Medici Arts dvd of Abbado/LFO M3 - very good!!!

[john haueisen]

As Richard Wagner hinted in his Ring of the Nibelung, Wotan and others should have listened to Fasolt and Fafner.
Seriously, thanks Fafner, for helping clear up the mystery of the appearing/disappearing false entry--two performances and plenty of film.

--John H

[john haueisen]

I wanted to post a further comment here on Barry's review of the Abbado M3 dvd.
If M3 is one of your favorites, please reread Barry's review at the start of this topic--he's "spot on."
This is a performance I will long cherish.  It's exquisite in photography and sound, and as Barry reported, the dynamic range is the best Abbado yet.
Barry's right also about the difficulties of watching some of Abbado's mannerisms--looking for the beat and others.  I'm always distracted briefly also by the delight on his face whenever the piccolo finishes a flute's phrase.  It's like Claudio is delighted to see the happy little bird chirping.
So again, let me say, if you enjoy Mahler on dvd, please consider this one.  Start by again reading Barry's review.  This is a purchase you would not regret.
--John H

[Leo K]

Happy to see this new Abbado M3 arrive at my mailbox this afternoon...I know what I'll be watching tonight!


--Todd

[barry guerrero]

Thanks for the kind words, John. At $25, I think the Abbado M3 dvd is almost a bargain. It must have felt like a career highlight to Abbado.

[Leo K]

I bought my Abbado M3 dvd off Ebay for about 12 bucks...a real huge bargain for such a fine performance.


This M3 is a wonder to hear...dvd's usually have better sound and this is no exception...must be one of the best sounding M3's I've heard.  Performance wise this sounds like another "spiritual" M3 like his earlier Vienna DG release, with the exception that the "flow" is more natural and the mood much more lighter in every movement.  The first movement is much more exciting than his Vienna DG and more detailed than his badly recorded BPO M3, the II and III movements are glowing with the "Wunderhorn" spirit, so much so I can almost feel the humidity of the summer...thanks to the woodwind playing and pure tone of the brass.  IV and V flow together with careful contrast...the dark tones of the Nietche universe not overshadowing the boys and girls in heaven...again reminscent of his Vienna DG but not in the "parsifal" spirit (as Barry described of that recording).  The Finale, and especially the final chord has stayed with me ever since...I was moved to the core of my being on the rendition of this final hymn...a place including past, present and heavenly summer, surrounded by the late afternoon glow of the sun.  I personally feel this is a fine Mahlerian achievement for Abbado. 

This and the new Gergiev M3 are at the top of my list with the Zinman.

--Todd

[barry guerrero]

"Performance wise, this sounds like another "spiritual" M3 like his earlier Vienna DG release, with the exception that the "flow" is more natural and the mood much more lighter in every movement"

yeah, it's like a cross between the two earlier ones, but with better sound. Thumbs up. 

[john haueisen]

The Finale, and especially the final chord has stayed with me ever since...I was moved to the core of my being on the rendition of this final hymn...a place including past, present and heavenly summer, surrounded by the late afternoon glow of the sun. --Todd

Todd (and Barry) have noticed the almost spiritual qualities of this Abbado M3.
As I was watching and listening to it, just at the end my wife came in from her busy activities in another room, and said, "What WAS that? It was beautiful, and sounded so spiritual."
Perhaps I will use the finale of this M3 to try to start others on the road to an appreciation of the music of Mahler.''--John H

[Leo K]

The Finale, and especially the final chord has stayed with me ever since...I was moved to the core of my being on the rendition of this final hymn...a place including past, present and heavenly summer, surrounded by the late afternoon glow of the sun. --Todd

Todd (and Barry) have noticed the almost spiritual qualities of this Abbado M3.
As I was watching and listening to it, just at the end my wife came in from her busy activities in another room, and said, "What WAS that? It was beautiful, and sounded so spiritual."
Perhaps I will use the finale of this M3 to try to start others on the road to an appreciation of the music of Mahler.''--John H

That is wonderful to hear John! 


--Todd

[john haueisen]

Okay, the last post on this topic was Todd's, way back in November of last year.
Since then, I've watched the Abbado/Lucerne M3 four more times.  I like it better each time.
I also enjoy the feature of the black cloths clipped over the bells of the trumpets and trombone in the final movement to damper the sound without forcing cracked notes because of the difficulty of playing so quietly.

Another observation is that they use a real posthorn for the posthorn serenade.  You don't see it until the bows after the end of the performance, but for those of us who have always wondered what a posthorn looks like, the soloist appears holding it in plain view.

Strangely, Amazon still does not offer the Abbado M3 except through used sellers.
--John H

[barry guerrero]

hmmmm    .     .     .    I can't remember what the posthorn looked like. If it's like the Vienna Phil. one, it looks like a small, tightly wound (French) horn with three rotary valves. It has kind of a sweet sound, but not as dark and "covered" sounding as the flugelhorn. They're probably not easy to play fully in tune (placing triggers on the valve slides can help a lot, as long as you tune the horn slightly on the sharp side).

Barry

[akiralx]

As a follow up, I note this is available on blu-ray, reviewed here:

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Mahler-3rd-Symphony-Claudio-Abbado-Lucerne-Festival-Orchestra-Blu-ray-Review/8170/

I will probably get this.

[sperlsco]

As a follow up, I note this is available on blu-ray, reviewed here:

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Mahler-3rd-Symphony-Claudio-Abbado-Lucerne-Festival-Orchestra-Blu-ray-Review/8170/

I will probably get this.

Yes, I am thinking of buying the blu-ray disc as someone's xmas present to me.   

[Fafner]

Euroarts/Medici Arts's plan is to complete the Abbado cycle both on DVD and Bluray by the end of 2011. This year we should see last year's 1th and the previously released 5th, 6th and 7th on Bluray. This autumn the plan is to release last year's 4th, a bit later than usual to allow some more time as another 4th was just released (the one with the Mahler Jugendorchester). By Spring 2011 the 2nd should be there on Bluray too. Later we'll get the 9th which will be performed this Summer. It's not clear yet what missing part will be performed next year for the cycle completation. During the 2007 festival it was stated the 8th would have been left out of the cycle by Abbado's request, but maybe he changed his mind, or maybe the missing part will just be the 10th's Adagio and there won't be any 8th, don't know. What's sure is that Mahler will be on Abbado's programs at Lucerne in 2011 too, this is confirmed by the Lucerne Festival 2010 main program.

[barry guerrero]

MTT/SFSO performed Mahler 8 while on tour in Lucerne, just a few years ago. Perhaps Euroarts might issue that instead (?). I hope so, because I'm sure it would as good or better than the piece-of-junk (just my opinion) they released as a commercial recording.

[Fafner]

MTT/SFSO performed Mahler 8 while on tour in Lucerne, just a few years ago. Perhaps Euroarts might issue that instead (?). I hope so, because I'm sure it would as good or better than the piece-of-junk (just my opinion) they released as a commercial recording.

I was there...it was recorded and broadcasted by the swiss radio and maybe some other radios as well, but there were no cameras in the concert hall. Havent's heard the released recording yet...the concert was very good but nothing to die for. I found the orchestra to be very precise but a bit lacking in body and soul. But it has to be said that Abbado has set the bar very high for Mahler at Lucerne in recent years. Too bad that the earliest recordings, although not bad, don't quite make him justice (the 2nd, the very dry sounding 5th recording).