Gustav Mahler
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Gustav Mahler – Mahler: Symphony #4 In G - 1. Bedächtig. Nicht Eilen
Biography
Austria (1860 – 1911)
Mahler was best known during his own lifetime as one of the leading orchestral and operatic conductors of the day, but he has since come to be acknowledged as among the most important post-romantic composers – a remarkable feat for a figure whose mature creativity was concentrated in just two genres: song and symphony. Besides the nine completed symphonies, his principal works are the song cycles “Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen” (usually rendered as ‘Songs of a Wayfarer’, but literally ‘Songs of a Travelling Journeyman’) and Kindertotenlieder (‘Songs on the Death of Children’), and the synthesis of symphony and song cycle that is “Das Lied von der Erde” (‘The Song of the Earth’).
Mahler told fellow composer Jean Sibelius in 1907 that “a symphony should be like the world: it must embrace everything”; putting this philosophy into practice, he brought the genre to a new level of artistic development. Increasing the range of contrasts within and between movements necessitated an expansion of scale and scope (at around 95 minutes, his six-movement “Symphony No. 3” is the longest in the general symphonic repertoire) – while the admission of vocal and choral elements (with texts drawn from folk-poetry, Friedrich Nietzsche, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Chinese literature, and Medieval Roman Catholic mysticism) made manifest a philosophical as well as autobiographical content.
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Marialena Fernandes und Ranko Markovic, KlavierThursday 21 November 2013Gustav Mahler and 4 others
Wien, Vienna, Austria1 going -
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NightXsenator
Has anyone ever thought of giving some titles to his symphonies? Let's guess!
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MonarchKingdom
I actually came to like Bertini's Mahler. Mahler without a doubt was one of the greatest composers of the late Romantic and post-Romantic era.
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todorix
τεράστιος καλλιτέχνης!
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Ali-Red
such complex instrumentation, he makes use of everything.
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Oskoreii
Symphony #6 as recorded by LSO <3<3
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fastlane01
make it five then
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memristor
blah blah blah
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anfractuous
because it is
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gateofnanna
Every "classical" composers shoutbox seems be composed almost entirely of the same three or four dudes...
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hjbardenhagen
The sound quality on Last.fm is at least good enough that I can listen to it all day over my HiFi gear, and I don't consider myself deaf yet. Furthermore it's not important if you want to compare the conductor and orchestra performance on different recordings to decide if you want to buy the whole symphony cycle. The main difference will always be if the music speaks to you or not, independent from the sound, e.g. considering historic recordings as well.
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MonarchKingdom
I'm not much of an audiophile, so I'll probably do that. Although I've never listened to last.fm radio yet. But if I like the recording enough, I'll probably order the CD.
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KeIemvor
Listening to classical (especially orchestral stuff) on last.fm radio? How is the quality? I bet not more than 192 kb/s mp3, probably lower. Ugh.
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hjbardenhagen
Many years ago I had the same feeling when listening to Tennstedt as with the old Haitink recordings, most of it was too "sober" for me or too slow to the point of losing the musical flow of the composition. On the other hand there are some streamable Mahler recordings by Tennstedt on Last.fm which I included in the numerical tag radios (e.g. mahler 8), and when a track comes up there, I don't have to skip it right away. ;-) By the way, all Mahler symphony tag radios are globally available except #4, so you can compare different recordings with them as well. For example there are great albums on Last.fm by older conductors who did not finish a complete symphony cycle like Bruno Walter, Otto Klemperer or Sir John Barbirolli. One of the current Mahler "specialists" available on Last.fm is Sir Simon Rattle.
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MonarchKingdom
Actually on last.fm there is always at least one reference point, one can check what the other one making the recommendation listens to. That helps a lot in deciding whether or not his taste is similar to mine or not. Sometimes it also helps if one describes the recording - e.g. it's less emotional, playing with more clarity etc.
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MonarchKingdom
Thanks hjbardenhagen, I know it's difficult, but sometimes recommendations can be useful, especially if there are some reference points (e.g. in relation to conductors I know, or the same conductor's other recordings I know). Any way I ordered the Tennstedt cycle, and although I like it a bit more than the Bertini one (I will listen to individual symphonies now and then), I cannot feel the enthusiasm I feel for Bruckner's or Beethoven's symphonies. But I guess tastes can differ not just with conductors, but with composers either.
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KeIemvor
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hjbardenhagen
I once visited Gary Bertini conducting Mahler's 9th live in Hamburg, and it was one of the best performances I ever heard. I also know some of his Mahler recordings and liked them, too. But I think it's impossible to answer which symphony cycle is "the best if it had to be just one". For example if you want to buy one that is not too expensive, Bertini is one option, but Eliahu Inbal as well, as the label Denon lowered the price of this once expensive Mahler cycle. Of course almost any well-known conductor has recorded at least one Mahler cycle in his career, so the answer gets more difficult, too, especially if personal tastes differ from each other or have changed in the meantime. I did not like the first Bernard Haitink cycle in the past, but heard some very good newer recordings by him which also sound better than the early ones. Bernstein also did two cycles which differ from each other, so the only way to find out is to listen to them. ;-)
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MonarchKingdom
The Bayreuth Festspielhaus was dubbed a "yeshiva" by anti-Semites of the time, and with a reason. The lead conductor (Hermann Levi, Wagner's favorite) was the son of a rabbi, and countless other musicians were Jewish as well. On the other hand, Mahler was also a huge Wagnerian. So I'm not sure Wagner would really cry.
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MonarchKingdom
Currently I own the Bertini cycle, and I'm afraid it's not the best. (Although it's not bad, somehow I cannot really like it, and I want to give Mahler's music a fairer chance.) Which cycle would you guys propose? I read many good things about the Tennstedt cycle, but maybe there are others (e.g. Bernstein) that might be worth exploring. If it had to be just one, which one?
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HardKyu
..............Awesome................
All 318 shouts
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amadeudepradoScrobbling from Last.fm Radio (Amadeudeprado’s Library Radio)Gustav Mahler – Um Mitternacht -
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