Mahler: Symphony No. 5

Gustav Mahler (Composer), Riccardo Chailly (Conductor), Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
• Conductor: Riccardo Chailly
• Composer: Gustav Mahler
• Audio CD (February 10, 1998)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Decca
• ASIN: B0000042I7
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #66,307 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the greatest Mahler Fifths ever, June 30, 2004

By 

Bruce Hodges (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mahler: Symphony No. 5 (Audio CD)

In recent years, it seems that every conductor wants to prove his mettle by tackling one or more Mahler symphonies, and the Fifth is definitely in the "Needs Expert Guidance" category. If nothing else, the piece (like much of Mahler) is just too difficult for some ensembles to tackle. Riccardo Chailly has been chalking up a complete Mahler cycle over the past decade, with impressive results, and this recording, from the mid-1990's, is one of the finest in the whole series. If Chailly's interpretation is sunnier than most, this symphony lends itself to a more optimistic outlook. It begins with one of the most famous trumpet calls in symphonic literature, a sober but glorious solo that catches a listener's ear immediately when done well -- and here it is done *very* well.

The rest of the recording is just sensational, with this terrific orchestra negotiating Mahler's extreme demands with a casual virtuosity that I find irresistible. If interpretively speaking, some find Chailly on the "non-neurotic" side, I can't disagree, but then, there are many ways to play this symphony (as well as all the others). Chailly might be faulted for erring on the side of presenting the Fifth as an orchestral showpiece, but to be fair, it *is* one! The famous "Adagietto" is done in an admirably straightforward way, letting the sentiment speak for itself without too much embellishment. If, for example, you like Bernstein's over-emotional reading of this (and I like his, too), you may not warm up to Chailly's somewhat cooler, more flowing version. But again, the emotion is in the score, and it's not necessary to "add" or "find" more -- it's all in there.

The last movement is just a knockout, in terms of the playing and sound quality. From the gorgeous strings, to the ringing brasses, to the liquid woodwinds, to the Concertgebouw's fabulous percussion section -- everyone appears to be having a great time with this piece. In sheer sonic terms, this recording is easily one of the most spectacular you could ask for. Decca has captured every nuance of this performance, and the clarity and sheen of tone are just astonishing. Certainly those with high-end sound systems will surely replay the final few minutes again and again.

Again, Chailly's somewhat "neutral" reading of this may not satisfy those looking for the heights of angst, but nevertheless, this disc satisfies in a way that few do.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Refreshing Mahler, February 23, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Mahler: Symphony No. 5 (Audio CD)

Chailly's Mahler Fifth is the perfect antidote to those versions which beat this work black and blue. This reading avoids blatancy yet does not rob the work of its emotional depth. To a man, the orchestra is responsive to Chailly's approach. I doubt that there is a more beautifully played recording of the Fifth. The big solos positively glow. The first trombonist, using a degree of vibrato, brings a singing quality to his solos, as do the trumpet and horn soloists. The Adagietto goes beautifully. But then, so do all the other movements. The recording itself is demonstration-worthy. This recording makes other versions sound hectoring by comparison.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Deeply concentrated, mellifluous, powerful., March 1, 2006

By 

Pater Ecstaticus (Norway) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mahler: Symphony No. 5 (Audio CD)

The adventure begins with one of the grandest, most gorgeously played fanfares ever recorded, immediately lifting our enthousiasm and our expectations for what is to come. The orchestral playing in general is both very powerful and at the same time with an air of confidence, almost conveying a kind of 'relaxedness' which is undoubtedly also partly the result of this orchestra's complete familiarity with this music. Maestro Chailly to my ears makes this music sound as gloriously grand and soaring - helped by the magnificently mellifluous sound of the Concertgebouworkest - as possible. The music washes over the listener like glittering but transparent waves of sound. (Helped no doubt by the nicely blending, wide acoustics of the Grote Zaal of the Concertgebouw.) Chailly, to my idea, really gets under the skin of Mahler here (as elsewhere in his Mahler cycle), without ever attracting too much attention to the music-making itself. The interpretation and the music-making is so sublimely well thought-out and so mellifluous, that when listening to it, at times one's attention is lifted beyond the playing itself and one is transported to the realms of emotions and imagination that the music so powerfully conveys. (This is one of the reasons why most of the time I don't like going to concerts as much as listening to a recording, where one can devote all of one's attention completely, and without any distractions, to the music itself ...)

Riccardo Chailly's approach is so very different from, say, Benjamin Zander's (with his acute attention to all of the finer colors and inflections), but I could now not do without both of their great 'Mahler Fifths'.