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Why do all Mahler recordings seem too bright?

Yes - I may be exaggerating but I haven’t yet found any recordings of his symphonies that properly balance the extra treble energy that are often part of the dynamic swings.  Part of the problem may be that I’m not sure I yet actually “like” Mahler’s music though there are moments that are exquisite.  But, I can’t get through a whole piece because the recordings hurt my ears.  

As a side note - I have been on both sides of a microphone - having been a musician in the past and also having recorded/mixed a number of orchestral concerts at a performing arts center.  Pre-pandemic I would go to orchestral concerts regularly. So - I do have at least some reference.

I have some recordings (they were given to me) that are positively unlistenable (a DG recording of his 5th may be singularly the worst recording I’ve heard).

I thought the hi res versions of San Francisco by MTT might be the ticket.  While better, they still seem too bright and harsh to me.

Perhaps it’s my system that’s too bright, or perhaps something else is going on but I’ve plenty of other classical music that sounds better. We’ll recorded jazz and acoustic, too. 

Of course I can find poor recordings in any genre, but I’d welcome recommendations from my fellow forumites of some Mahler recordings that I might try.  I’d love to be able to listen to the closing moments of the 2nd at reasonable volume - without cringing.  

 

 

mgrif104
mgrif104 OP
351 posts
 

Thanks to all for the thoughtful discussion.  I’ve been enjoying the MN/Vanska reading of the 2nd and will look for more of this pairing.  

With regard to the brightness issue: I do have an update. 

One of my suspicions was that my system was suffering from microphonic distortion on the peaks.  The other was that my amp was clipping.  I appears to be the former. I borrowed some Nordost Sort Kones to audition and the harshness during peaks is essentially gone.  I’ll be auditioning other solutions to see if this can be further improved.  I now recognize the significant importance of resonance control.  My audio cabinet is really furniture (we’d rather look at a nice cabinet than at audio gear).  I should have been paying more attention here.  

The uniquely large dynamic swings of Mahler brought this to the fore.  

Best to all,

lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,417 posts
 

The Sort Kones have an interesting design, it drains vibration and decouples. Nice find, I'd like to try these. 

lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,417 posts
 

May I go off-topic for a moment? I find many of the Bruckner digital recordings bright, and this only applies to the horns. Massed strings sound perfect, but all those mic's on the brass section ruin some performances for me.

Anybody else have this issue?

kr4's avatar
kr4
3,685 posts
 
lowrider57 wrote:

May I go off-topic for a moment? I find many of the Bruckner digital recordings bright, and this only applies to the horns. Massed strings sound perfect, but all those mic's on the brass section ruin some performances for me.

Have you heard the Ivan Fischer/BFO Bruckner 7 on Channel Classics?

lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,417 posts
 

Have you heard the Ivan Fischer/BFO Bruckner 7 on Channel Classics?

No, but I've heard the outstanding sonics of his Maher cycle. Will check it out on Qobuz.

The close and multi-micd Bruckner is not always what I consider bright, but the brass section can also be too forward in the mix. They're the loudest instruments and there's no need to emphasize them.

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