Mahler: Complete Symphonies (Carnegie Hall Presents) [Box set, Original recording remastered]

Anna Reynolds (Artist), Christa Ludwig (Artist), Gwenyth Annear (Artist), Jennie Tourel (Artist), Martha Lipton (Artist), Norma Procter (Artist), Vladimir Ruzdjak (Artist), Gustav Mahler (Composer), Leonard Bernstein (Conductor), New York Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: New York Philharmonic Orchestra
• Conductor: Leonard Bernstein
• Composer: Gustav Mahler
• Audio CD (April 14, 2009)
• Number of Discs: 12
• Format: Box set, Original recording remastered
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B001TIQT98
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #90,567 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

For the May 2009 complete cycle of Mahler symphonies performed at Carnegie Hall, Daniel Barenboim and Pierre Boulez were invited to conduct. But it was Leonard Bernstein who famously first rescued Mahler's majestic symphonies from cult status and lifted them into the classical mainstream. These landmark recordings still stand as the definitive Mahler-symphony cycle; along with the complete Symphonies Nos. 1-9 ; Adagio from Symphony No. 10 , and Las Lied Von Der Erde , this 12-disc set brings to CD for the first time a long-unavailable 1967 audio documentary: Gustav Mahler Remembered: Reminiscences by Mahler's Associates and by Musicians Who Played Under His Baton . Two classical heroes honored in one sprawling set!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars indeed, they do sound better, May 14, 2009

By 

B. Guerrero "Mahler nutcase" - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mahler: Complete Symphonies (Carnegie Hall Presents) (Audio CD)

If you consider sound quality and orchestral execution to be important factors, I still feel that the Gary Bertini complete Mahler cycle on EMI is the best overall one (and it includes a terrific "das Lied von der Erde"). But there's also no argument that Bernstein's first Columbia Mahler cycle still remains an important milestone in the history of recorded classical music. The real question is this: are these DSD remasterings enough of an improvement to warrant dumping whichever earlier version is already in your collection, and making the upgrade to this even newer one. I would say that the answer lies upon just how satisfied, or unsatisfied you are with Sony's earlier efforts. As usual with a project as monumental as this, you take the bad with the good.

The good part is this: the dynamic range is a bigger now, and there's more "air" or space around the instruments themselves. But these new remasterings are also a tad "brighter" sounding; favoring the treble end of the audio spectrum. This is especially true in comparison to the Bernstein Century remasterings, which are generally more "smooth" sounding. For me, the biggest improvement comes with Bernstein's monumental LSO M8 - a recording that has been slighted-over for the last several decades for the more "slick" sounding Solti M8. I greatly prefer the Bernstein. This time, there's much less of the distortion that has always dogged the endings to both parts. But it's also really annoying that Sony has now elected to forgo giving us extra tracks in Part II of M8. They also chose to drop the Janet Baker/Israel Phil. "Kindertotenlieder" that began disc one on the Bernstein Century rendition of this. Instead, Sony has now placed the entire M8 on one disc, sans extra tracks. However, they could have placed the "KTL" before the first movement of M3, which occupies a single disc by itself. If it's already available, why not use it again?

Now that that's out of the way, another "good" feature is the inclusion of the personal recollections of Mahler that were a major selling point for the New York Phil's own Mahler symphony cycle box set (remember that?). Now I no longer have to feel guilty for no longer owning that particular box (I copied some of the better performances). Every good Mahlerian should own these recollections, I suppose. Another "goodie" is the inclusion of the Christa Ludwig/Israel Phil. "Das Lied von der Erde", which has never enjoyed a good mastering job previously. It sounds pretty good here. However, I am bummed that Bernstein's outstanding "Des Knaben Wunderhorn" has not been included in any of the big box sets. It's a wonderful "DKW", with both Christa Ludwig and Walter Berry in excellent voice. It should get included.

In summary, if you're a big fan of Bernstein's pioneering Mahler from the 1960s, you'll want to own these DSM remasterings. Just beware that the more realistic and accurate sound also means that momentary lapses in precision and intonation (tuning) are more noticeable now too. If that idea scares you, you might want to stick to the darker sounding Bernstein Century ones. But if you're also a big admirer of Bernstein's ultra-exciting Mahler 8 from London, get this!

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars OMG, the improved sound quality!!, August 3, 2009

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SwissDave (Switzerland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mahler: Complete Symphonies (Carnegie Hall Presents) (Audio CD)

I won't go into detail about the performances here: Bernstein's earlier Mahler cycle for Columbia Masterworks is legendary, and on the whole, may still be the finest available - all except Symphony No. 5 (and to a lesser extent No. 1 - the middle two movements in particular, plus I could never warm up to tenor René Kollo in this Das Lied von der Erde, even if Christa Ludwig's "Der Abschied" is truly worth hearing, here as much as elsewhere) here belong among my favourite interpretations/recordings ever. What's really shocking to me is how much the sound is improved compared to earlier CD issues (let alone the original LPs) - this happens only rarely, but in this case, the new remasterings (apparently from the original session tapes versus the standard production master) are really fuelling my appreciation for the interpretations and the music themselves (one simply hears so much more of everything, all of a sudden it all sounds so fresh and lively!). It's too bad Bernstein's Columbia Mahler isn't complete (the song cycles are missing, this is strictly Symphonies plus Das Lied von der Erde), but I'm happy to have bought this latest reincarnation (that is, again) - and I'm really convinced it must now be a first choice for Mahler novices, too.

Greetings from Switzerland, David.

30 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best sound is now quite a lot better, December 10, 2009

By 

Santa Fe Listener (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mahler: Complete Symphonies (Carnegie Hall Presents) (Audio CD)

The lead reviewer's preference for Gary Bertini over Leonard Bernstein is eccentric, to say the least, but I agree on technical grounds that this new issue is the best-sounding version of Bernstein's first Mahler cycle. A note from the engineer responsible for the remastering informs us that he went back to the original multi-channel master tapes. These were mixed on a "state-of-the-art, one--of-a-kind analog soundboard." The resulting mix was then digitally transferred to a single-bit steam for audiophile-grade quality in the CDs. None of this can be fully translated by me into ordinary ideas, but my ear can tell that some glaring sonic blemishes are gone.

I don't hear the brighter highs that the lead reviewer mentions, but the bass is now clean and distinct; there's no digital glare in the higher strings; the orchestra has more room to breathe. This is all to the good. Anyone who loves these performances can rest assured that rebuying them one more time is well worth it.

I am a devotee of Bernstein's Mahler. Indeed, it's my Mahler, the first I ever heard, along with Bruno Walter's. I bought the original 13-LP box set. As much as I loved the performances, the sound wasn't good. Even now, with advanced technological tweaks, the improved sound isn't as rich, dynamic, or complete as what Bernstein got from DG in the digital era when he returned to Mahler a second time. Too often the horns are backwardly placed; the string sound is thin at times. But one thing can be said -- we have come as close as possible, for now, to what the conductor and engineers heard in the control booth during the recording sessions. Good enough, and thanks.

Not all of these 12 CDs are well filled, but it's nice that Sony included the original bonus disc in which musicians who played under Mahler remember him. The last CD contains a performance of Das Lied von der Erde that is defective in Rene Kollo's unappealing singing and the lackluster abilities of the Israel Phil., but at least Bernstein himself and Christa Ludwig, in a signature role, are fine.