Customer Reviews

Bernsteins Mahler

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"Why would they make a DVD of one movement from each of nine Mahler symphonies?" That's what my buddies were saying about this recording. The answer is the same as the answer to a question that was asked more than a century ago: "Why does concert attendance skyrocket whenever Gustav Mahler is conducting?"

The conductor is just that good!

Leonard Bernstein, as Mahler had done before him, strives to understand the composer's intent, and seems to want the orchestra and the audience to share in his personal celebration of the beauty and intricacies of the music.

A few quick things to mention:

All of the performances here are Bernstein conducting the Vienna Philharmonic except for Symphony 2 with the London Symphony featuring Janet Baker in the Urlicht. They are in DTS 5.1 and PCM Stereo.

Watch Bernstein in the first movement of Sym 1 and you can't miss his joy in the music.

The second movement of Sym 4 offers the most measured, precise and controlled performance of this movement--the most constrained Lenny you'll ever see.

In the movement IV of the Seventh Symphony, Nachtmusik II, Andante amoroso, we see and hear the delightful and rare appearance of guitar and mandolin in a symphonic piece--and Bernstein makes sure we can hear them!

I apologize for the following sugary phrase, but those who want to see it will see Lenny's frequent wincing at the ineffable beauty of the theme of the Mahler 5 Adagietto. Sorry, I just don't know how else to put it. It's almost painfully too beautiful to endure. As Strauss says in his presentation of the rose duet from Der Rosenkavalier, it's a feeling almost too strong to endure. Those who love Bernstein will accept his visible emotional demonstration of his love for the beauty of this love song without words.

So why this paean to Bernstein and Mahler? Aside from a celebration of the 150th anniversary of Mahler's birth, and the celebration of one of the great conductors who brought Mahler's music to the attention of the public, this DVD answers my own question about how it would have been to watch Mahler conduct--why so many people of Vienna would linger outside the rehearsal halls at The Opera, hoping to learn whether or not Mahler would be the conductor that night. It's the reason I will continue to enjoy this DVD: The conductor is just that good!

Whoever imagined the gift that would be offered to each of us by an example of Leonard Bernstein conducting just one Movement from each of Gustav Mahler's Nine Symphony invented a new vivid means of recognizing his intimate knowledge of every nuance, tempo, and personal emotional response to the music as a whole, as well as his ability to convey each internal feeling to the symphonic musicians reflecting that passion. I have, besides

LP's and CD's of a wide range of his Conducting, including music he composed, many DVD's ranging from instructing student performers about interpreting and playing Shostakovich, to a quite remarkable performance of Ravel's Piano Concerto, BUT this is a revelation! You witness his inner response to (and knowledge of)every aspect and concept, and musical intent, of a monumental variety of Mahler's NINE Symphonies. I not only knew this was the truest vision of Bernstein's genius in definitive example, but besides feeling blessed to have had this singular example, began to purchase more copies of this revelation to enrich the lives of dear friends.