Customer Reviews

Mahler: Symphony No. 4 / Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen

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How many times have you listened to a recording and left saying "that was perfect". For me, this might be the only record where I was given the feeling that no one will ever be able to match this recording of this piece of music. My introduction to Mahler's 4th was a newer Telarc CD with Yoel Levi and the Atlanta Symphony. The soloist in this Telarc release interestingly is Frederica von Strade who is also the Mezzo-Soprano soloist on the Songs of a Wayfarer recording used as a filler on this CD. The Telarc recording has excellent sound, using the latest technology and benefits from a very good production. The sound is better then any you will find on say.. Deutche Grammophone. It was very surprising to me that this 1965 recording actually has better sound. There is a myth that somehow if a recording says DDD on it, it will sound better then a recording that says ADD on it. The reality is that some digital recordings sound better then analogue and some analogue recordings sound better then newer digital recordings. It all seems to be in the production, and here the production is perfect.

It is very hard for me to describe different elements of Szell's interpretation here, because it seems like there is none. What the listener ends up hearing IS Mahler's 4th Symphony. The legendary Cleveland Orchestra seems to blend together perfectly in a mix of precision and beauty. Judith Raskin again is the perfect voice for the finale conveying a very simple, yet overwhelming beauty bringing to a close the greatest recording of this piece, and maybe the closest to absolute perfection I've ever heard on disc. This is a no brainer.

Even if you are only slighly intersted in Mahler or you areready to enter his universe from more earthly liftoffs such asSymphony No. 4 here or No. 1 ("Titan") or you call yourself the Total Mahlerian and can name every one of Alma's lovers, then you really owe yourself the pleasure of listening to one of the finest No. 4's ever recorded, and probably the BEST EVER AND OF ALL-TIME had it been recorded digitally. Szell and the Clevelanders run with this from the opening bar, and if you want to go along for the ride, they'll be very happy to take you there. No Bruno Walter schmaltz, no Otto Klemperer detachment, no Leonard Bernstein acrobatics (and I love all three of those guys BTW), just pure Mahler. Get the Clevelanders' recording of Symphony No. 6 "Tragic", too. It has some cuts, nothing too major. The tapes, also nice with a minimum of tape hiss. These will be mentioned in articles about recorded Mahler symphonies long after everyone living at the moment you are reading this is gone. Why should you be deprived of this any longer? END

Here are the flaws:

1. Szell slows down too much at "Fliessend, aber ohne Hast" in I (the beginning of the brief A major passage, where the four flutes enter in unison, Rehearsal 10 in Dover).

2. The solo violinist is slightly out of tune several bars before Rehearsal 4 in III.

That's it. And these two "flaws" can be easily ignored. Simply put, this recording is a knock-out. You can't ask for better playing, the soloist is great, and the sound is clear yet full of warmth. Moreover, Szell's conducting is tough to beat. Indeed, I have yet to hear better interpretation live or on disc. I is a delight - Szell and the Clevelanders were tops when it came to Mozart and Haydn, and they put their expertise in the two Viennese classicists to good use here. II and IV brim with life and personality. III is astonishingly rich, serene, and relaxed (except for the passages which demand tension, to which the performers bring just the right amount). Anybody who thinks Szell was a cold conductor and that his Cleveland Orchestra was incapable of matching the great European orchestras in warmth should hear this.

Next to this performance, other great recordings are wanting. My second favorite, Previn, has some awkward moments and Elly Ameling is not at her best. Haitink is a little stiff compared to Szell, Horenstein rather stilted, Klemperer misconeives III and has a miscast soprano, Kletzki is a little dry, and Reiner's III cannot compete with Szell's.

The Songs of a Wayfarer are decently done, but I do prefer a baritone (especially Hermann Prey).

At this price, why would you even think of not buying this recording? GET IT! Even if you already own ten other Mahler Fourths.

Szell was a great conductor ranging from Mozart to Mahler always giving great interpretations. His 4th is a grammophone classic and is highly acclaimed by each and every critique written on it.
The 4th is the "mellower" of all Mahler's symphonies and with Szell on the pontium you can feel it. Raskin is an excellent soprano for the Sehr Behaglich although for this part I would still go with Schwarzkopf's account (Emi Classics with Otto Klemperer). This CD is not only giving the best account of the Fourth but also an excellent account of the Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen with Frederica Von Stade and Andrew Davis. The least I can say for it, is that it can easily stand with the very best accounts available today though it can not match the Fischer-Dieskau account with Furtwangler on Orfeo.

Once again we have Szell and Cleveland at the height of their powers digging into what for them would be a rare performance of the Mahler repetoire. The opening movement as a fine sense of "gemutlekeit" and a balance of textures which is definitely PERFECT. Rarely has any orchestra been so ably caught sonically and we are in for a real treat. As a counter measure the Kubelik is very similar in the way the music is allowed to flow as well. I really reccommend this disc simply becuase of the impeccable phrasing and well nigh perfect intonation in the different choirs.

As to the vocal solist Raskin does a commendable job and has some of the boyish quality really needed! She was tremdously good and one wonders where she is these days! This is a superb disc for the people out there who want a non fussy interpretation which really sticks close to the score.

Keep your Klemperer discs as well...Szell and Kemperer were much more alike than one would wish to think!

I too have been reluctant to buy many ADD recordings but this is the best remaster I have heard and the performance is of "time capsule" quality. I like the Bernstein DG recordings for symphonies 1,2,3 and 5,6 and 7, but I'm thankful I found this Mahler 4th. The Cleveland Orchestra is outstanding. I don't know where this recording places in Szells illustrious career, but it's one I wouldn't want to be without.

This CD is an interesting pairing of performances - different orchestras, different conductors, different soloists. The one very important constant is the quality of the performances of these two Mahler works.

George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra preserved a performance of Mahler's light-filled Symphony No. 4 that still is a difficult interpretation to match. The reading is light, airy, delicate and absolutely gorgeous in sound. Szell finds exactly the right tempi for each movement, even for the last movement that most conductors rush. And Judith Raskin's 'Das himmlische Leben' is the epitome of innocence of a child's vision of the heavenly life.

For this listener the true jewel of the recording is Frederica Von Stade's performance of the 'Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen' with the fine collaboration of Andrew Davis and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. It is a matter of taste as to whether the mezzo or the baritone version is preferred, but with this illuminating interpretation by Von Stade the scales tip toward the mezzo soprano sound. Hers is a rich, glowing tone with impeccable enunciation of text. Both of these performances rank among the finest available on recordings. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, October 05

I agree completely with Jonathan Sterns in his remarks. Szell's mastery of the Viennese classics transfers superbly to Mahler. I am of the belief that one can perform Mahler like Mozart, but not Mozart like Mahler. Szell's crystalline approach yields enormous dividends in the orchestral texture, bringing to life details usually obscured, though without any sacrifice made in expressivity. The orchestra is superb in their playing, with a leaner tone than many are used to in Mahler, yet bringing the orchestration to life in a way many more "traditional" recordings do not. The unanimity of response to Szell and ensemble are stunning, without equal. If limited to one 4th, this should be the one.

After hearing a live performance of Mahler's Fourth Symphony by the National Symphony Orchestra with Christopher Eschenbach conducting and Dawn Upshaw as the soprano soloist, I decided to revisit George Szell's classic recording of the symphony with the Cleveland Orchestra and the gifted American soprano Judith Raskin (1928 -- 1984). The year 2011 is the 100th anniversary of Mahler's death (1860 1911), and a great deal of his music will likely be heard or recorded this year.

Anne Midgette, the Washington Post reviewer, described Eschenbach's reading of the Fourth as "Haydenesque". She wrote aptly that Eschenbach "led with an informality and directness that made this big symphony seem downright intimate." Her description would not entirely fit Szell's reading of the symphony in this 1965 recording. Szell's Mahler is taut and carefully controlled rather than informal. And his reading is probably too serious to merit the appellation "Haydenesque".

The differences between the two readings show that there are many ways of approaching a complex musical work. Szell's reading, alas, appears to be no longer in print, but it remains accessible. From my quick survey, there appear to be more readers reviews here on Amazon of this recording than of any other version of the Fourth, including these recordings still in print. Amazon readers can be treated to a variety of informed perspectives of this much-recorded and loved symphony.

Szell's recording is carefully conceived and executed in terms of phrasing, dynamics, and voicing of the many instruments. Even with the 1965 recording, the varied musical voices, including the winds and the divided strings, could be heard and readily distinguished. Szell's reading is both lyrical and thoughtful. He does not try to sentimentalize the score -- which in places could invite sentimentality -- or indulge in theatrics. The praises that most listeners give this recording seem to me deserved. Listeners who deeply love and know Mahler may have additional favorites.

The opening movement with its sleigh-bell introduction is taken at a leisurely pace which allows the score to breathe. Szell gradually works to a stunning peroration before the music fades away in a quiet close. The second movement features a macbre passage on a solo violin tuned a step higher than customary (this was made clearer in the live performance I heard.) Szell's perhaps underemphasizes the sardonic character of the movement in favor of the flowing, reflective passage with which it concludes. The lengthy third movement is the heart of the Fourth. Szell captures its reflective stillness punctuated by moments of loneliness and anguish. And it was a joy to be reminded of Judith Raskin who follows Mahler's directions in the poem of a young child describing a rather earthly heaven with which the symphony concludes: "A singing voice with a gay, childlike sound, but entirely free from parody."

The CD also includes Mahler's short orchestral song-cycle "Songs of a Wayfarer" with the London Philharmonic conducted by Andrew Davis. Mezzo-Soprano Frederica Von Stade sings these sad songs of lost love in a burnished, deep voice. This cycle is heavily reminiscent of Schubert's Winterreise and was originally composed for piano and voice. Mahler himself wrote the texts which seem to derive from an unhappy relationship of the composer. This cycle is an excellent companion to the Fourth and a good introduction to Mahler's songs for orchestra.

Listeners wanting to get to know Mahler's Fourth through a still leading recording will enjoy Szell. Admirers of the score and the composer then may wish to hear other versions and other symphonies.

Robin Friedman

I first listend to Mahler's 4th on radio broadcasting performed by Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Chailly. That was when I decided to explore Mahler's music. Probably the 4th symphony is the one that most appeals to people who are not interested in Mahler's music. I really like it. (Another favorite among Mahler's works is the 2nd symphony.)

I became ineterested in this CD because many people suggest this one is among the most standard and most favored recordings of Mahler's 4th. It must be true. Music naturally flows. Soprano singing in the 4th movement is rich. I tried Bernstein's 4th with Concertgebouw Orchestra from DG as well, but the boy soprano in the 4th movement did not appeal to me at all.

There is nothing to complain about the sound quality. Even better than Bernstein from DG, which is DDD.