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Chailly Mahler 9th

The new Riccardo Chailly/Concertgebouw Mahler Ninth from Decca just might be the best-sounding recording ever made of a Mahler symphony. And as a performance it moves straight to the top of the class.

I am in awe of this powerful, moving, impeccably prepared, beautifully crafted performance of Mahler's last completed symphony, and of the magnificent, state-of-the-art sound Decca has provided for it. Chailly's tempos all work; his performance is profound and utterly convincing. The Concertgebouw has Mahler in its bones, and its committed playing and sumptuous sonority are all that could be desired. And Decca's engineers have captured every nuance with unrivaled immediacy, clarity, richness, and impact, revealing countless felicitous details, as well as exceptionally wide frequency range and dynamic range. Soft passages have beguiling delicacy; climaxes have potent bass and gut-wrenching power. The grand, heaven-storming scale of the reading is fully conveyed; what we hear here can stand as a model of how to record a Mahler symphony. This recording marks the triumphant conclusion of Chailly's distinguished Concertgebouw Mahler cycle for Decca. It was made in the Concertgebouw Great Hall, famed for its superb acoustics, in June 2004, in conjunction with Chailly's farewell concert as principal conductor of the orchestra (but it is not a live recording).

I've been a Mahler buff for 40 years and have many recordings of his symphonies, including half a dozen Mahler Ninths. But I've never heard a more eloquent Ninth than this one, and I've never heard one in which every thread of the complex orchestration is so clearly revealed. If I could keep only one Mahler Ninth, this would be the one. In addition to Chailly and the Concertgebouw, Decca engineers Jonathan Stokes and Philip Siney deserve to take a bow. Anyone who loves Mahler, anyone fond of the Ninth, anyone curious about how good a recent digital recording of a Mahler symphony can be, ought to hear this recording.

Have any of you guys listened to this one? What did you think? Also, my comments apply to the standard redbook CD version, but there is also a (separate) SACD version. Anyone heard that one?
texasdave
vvrinc
323 posts
 
Texasdave,

Interesting and informative review, thank you. The Ninth Mahler has brought out the best of many conductors. I can think of the “live” Karajan, Abbado’s most recent, Barbirolli (all three conductors with the Berlin Philharmonic), like-him-or-leave him (I like), Bernstein’s recordings have to be dealt with, among many other moving and interesting ones in my library. By the way, Seiji Ozawa also chose the Mahler 9th for his farewell concerts with the Boston Symphony. (It would have been appropriate if James Levine had programmed the “Resurrection” Symphony for the start of his tenure there.)

I wish I could say I’ll be ordering Chailly’s 9th soon but I can’t. I have owned his Mahler 2, 3 (on SACD) and No. 8 and was disappointed and bored with the performances. The sound didn’t make me jump up and down either. If I am in the mood for good stick technique and dissection in Mahler, I can always reach for my Boulez, he has the sharpest blade of all (although the man’s interpretations of Ravel and Debussy–not to mention his own original music–are extremely interesting). Also would like to share your enthusiasm for Mr. Chailly’s Concertgebouw stint, but except for the truly phenomenal, Varèse “Complete Works,” the “Lyric Symphony” of Zemlinsky and Messiaen’s “Turangalila,” I would describe most of his recordings with that great orchestra–of the standard repertoire–as possessing (in a quote from a review of another artist by the late N.Y. Times critic, Harold C. Schonberg) “the diligence of a butler polishing the silver.” But then, we all hear things diffirently and have different expectations.

His earlier recordings with the RSO Berlin of some major works by Zemlinsky (in particular, “The Mermaid”) and the Schönberg “Gurrelieder,” were revelatory performances and excellent recordings. There are also two recordings of some fringe Shostakovich (with Concertgebouw) which are also quite good. I have always felt Chailly’s (and Ozawa”s) heart was firmly planted in contemporary music where I hear real energy and passion in his interpretations. I hope Decca will support more recordings by him of less well-known repertoire in the future.
mario_b
147 posts
 
Texasdave,
Enjoyed your review very much. I'm a recent convert to Mahler - so I'm a tableau rasa here, free to sample and taste the full range of offerings. I'll most likely try out Chailly's 9th as soundstage in getting to hear all the nuances is important for me especially as an aid in learning the music. Though I'll probably hunt down Bernstein's, as well. I absolutely love Lenny, warts and all. And he seems to have had a particular soft spot for Mahler.
Forgive my ignorance, but are these Decca recordings CD?
Yesterday, I snagged two pristine vinyl sets of Mahler's 8th and 9th from our Re-Use center for a buck apiece.
The 9th is by the LSO under Ludwig. For those timing their Mahler this one comes in at 80:04. The Los Angeles Everest recording, however, is not all that great. A good part of the bass section seems to have fallen through a trap door in the soundstage.
The Chicago Symphony Orch. under Solti's baton for the 8th is a whole 'nother story. A London ffrr double LP set that certainly seems to deliver the slam of this "Symphony of a Thousand" at least, to this uninitiated ear.
jhwalker
23 posts
 
TO ME,
Chailly has always been to clinical a conductor. Many of his recordings are technically and sonically perfect, but there is no, for me anyway, feeling in a great deal of his recordings. I have several of his Bruckner Recordings( 2, 7, & 8 ) and I like them. However, they would not rank as my all time favorites. So to, his Mahler, technically brilliant, but I am not taken to the heights like I am with Karajan( BPO-DG) Abbado( BPO-DG ) Barbirolli ( BPO-EMI )Walter ( VPO-Dutton ) and Bernstein ( NYPO-SONY ). SO I guess I am in the Vvrinc camp on this one, but that was a nice review TDAVE.
Happy Listening,
JWALKER
mario_b
147 posts
 
Hi JHWalker:

Are the Deutsche Grammophon recodings that you mentioned above, LP or CD?
If they are CD, are the any better sounding than the vinyl DGs?
Bear with me, while I try to straddle the fence here on the issue of sound versus performance.
I pass up DG labels all the time, no matter what the performance because their LP sound is so tepid.
Forgive me, if this seems like I'm picking a scrap, but if I'm told that I will be allowed into a concert hall's hallway (I know this exagerates a bit) to listen to a to-die-for maestro's performance, I'll take a pass.
Certainly, with the great number of commendable Mahler performances and the several excellent labels to choose from, we can have our cake and eat it too.
Of course, this may be just from my perspective in vinlyland where the plethora of choices seem to fall out of a cornicopia.
- Mario
texasdave OP
144 posts
 
On the vexed subject of DG's sound quality, I found their orchestral sound mediocre for years, but with the adoption of their then-new 4D recording process/technology in 1992, DG's orchestral sound got a whole lot better. The sound on most of the Boulez Mahler recordings, and the other fine Boulez recordings on DG, is for the most part very good indeed (if not quite up to the standard of the best Decca/London orchestral sound, in my opinion). Boulez's DG recordings have been made with the Chicago, Cleveland, Berlin Philharmonic, and Vienna Philharmonic (who else gets to record with those four great orchestras?). I've generally found the best sound comes from the Chicago and Cleveland venues. His DG recordings of Bartok, Stravinsky, Debussy, Ravel, and even Berlioz (and Mahler) are unfailingly compelling and insightful readings that have much to recommend them; I wouldn't be without them (even though his Mahler won't be everyone's cup of tea). Obviously I'm talking about CDs here.
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