New York Philharmonic, Zubin Mehta [Teldec 2292-46152-2]. Recorded in the Manhattan Center, September 1988. Total playing time 69:47. Format: RedBook.
This CD has been in my library since my days as an aspiring orchestral player. I did not buy it because I thought Zubin Mehta was a great Mahler conductor. Nor did I buy it because I'm a Teldec fan. No, I bought this solely because Phil Smith, New York's principal trumpet, was playing the opening solo.
So that is where we will start. The opening solo is played like it ought to: authoritative, confident and in a style that makes everyone get into the mood. Once the trumpet geek in me was satisfied, I can safely say that performance and recording (not heard in many years until now again) was a most pleasant surprise. The movement proceeds with superb clarity of the triplet patterns that punctuate the 1st movement. Throughout the opening movement, the NY Philharmonic brass is larger than life (the brass-loving
beast in me is pleased). Other comments from the listening notes are "excellent strings with nice contrast" and "pace keeps forward momentum". The 2nd movement opens with the rest of the brass being a bit distant though not objectionably so. Excellent woodwinds follow and there is good depth to the orchestral soundstage. The various instrumental sections are nicely contrasted though with less emphasis on accents that other recordings elicit. Other comments from the 2nd movement are "sexy", "slower tempo makes for better brass clarity", "passionate", "very musical" and a final "wow!".


The 3rd movement opens with a smooth French horn solo though I wrote, "RedBook lacks SACD clarity". Sometimes the sound of the Conn 8D horns which NY favors sis a bit muffled in texture. Transitions are subtler than with some solid pizzicato strings. However, some of the larger orchestral passages lack transparency and the famous horn obbligato part, despite being solidly played, fails the goose-bump test. The ending is rather raucous but exciting. The 4th movement starts off at a rather slow clip but unlike others, manages a forward momentum that keeps it from stagnating like Bernstein's. There is a stunning descending string motif that settles on a wonderful string bass pedal that makes for a very effective ending. However, this movement would have benefited from a slightly faster pace. The 5th movement opens at a good pace with sterling woodwind performances. Mehta derives an enjoyable flow and lovely shaping of melodic lines. The transitions from section to section mesh well and written notes include "competent conductor" and "engaging performance". Transparency in the larger climaxes is better than in preceding movements and the brass play like sock 'em sluggers (once again the beast is pleased). There is a nice seguing into the finale and this earns a hearty "bravo".
Scottish National Orchestra, Neeme Järvi [Chandos CHAN 8829]. Recording location: Caird Hall/Dundee, October 23-24, 1989. Total playing time 70:28. Format: RedBook.
The 1st movement opens with what I consider to be among the best trumpet playing outside of the Mehta/New York and Levi/Atlanta readings. The tempo allows for a smooth pattern from the trumpet unlike the plodding pace on the WaterLily and others. A few of the massive orchestral triplets are not entirely clear. The entrance of the strings after the opening is well paced and suggestively mournful to where one can almost see the funeral procession moving down the road. The next trumpet statement is once again excellent and the following orchestra triplets are fine this time around. Overall, this is an extremely exciting movement as is the entire recording though the brass at times gets overly agitated. However, Järvi does allow for some magnificent French horn playing, allowing them to let it rip on a few tasty high Cs. Bellissimo! The 2nd movement opens with a "wow" and "very brisk" in my notes. This is actually very riveting unlike the Levi/Atlanta or Temirkanov/St. Petersburg. The Scottish orchestra has
a superb sound and Järvi allows for plenty of dynamic scope and intense crescendos that create serious drama. The mood swings are captured well to elicit further commentary such as "exciting" and "full of pathos yet musical". The large hall sound Chandos is famous for is fully evident and allows for excellent inner detail. The inner parts are all audible but unlike the Chailly/RCOA, not overly detailed. It's safe to call this a very explicit reading but I really responded to the "grab you by the ears" approach especially after listening through some of my other recordings.


The 3rd movement opens a little slower but still maintains an easy 'on 1' rather than the slower 'in 3' gestalt. So many recordings allow this movement to plod. Not this one. There is excitement leading up to the first horn obligato and the French horns deliver in droves. Fantastic! Following the obligato section, the playing becomes very lyrical and the tempo proceeds in a comfortable fashion. Järvi once again demonstrates excellent grasp of the emotional aspects and the orchestra plays with vigor. The second horn obligato is superb and earns a serious goose bump award. Bloody brilliant, chaps! The ending is kicked off with a brisk kick and rips and snarls to the end. The Adagietto starts off pretty slow but fairly soon picks up to a more comfortable speed. There is some very emotional playing with some lovely string sound. The string basses are simply fat and divine and allow for a solid foundation for the ending. The 5th movement is brisk and exciting. Once again, Järvi shows a fine command of the emotional peaks and the orchestra responds in turn. There is some very fine playing both among individual instruments and the large orchestral sections. The brass geek in me has to mention great synergy between the trumpets and horns which themselves are simply stunning throughout the entire symphony. Had this been a live performance, the audience would have been very vocal during their ovation.


As you can tell, I found this performance to be the most exciting of all of my recordings. Though not the most subtle, Järvi offers a most exciting and vivid reading and perhaps does the best job of capturing Mahler's emotional intensity. A special cheer to a conductor who lets brass play like brass.
Atlanta Symphony, Yoel Levi [Telarc CD-80394]. Recording location: Atlanta Symphony Hall/Woodruff Arts Center, February 13-14, 1995. Total playing time 72:37. Format: RedBook.
This is another recording where I have to make a special mention of the trumpet solo. As in the Mehta/New York (Phil Smith) and the Järvi/SNO (principal trumpet unnamed), this Telarc album features James Thompson who plays at a truly superb level. The tempo allows for smooth tone and attack for stunning effect. This is where the glowing comments end for a while. This CD is a good example of why I was never a diehard Telarc fan until Telarc started releasing SACDs. The soundstage is very shallow and the instruments seem to almost be stacked on top of each other for a very two-dimensional scale. Despite some nice horn and trumpet playing as well as some fine woodwind work, the 1st movement is rather bland and the 2nd gets worse. It plods on with no end in sight and very little emotional tension. Several times I eyed the fast forward button with real desire.


The 3rd movement is another story altogether, almost as though the sun finally came out from behind a cloud. Whereas the 2nd movement has little musical shaping, the 3rd is much more accomplished, the Valium effect worn off. The first horn obligato is solid and followed by some very tasty music making. The second horn obligato is absolutely superb and scores high on the goose bump scale. However, the Valium kicks back in and the ending is quite anticlimactic though on a whole, I did enjoy the 3rd movement. The Adagietto gets off to a very slow start but fortunately finds its groove a few minutes into the movement. The Atlanta strings sound gorgeous and I actually wrote "very musical" in my notes. Once again the string basses plump up the sound for a satisfying ending. The 5th movement starts at a slower pace and never comes alive. My notes demand "more kick", complain of "starting to limp along" and "boring". Despite this very pedestrian rendition, there is some fine concertizing from various soloists and sections. We finally get redemption in the movement's last section but it can't save a very dull overall reading.
Vienna Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein [DG 423 608-2]. Recording location: Alte Oper/Frankfurt September 1987. Total playing time: 74:59. Format: RedBook.
This was the last of my recordings I listened to. I decided from the start to listen in random order by mixing RedBook and SACD. This performance and the Inbal were recorded in the same venue about 19 months apart. To describe their sounds as completely different would still be a gross understatement. I have never been a fan of Deutsche Grammophon and while this DG recording does not suffer the usual close-miked claustrophobia that DG obtained with Bernstein's New York Mahler (Symphonies 2, 3, and 7), there still remains an artificial timbre to the woodwinds at times, not as organic as the Inbal/Denon rendition.
This performance is best summed up in one word: slow. The 1st movement opens with a competent trumpet solo not in the same league as the Mehta, Levi or Järvi. The slow tempo allows the Vienna strings to
truly shine in the following mournful section. During this movement, we get the same sense of hall ambiance that's on the Inbal/Denon. There is some nice music making leading up to the second trumpet solo which takes a whopping 6:30 to get this far before the pace picks up. During the following tumultuous passages, the somewhat moderate tempo allows the Vienna horns to really rip into some solidly played high Cs, something most conductors do not allow for by maintaining a brisk speed. The 2nd movement opens at a good pace but a subsequent time gate induces dragging thereafter. Once again strings and woodwinds play well. Thankfully, Bernstein allows for some tempo changes that capture the mood and the return to the mournful melody is handled well. However, not all of the transitions are effective. Bernstein seems to be passionate about some aspects but not others.


My written comments mention the trombones as not being as prominent as the trumpets or horns. In toto, not a totally convincing 2nd movement. The 3rd movement opens with the slowest waltz feel of all the recordings. The tempo is marked "Scherzo: Kräftig, nicht zu schnell" [with power but not too fast] and Bernstein follows the "nicht zu schnell" command with a vengeance. Despite this, there's some stellar playing by the orchestra before the pace slows even further during the lyrical interlude. The many solos played so brilliantly in all the other recordings lack passion here. The excitement leading up to the first obligato part fails and the solo horn is merely passable. To make matters worse, the music continues to slow down and comments such as "no fun to listen to' are rampant in my notes. As with the first obligato part, the arc leading to the second big horn solo collapses and as with the first solo, the second one is quite unspectacular. Even the normally electrifying ending is anything but and it takes a whopping nineteen minutes to reach the end. The 4th movement is the second slowest of them all so I simply let the movement play for several minutes to enjoy Vienna's magnificent strings. The string bass is fine but not as spectacular as on many of the other recordings. Needless to say, by the 5th movement, I was too exhausted to continue.


I know that many consider Leonard Bernstein to be one of the great Mahler conductors and on some of his recordings, I agree. His New York recordings of Mahler's 2nd, 3rd, and 7th are very fine examples though the DG sound captured in Avery Fischer is less than stellar. I have given a good listen to all three of his NYPO recordings and none of them bother me as much as this one does. Bernstein failed to capture the essence of movements like the 2nd ("Stürmisch bewegt, mit größter Vehemenz" - stormy agitation, with extreme vigor).


If Bernstein is the leader of the "inner beauty at all cost" school of Mahler, then I will confess to being a heathen and admit my love for the passion and fire that Solti, Mehta, Järvi and others achieve.
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Ricardo Chailly [Decca 289 458 860-2]. Recording location: Grote Zaal/Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, October 1997. Format: RedBook.
I am going to keep these comments somewhat brief as I have never heard a performance where the overwhelming feel of micro management was this powerfully demonstrated. From the pecky and abrupt opening trumpet solo, everything sounds as though the engineers were hell-bent to capture the minutest of details. It makes me think of the dreadful days when Deutsche Grammophon used as many as 120 microphones to record symphonies.
Aside from this, the 2d movement has good feel and pace and the transitions are effective. There are some nice dynamic contrasts with some fine woodwind and brass playing. I have a comment that read "Grote Zaal effect" which is typical of recordings made in this hall when it is empty. The Grote Zaal is a large structure that has a rather famous echo present on every recording I have ever owned. This is not necessarily a bad thing and
an effect mitigated substantially when an audience is present. When Chailly is not maniacally micro-managing everything, inner detail is pleasant. The 3rd movement opens at a slightly slower pace than others but nothing to distract. One thing heard on this recording and not others is some serious French horn vibrato during lyrical solo passages. The big horn obbligato garners no goose bumps but the movement finishes up nicely. The 4th movement starts slowly but manages some forward momentum with superb string sound. However, the restrained pace of the second half quickly lost me. The 5th movement opens with a nicely relaxed take but about nine minutes into it, the performance simply could not hold my attention. Excessive micro management makes this a distracting and overall un-engaging performance.
Philharmonia Orchestra, Benjamin Zander [Telarc SACD –60569]. Recording Location: Watford Colosseum/Watford, United Kingdom, August 7-10, 2000. Format: SACD.
This is another fine recording from Telarc's amazing SACD catalog. As in the Bamberger SACD, the tempo from the very opening conveys assurance that this is going to be a great effort. The trumpet solo is well executed and the tempo is brisk enough that the solo flows along at the appropriate grief-stricken pace, yet does not plod nor sound abrupt as in the St. Petersburg recording. One of the main concerns for any recording of Mahler's 5th are the numerous triplet patterns throughout the 1st movement. On all of the SACDs reviewed here except for the EBS, the triplets are very transparent, clean and it is easy to hear the inner moving parts that can sometimes be obscured by the holding brass tones. After checking my written comments, the first movement "grabbed me by the ears"! Excellent playing all around, with plenty of fun audiophile comments like great air, space and transparency plus high-level goose bump harvest.


The 2nd movement is a little more of a mixed bag. Once again, soundstaging is quite vivid, with a wider spread of the orchestra than the Bamberg orchestra exhibits. Transitions throughout are seamless. With some fine woodwind playing, 1st and 2nd violin sections appear split at times. In certain sections, Zander loses touch wit the emotions and the music rambles along. However, these somewhat dull moments are brief interludes and quickly recover with appropriate climaxes. Towards the end, we get some sweet string sounds and Zander digs in ("milk it baby" read my notes) to fire up the finale for all its worth in the relevant spookiness.


The 3rd movement gets off to a proper start and with perfectly balanced pace. Woodwinds play with a nice staccato and the solo horn plays with serious flair (more goose bump comments). The middle section of this movement is very lyrical and Zander achieves some real magic here. There's far more inner detail here than I ever hear on other recordings or in a live setting. It doesn't distract at all, there are simply little secondary musical gestures as though captured for the first time or maybe Maestro Zander was simply being ultra conservative in their symphonic pronunciation? The movement ends with a rather rowdy finish to risk premature applause. Zander's 4th movement definitely belongs to the "quicker is better" school. At 8:33, Zander's 4th movement is the quickest of them all, one full minute faster than Rattle's EMI/Berlin. Even so, the movement doesn't feel rushed; the flowing lines are allowed to develop appropriately. The string bass pedal that supports the ending of the movement made me sit up and take notice with comments like "solid, supportive, massive". Movement 5 is a little on the disappointing side. The tempo is much more relaxed which translates as far slower. The strings sound very nice for the most part but get muddy toward the end. As I sat listening to the last movement, I found myself wishing that Zander would kick it up a notch. Still, overall this is a fine recording that shows Telarc is a serious player in the SACD arena.