Mahler: The Symphonies [Box Set] [Box set]

Peter Mattei (Performer), Gustav Mahler (Composer), Riccardo Chailly (Conductor), Petra Lang (Performer), Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (Orchestra), Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra), Melanie Diener (Performer), Barbara Bonney (Performer), Ruth Ziesak (Performer), Anne Schwanewilms (Performer), Jane Eaglin (Performer), Ben Heppner (Performer), Brian Heppner (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Peter Mattei, Petra Lang, Melanie Diener, Barbara Bonney, Ruth Ziesak, et al.
• Orchestra: Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra
• Conductor: Riccardo Chailly
• Composer: Gustav Mahler
• Audio CD (July 12, 2005)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 12
• Format: Box set
• 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: Decca
• ASIN: B00092ZALS
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #128,027 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE Cycle, October 13, 2005

By 

Paco Yáñez (Santiago de Compostela) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mahler: The Symphonies [Box Set] (Audio CD)

THE Cycle!!!

After several years recording this project, which began with the 10th Symphony performed by the RSO Berlin; Riccardo Chailly has finally closed this wonderful travel through the most amazing and exciting cycle of symphonies ever written, of course, according to my opinion, and I really love those by Beethoven, Brahms, Schumann, Bruckner, Shostakovich...

Why is the performing of this cycle so special? In my opinion because of the great technical execution of every symphony, the musicality of Chailly's conducting and the wonderful and smooth playing of the Concertgebouworkest, an orchestra with a very long tradition in this scores, just from the time when Mahler began his work with this ensemble and with the head conductor of that time, Willem Mengelberg, whose quotations the own Chailly follows in many cases as a echo and advise from the historical performances. In a just released DVD in the label Juxtapositions, we can see how Chailly works following this quotations and this achieved knowledge.

In my opinion many of the symphonies here recorded are the most recommended versions between many other recordings nowadays available. Of course Mahler's symphonies are great and complex enough to admit more than one version and I could not love so much Mahler world if I don't have, together with Chailly, those versions by Bernstein, Klemperer, Abbado, Solti, Giulini, Szell, Furtwangler, Maazel, etc, etc, etc.

I have to mention specially symphonies No.1, 4, 5, 7, 9 & 10. Which are my favourites in this cycle; all of them with the same criteria, the one of perfect technical execution and lovely musicality. Thinking about the beginning of the full Mahler's world in the First Symphony, so well realized by Chailly and the Concertgebouw, emerging from the silence, in the way of a real "creation" of the symphonic world makes me recommend all from the beginning to the end, a final stage wonderful realized after this long journey, in a 9th Symphony directly connected with the next stages in the music evolution; I'm thinking about Schönberg or Berg, with his atonalities and dissonances so great viewed by Mahler only a few years before.

2nd & 3rd Symphonies are really wonderfully played, technically amazing if you follow an score, for example, but in some cases I miss some religiosity in the second and some charm and hot in the last movement of Third Symphony (anyway, I don't know any other version so great performed like this for this score).

The 6th is the first recording with the dutch orchestra and I think Chailly could make it better nowadays, for this symphony, with a second and third movements oustandings, I prefer Bernstein (DG). The 8th has some problems with the chorus, not so good like those in the versions of Solti and Bernstein, but the beginning of the second part is outstanding in Chailly's hands, very clear, very musical and quite chamber music.

The recordings are generally very, very good, specially the 3rd and the 9th, which are released too in SACD, this recordings are outstandings, which a very natural and present sound of all the orchestral sections.

So, if you're thinking about a Mahler cycle don't doubt about this, you'll make not mistake; one of the better, most musical, perfect done and modern Mahlers avaliables.

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars First-rate Mahler, and a tremendous bargain!, July 17, 2006

By 

cmk3001 "classical music kid" (Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mahler: The Symphonies [Box Set] (Audio CD)

This is as fine a Mahler box available today. First off, you have the magnificent Royal Concertgebouw, as fine an orchestra in the world today, which happens to have a great tradition of Mahler on disc, going back to Mengelberg's 4th recorded in the 30's. Throughout every single performance, they are consistently world class, responding idiomatically to Mahler's unique soundworld. In the 10th, Chailly conducts the Berlin Radio symphony and their playing equals that of the Concertgebouw's. Chailly's interpretations may lack the hysteria of Bernstein's DG Cycle, or the sheer orchestral fireworks from Solti or Tennstedt, but I found Chailly's Mahler to be consistently thoughtful and musically intelligent, more so than his competition. While some performances are better than others, his interpretive thoughts are never less than good. There's only one minor quibble I can think of. No. 2 has some issues in sound, in that it's somewhat over-reverberant, sometimes obscuring detail. But in terms of performance, it receives a fine reading from Chailly. Aside from no. 2, Decca's digital recordings are all of demonstration quality, rich yet detailed. Great Mahler cycles under 100 bucks don't exactly grow on trees, the great ones being Bertini, Bernstein I and Kubelik. This one belongs in that distinguished company. I could go into strenuous detail about each individual performance, but I'll save you the time. Just get this set and hear for yourself! Add together the superb Royal Concertgebouw, Chailly's fine interpretations, first class DDD recordings and a price of about 8 bucks a disc, and this box is just about unbeatable. Buy buy buy!

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Highly professional, hardly cataclysmic, March 15, 2006

By 

Serpentor (Groesbeek, Netherlands) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mahler: The Symphonies [Box Set] (Audio CD)

This set doesn't reach the same level of sheer audacity heard in the Solti, Bernstein or even Kubelik renditions of Mahler's beloved orchestral works, but, needless to say, the Concertgebouw Orchestra doesn't disappoint easily in this repertoire. And for Chailly, who conducted the band for almost two decades, they really are in top notch form. Orchestral execution is very good, sometimes plain marvellous, and the overall sound is nothing short of spectacular.

Then, what is this set short of? It's a question that is not answered easily. Mahler's works require not only a conductor and a band willing to explore and execute several levels of musical greatness, there also has to be the urge to bring out every drop of emotion, symbolism, love, life, death, prayer, aching nostalgia and sometimes just plain desperation. The likes of Bernstein, Gielen and Solti certainly make the best of these important elements, albeit, sometimes, at the cost of orchestral flubs or having to bear the blame for being too 'over-indulgent'.

Well, at least the last qualification doesn't apply to Chailly. His views on Mahler are more cultured, detailed and above all, musical. He let's the music speak for itself without ever crossing the border. This pays good dividends in the most neutral of all Mahler symphonies, the first, and the highly colourfull Third gets what is probably one of the three finest performances ever recorded on disc. The Fifth, although superbly played and recorded, might just lack a certain amount of emotional thrust to really let off, but the Sixth with it's unusually slow first movement comes across very satisfactory without ever being emotionally detached. The Eigth is another highlight in this set with superb vocal contributions as is the Ninth that absolutely belongs at the peak of a high mountain of outstanding Mahler Ninth's. So far, this set is nothing short of fabulous, especially with the equally excellent rendition of Cooke's reconstruction of Mahler 10.

Unfortunately, Chailly's thoughtful and sober approach leaves something to be desired in the symphonies that require just a tad more than just fabulous orchestral playing to make the music a real knock-out. The Second symphony lacks a required amount of overall tension and deliverance at the very end and the Fourth symphony simply sounds weird with a first movement that is stiff on the rubato, but the singing of Barbara Bonney is fantastic. The Seventh could not have made a bigger difference with Bernstein's neurotic all-or-nothing approach. Here Chailly chooses to accentuate elements that really show this work's influence on the Second Viennese School very effective, but as a result is sadly underplaying the finale with brass extremely timid.

To sum up, this may not be the most satisfactory complete Mahler set around, but it surely is one of the best played thanks to an orchestra with a long-standing tradition in Mahler and a conductor who really has put some thought on the music. Certainly worth having, even though you may prefer other conductors/performers in this music.