wrapper: "Warning; this product contains an incredibly self-indulgent, overly psychoanalyzed interpretation. Proceed at your own risk". Too bad, because much of the playing of the Staatskapelle Dresden is absolutely gorgeous. It makes one wonder why the Berlin Phil. was ever considered a big deal.
That said, however, a comparison of just the first movement between Abbado/BPO and Sinopoli/Dresden is enlightening. Abbado, like Sinopoli, is all over the map with his first movement too; only Abbado's numerous, sudden accellerandos and ritardandos, hold the movement together far better than Sinopoli's bizarre tempo contrasts from one section to the next. Believe me, Dave Hurwitz did not exaggerate in the least. Yet, again, the beautiful playing almost fully compensates for it. Almost!
In the second movement, Sinopoli nearly cancels any negative impressions that we we're left with from the first movement, as his scherzo strikes just the right balance between Halloween spookiness and Viennese kitsch (unlike Abbado/BPO, which is almost shockingly flat footed). Yet, once again, he slows down to a truly excessive degree at each and every trio passage. If only he had played the "straight shooter" role throughout the scherzo, I would have been left with a stronger impression for the entire symphony. Indeed, he pretty much IS a straight shooter in the slow movement, with gorgeous string playing that puts even Berlin and Vienna in the shade on many a day. This then, by default, is the best movement of the performance.
The finale requires a paragraph alone, as it encapsulates everything that is both good and bad. Again, as Dave pointed out, Sinopoli starts with a relatively slow tempo. When Juliane Banse enters, one of the great secrets to the Staatskapelle's tonal magic gets revealed: Ms. Banse sounds like she's singing in an echo chamber. Yet, it's not artificial reverb at all. The Semperoper has a truly "boomy" acoustic for any performer who's near the edge of the stage. The ramifications are obvious: the acoustics are both flattering and forgiving. Banse is a tad loud and operatic for my taste. Then again, she might have been recorded too closely. But the woodwinds of the Staatskapelle are a wonder to behold; so much so, that they give the excellent W.W.s in Amsterdam and Prague a good run for their money. The entire last section of the finale is quite slow too - well below the refreshingly quick tempo that both Bruno Walter and Mahler himself - on his piano roll - employed. Yet, as Richard Osborne pointed out in his Grammophone review, the undulating pulse in the harp - along with the rapid grace note from the Sheppard's horn (Cor Anglais) - lend a rhythmic profile, even at such a slow tempo, that's difficult to detect on the famous Maazel/VPO M4 (which is equally slow at the same, concluding spot).
All in all, you take the bad with the good on this particular recording. Funny thing is, though; while the British critics are praising this particular recording to the hilt, they would have scalped Sinopoli alive if he had given the same, self indulgent reading with London's Philharmonia Orchestra. In comparison, Sinopoli's earlier Philharmonia M4 is a far more cogent reading, along with possessing an excellent vocal contribution from Edita Gruberova. That one is more recommendable in the long run. You get this one primarily for the beautiful and committed playing of the Staatskapelle Dresden, as well as the long and detailed program notes provided by Profil - complete with lots of old photographs.
The Schwarz M7 is another story. Predictably, Schwarz is far more straight forward than Sinopoli. Yet, I find that Schwarz is rather successful in making the gradual transition from darkness to light, over the course of the entire symphony. More than anything, he's assisted by very good sound quality from the good folks hired by Artek (or whoever hired them). They call themselves Merseyside Sound Recordings. Anyway, the recording is both rich and detailed, with plenty of response in the lower end of the spectrum. Bass drum rolls jump right out of the box. The tuba grunts and snarls. Even the tenor horn solo that launches the symphony, sounds fuller and more vibrant than usual. "Extra musical" items are all very clear: guitar, mandolin, cowbells, deep bells; even the harp is very clear during the central, "moonlit" passage of the first movement (i.e. slow). All of this helps in bringing out the "concerto for orchestra" aspects of the work. Sadly, a big violin glissando at the very start of the second Nachtmusik is both oily and tacky sounding (or just takes some getting used to). But I also noticed that he brought out numerous, small glissandi throughout the fourth movement. That mad, uphill rush to the climactic plateau of the 2nd Nachtmusik - which is actually a humorous anti-climax, in truth - is nowhere as manic as it is on the recent Gergiev/LSO M7. But that's OK, who says that it has to sound manic?
Schwarz's finale isn't the mad romp of Gergiev/LSO (whicih is a lot like Kondrashin). Neither is it quite as cogent as Abbado (either one), or as inventive with its tempo solutions as MTT/SFSO (the only movement I truly like on his S.F. M7). But it's kind of nice mix of all of those. In fact, it reminds me a bit of the Barenboim one (only the Barenboim is slightly better played). Schwarz has very clear bells near the end of the finale, but his final peroration is a tad fast for my liking.
If all of this sounds like faint praise, let me just say that I really rather enjoyed this 7th from start to finish. The whole of it was a bit better than the sum of its parts. It's good enough that I'll keep it for at least a while.
