OK, now I've plowed my way through Zinman's first movement, which is easily up to the excellent standards of the remaining three movements. Please excuse me for working my way through this recording out of order, but my free time has been very limited lately. For me, this is truly an outstanding Mahler 6, and would be surprised if it doesn't someday make it on to Todd's (Leo) "top 5" list of M6 recordings. If I can site just one example of its excellence, listen to the first few bars of the development section - the bars immediately after the exposition repeat. I've never heard these few bars played in such a nasty manner: sudden accents in the strings, sharp attacks from the "stopped" horns; you name it. The only slightly negative comment I have is with the cowbells: they're a tad on the bright and "tickly" side of the equation. However, they're easily audible in a quiet environment (I was using my noise reduction headphones this time). More to the point, the cowbells make a huge racket where they're supposed to: the loud passage leading up to the climactic section of the slow movement (often times inaudible or greatly underplayed). So far, I'm really happy with this recording, which has easily exceeded even my own high expectations for it.
Barry
Topic: Zinman M6 - now the first movement (Read 6850 times)