Customer Reviews

Claudio Abbado: Mahler - Symphony No. 3 [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've always loved Mahler's music, but I must admit that the third was not one of my favorites....until I got this DVD. The performance is just superb! Abbado is one of the truly great interpreters of Mahler and this DVD is a wonderful example. The orchestra, soloist and choruses are outstanding along with the sound and video on the Blu-Ray disc. I found it truly moving.

Folks, when you finally "get it", Mahler's music attains a spiritual quality that I have found no composer can match. The music can touch your soul, as this performance does. This now has become my favorite Mahler DVD and one of my favorite symphonies.

Mahler's 3rd Symphony is my favourite work of this great composer. A massive work in its conception, this symphony develops in six movements, each movement capturing one particular aspect of Nature or the Universe, starting from the Earth itself (a hymn to god Pan) and progressively moving up through the realms of nature, to the flowers, the animals, man, the angels and finally Love (the sixth movement is one of the most beautiful & important moments of Western music).

I do not have words to describe the beauty either of this music or of the performance. I will only say that I have heard quite a few performances of this work and only few have the subtlety of feeling that Abbado and his Lucerne Festival Orchestra have. There are points where Mahler's exquisite chromatic harmonies could not sound clearer or better than this. Everything is just right, exactly as it should be. The soloists are top-notch, the sound on the DVD good and this is Abbado's masterpiece.

Not to be missed. Also, check out the Boulez recording, which is almost as good.

I'd never been exposed to Mahler's music in a serious way until I watched this blu-ray. Wow, what an experience! I didn't expect the 1 hour and 40 minutes could be that joyful and enjoyable. The performance was just flawless and outstanding! I was really impressed by the spirit of the music that was brought by becoming "ONE" of the whole orchestra, the soprano, women's choir, boy's choir, and maestro Claudio Abbado. The very last moment when Abbado finishes and pauses, was very touching. Now I'm a crazy fan of Mahler thanks to them and this quality blu-ray. I just hope all the previous concerts of Mahler music, including Boulez's Symphony No. 2 Resurrection, are released in blu-ray in the nearest future.

I was previously unfamiliar with this Symphony but this setting (Lucerne Festival) and this Blu Ray audio and video recording are certainly the best way to present it for the newcomer. The orchestra is immense yet they play as one and Abbado conducts it all seemingly from memory. The piece lasts about 98 minutes so that feat alone is remarkable. It will take me many more hearings to fully appreciate it. The accompanying booklet is pretty sparse on information so I recommend getting the Wikipedia article on this symphony. I was unable to count all the players to compare with the specified instruments in the Wikipedia article but, for the brass at least, there appear to be 9 horns (8 specified) four trumpets, etc. It's unusual to see TWO complete sets of timpani. All these players can produce a very strong, magnificient sound but the occasions where this happens are few, particularly in the last five movements. There are a lot of very, very soft passages. For these, the video helps because one can see that the player is doing something even if you have to then strain to hear it. The dynamic range of this release is probably the greatest I have ever encountered. Anyone who likes Mahler, I'm sure, will find this recording highly satisfactory.