Top 5 M6

[Leo K]

Mitropoulos / WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln: my favourite one, with no doubt. In my opinion, no other conductor has reached such heights of expression: I like his perforating sonorities, which I find especially fitting to this work.

Adler / Wiener Symphoniker: I still love the sound of some pioneers...

Barbirolli / New Philharmonia.

Szell / Cleveland.

Horenstein / Stockholm. This was one of the first versions of this work I ever heard, and I still remain very affectionate to it, although it seems that the other Horensteins' performance (with Bournemouth) is preferable.

Aaaaah...forgot about the Adler!  That is a great M6.  I also like Horenstein/Stolkholm, and it is quite different than his Bournmouth one.

--Todd

[Psanquin]

Having not yet heard Zinman's, so far my best Sixth are:

Bernstein CBS 1967
Leinsdorf Orfeo 1983
Sinopoli DG 1986
De Waart RCA 1994

[chalkpie]

I dig (in no order):

Lenny/DG and Sony - caveat: I am still not a fan of the fast 1st movement
Chailly - great overall
Gielen - truly excellent - I LOVE the finale here
Boulez - weak hammerblows in Finale; the andante is pefect to my ears and the best I own

and a toss-up between the Abbado/Berliner and Haitink/Chicago

[barry guerrero]

My fav. M6 is a hybrid burn job that I put together of Nagano/DSO Berlin on the two outer movements, and Rattle/BPO on the two inner movements. I also have a burn job of an M6 "birthday" concert for Rattle, which employs both the VPO and BPO. That's fun.

Commercial recordings:

Zinman (like both of them)

Boulez/VPO (in spite of the relatively weak hammer strokes)

Eschenbach/Philly (the only one that has an andante movement that's been turned into an Adagio, that I can actually tolerate)

Mehta/Israel Phil. (Teldec)

Chailly/RCOA

T. Sanderling/St. Petersburg Phil.

If they issue the "live" Noseda/BBC Phil. one, I'll get that.

I generally like M6 recordings where the slow movement is 15 minutes or less. It's not an adagio! I have tons of other burn jobs too.

[barry guerrero]

.    .    .  by the way, I like Abbado/BPO better when played back in S/A order, because his tempo for the scherzo perfectly matches the tempo at the end of the first movement. Conversely, I think that MTT/SFSO - a recording I'm not crazy about for a number of very specific reasons - works better when played back in A/S order (same with the Karajan).

If I recall, I think that I also enjoyed the Fischer/BFO M6 better in S/A order. Fischer has a great finale, but his first three movements are a tad "light weight".

Oh, here's  another one:  I like Chailly/RCOA better in A/S as well. The end of the first movement is relatively slow, and his scherzo is a tad "poopy" as well (in terms of tempi).

[Leo K]

.    .    .  by the way, I like Abbado/BPO better when played back in S/A order, because his tempo for the scherzo perfectly matches the tempo at the end of the first movement. Conversely, I think that MTT/SFSO - a recording I'm not crazy about for a number of very specific reasons - works better when played back in A/S order (same with the Karajan).

If I recall, I think that I also enjoyed the Fischer/BFO M6 better in S/A order. Fischer has a great finale, but his first three movements are a tad "light weight".

Oh, here's  another one:  I like Chailly/RCOA better in A/S as well. The end of the first movement is relatively slow, and his scherzo is a tad "poopy" as well (in terms of tempi).

Barry, regarding the MTT/SFSO M6...it does work very well in A/S...somehow it my iTunes I have it set this way, so this is how I've been hearing this recording for awhile now.

--Todd

[Michael]

Sorry to bring up an old topic again, but I am a huge M6 knut...

My favorites, in no particular order: Zander/Boston, Rattle/CBSO, Barbirolli/NPO, Bernstein/NYPO, Delfs/Milwaukee, and I like Sanderling/SPPO and Zinman/Tonhalle as well.

Barry, you mentioned having a burn job of M6 with Rattle/BPO as the middle two movements...I'm guessing you may have meant Rattle/CBSO?  If not, how is the Rattle/BPO performance?  I've been waiting for a BPO/Rattle M6...if the Ninth is any indicator, that should be good.

[Leo K]

Sorry to bring up an old topic again, but I am a huge M6 knut...

My favorites, in no particular order: Zander/Boston, Rattle/CBSO, Barbirolli/NPO, Bernstein/NYPO, Delfs/Milwaukee, and I like Sanderling/SPPO and Zinman/Tonhalle as well.

Barry, you mentioned having a burn job of M6 with Rattle/BPO as the middle two movements...I'm guessing you may have meant Rattle/CBSO?  If not, how is the Rattle/BPO performance?  I've been waiting for a BPO/Rattle M6...if the Ninth is any indicator, that should be good.

Michael,

There was indeed a Rattle/BPO M6 officially released in 1987 I think, not in the states, but in Europe or Japan if I'm not mistaken.  I have a burn job of this performance and wrote my thoughts some time ago...here they are:




This a very ravishing performance. Dark, but full of inner light like a Rembrandt painting. The BPO play certain parts of the first movement like no other...somehow they bring an 'icey glow" to many of the woodwind passages. This first movement also sounds very large, like an overwhelming view off a mountain. During the andante Rattle phrases certain lines in a way I haven't heard before, but his choices work rather well. The same goes for the frantically played Scherzo here, which is played very fast, only catching it's breath in the contrasting Trio sections...alot of color is displayed here, and thereby much character is expressed. The tempo choices, whether delibrately slowed down or sped up, take the breath away and are very exciting. I'd say the Scherzo is a highlight. As heard in the previous movements, the Finale delivers the various textures of the orchestration with invigorating character. Rattle really emphasizes the 'modern' aspects of the orchestration. In contrast to the phrase modeling and tempo distruptions of the previous movements, the Finale appears to be played more 'straight', which works rather well for the dramatic arc of the performance...it certainly doesn't drag at any point, which is easy to do in this Finale, with all it's various sections. The duration of the whole Finale (28 minutes) is also faster than I'm used to, but actually works to bring balance to the first movement...this is a good solution in regards to the issue of balance in this work. The speed emphasizes how unsentimental this interpetation is, especially during the final measures...therefore it is rather bleak in outlook.


--Todd

[stillivor]

Hi Todd, since we're online simul.

Have a lot of catching-up to do. Can afford to start getting more 6ths. I've not heard so many.

So far, I also go strongly with the Mitropoulos/Stuttgart, with its tremendous expressiveness, and rubato.

And I have an abiding affection for two of the oldsters that I grew up with - adler and Flipse..

E.G. in The Gramophone remarked on the hushed dramatic pause in the Adler before the final pizz.

Horenstein so often gets it right for me.


   Iivor

[Michael]

Wouldn't mind hearing the Mitropoulos but unless I am missing something somewhere it is only available as part of a $70+ box set.

Any idea when the Schwarz will be on iTunes/Napster/Amazon MP3?  I look forward to hearing it.

[John Kim]

OK, here is my list of top 5:

1. Levi/ASO/Telarc (great playing & sound, a lot similar to Lenny's old recording)
2. Lenny/NYPO/CBS (still a classic)
3. Zinman/TOZ/RCA (the best AS order. very musical but also finely consistent throughout)
4. Eschenbach/PO/Ondine (the best SA version in modern sound, along with the Levi)
5. Tennstedt/LPO/EMI (live. the wildest, craziest, yet curiously moving account)

John,

[Leo K]

Here are my updated top 5...MTT and Zinman are new to this list!


Bernstein/VPO (Japanese SHM CD preferred)

MTT/SFSO

Karajan/BPO

Bertini/KOLN

Zinman/TOZ

[stillivor]

The Mitro. I got as part of a 2-CD set from EMI.



    Ivor

[Michael]

Since we're at least mentioning the Bernstein/NYPO...any idea what that shout is somewhere in the middle-near the end of the finale?  It comes when the desperate march reappears for the last time, fast and furious.  It sounds like someone (Lenny?) shouts "Waight!" but I'm not sure.

[techniquest]

James Levine / LSO on RCA. Terrifyingly terrific!