Customer Reviews

Mahler: Symphony No. 5

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

While we all know too well how Bernstein's interpretation is considered definitive, and most of us have been "brought up" on it, I would have been just as happy to have first experienced Mahler's Fifth through this live Solti recording. If nothing else, I can seriously contend that Solti brings more life into the fifth movement than Bernstein did. That rollicking, effortless upward ascent, which Mahler apparently intends to be as breezy and exhilarating as a Tiepolo ceiling, really comes through here in a way that makes Bernstein's interpretation feel cold. That's a terribly important thing too, for without that sense of warmth and movement the Fifth Symphony can come across as somehow less transcendental than its siblings. Each Mahler symphony is its own unique world, of course, but the Fifth's climax (which Romain Rolland considered, at the time, the most successful piece of music Mahler had created thus far-- though of course Rolland wasn't exactly a Mahlerian!) should feel as vigorous and lyrical as "Prometheus Unbound" Act Four-- and here it does. Solti and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra are, in fact, stellar throughout. Beautiful.

Solti took the Mahler Fifth on the road with the Chicago Sym. for two decades--I heard them in Boston in the early Seventies and was flabbergasted at the orchestra's virtuosity. It was a thrilling show, and here we have it from Vienna in 1990. Solti is rarely given credit for growth. It's always assumed that he will press fiercely ahead, drive the tempo, and choose blatant showmanship over depth and emotion. But by 1990 he was no longer revving his engines at supersonic speed, and although an intense and fast-paced reading, this live concert Fifth keeps its thrills going while also letting us hear Mahler's score. (P.S.--Having heard both Solti and Barenboim live in the Fifth, I much prefer Solti.)

Solti's studio effort from 1970 has been scorned by Amazon reviewers for its garish spotlit sonics, and I agree. But here we get detailed, natural digital sound of very high quality. The brass are still prominent, but that was the CSO style under Solti. Anyway, the brass parts tend to lead the way in Mahler's score, so this is an appropriate vehicle for them--and they know it. The execution here by all the winds is stupendous.

I find no exceses in the first three movements, but in the Adagietto there is some controversy. The Gramophone reviewer feels that Solti reverses course and ladles on sentiment after giving us none up until this point. First of all, at 9:42 min., the reading is not slow or soupy. To my ears Solti shapes the melodic line much more than before, but this lovely song calls for it, and I can't fault him for finding a heartfelt reprieve from all the banrstorming. The finale reverts back to Solti's usual extroverted style, but again, it's nowhere near as driven as you might assume.

Overall I would rate this an excellent recording, wonderfully played and recorded. In addition, it's far more accurate than either Bernstein reading and has more inner life than the recent version from Berlin under Simon Rattle (EMI). Solti ended his Mahler recording career with a winner.

This recording of Mahler 5 is one of the best I have ever heard. The intesity from beginnig to end is one of the most impressive parts about this performace. The other is the CSO brass section. Being a brass player myself, there is no comparison. Its a thrill to hear the principal trumpet and horn players (Adolph Herseth and Dale Clevenger) play the pants off their parts. The rest of the CSO plays with their typical flair and power, with the dark strings adding a lot to the atmosphere of the Trauermarch. The only downside to this disc is the Adagietto. This movement sounds forced and not as heartfelt as some of the other great recordings. It also takes away from the overall drive of the symphony, which is promptly resumed during the rondo-finale. Overall, I would recomend this disc to every brass player and put it right up there with Bernstein's classic and Abbado's live performance with Berlin.

I purchased this recording recently in part because of the favorable reviews listed here. I was not disappointed. Over the years I have been ambivalent about Solti: his interpretations of standard repertoire are often exciting, but rarely nuanced and frequently relentless. His studio account of the Mahler fifth from the '70's (also with the CSO) has always struck me as tight-fisted and unsympathetic to Mahlerian irony. This newer live performance, vividly recorded in Vienna, is undeniably thrilling. The CSO, challenged by Solti from the first note to the last, provide some stunningly virtuosic playing (and a couple of ragged moments as well). They are clearly energized by the occasion, and play as if their lives depended on it. Solti's interpretation has deepened considerably since the earlier recording; the Scherzo, particularly, is both more uplifting and more atmospheric (with Mahler's ingenious contrapuntal textures superbly clarified). The first and second movements are appropriately gripping without any hint of vulgarity. The adagietto is leisurely but not cloying (with some gorgeous playing from the CSO strings), and in the finale Solti and his band really go for broke, leaving the listener somewhat exhausted in the end--but better that than a tepid response.

In sum, then, here is a Solti performance for those who have their doubts about him (or about the ability of the sometimes spiky CSO to provide sensuous allure). Solti recordings seem to be going for a song these days (both new and used--check Amazon's listings), and collectors who find this recording congenial might want to look up his Haydn London Symphony cycle (another of the conductor's better ventures), his Beethoven symphony cycle (much better than its reputation), his Schubert "Great" C Major (another thrilling, but also intelligent, performance), and his Handel *Messiah* (believe it or not, Solti did Baroque music particularly well--not for him limp rhythms and anemic textures). Perhaps it's time for a reconsideration of this much-maligned figure.

This is an excellent live recording from the Chicago Symphony, while they were on tour in Europe. Solti conducted this awesome performance of Mahler 5, and all of the cheers from the audience after the finale concludes seems to support that. The brass, in particular, really shines.

It's hard to imagine a live performance of Mahler's 5th getting much better than this. Not only is this vintage Chicago/Solti, but it settles an important score regarding Solti's complete Mahler cycle with the Chicago Symphony on the London/Decca label. If you read reviews of those performances, you often hear critics calling Solti unsympathic, cold, extroverted, or just plain relentless. But people forget that London/Decca had a very different recording concept back then--many microphones placed close to the musicians instead of using the entire concert hall. That prevents the sound from blending and reverberating before it's recorded, and the result is harsh and one-dimensional. In truth, Solti is one of the best Mahler conductors of the 20th century and the Chicago Symphony can play with a very warm and beautiful (but ALWAYS powerful) sound. This live performance gives you a clearer idea of their approach and a window through which you can experience the original recordings. Enjoy.

I bought the original LPs of this recording (which also included a selection from Songs of a Wayfarer, I believe) shortly after they were issued and I am always impressed by the passion of the reading. For me the recording sounds dangerous, as if the orchestra might derail; Georg Solti did like aggressive playing and this probably is a great example.

There are many excellent recordings of Gustav Mahler's Fifth Symphony and I have had several other recordings over the years, notable among them being Bruno Walters recording from the 1940s: this recording is one that I would not part with. Unfortunately, the Walter recording has such a dry sound that I don't play it very often but the conductor takes the Adagetto at the faster speed that Mahler preferred and shaves at least two minutes off of the usual tempo taken by the majority of conductors. In this Georg Solti does not differ, and the movement is well-played with great depth of feeling.

The recording has been nicely transferred for CD; the balance was very good on the LPs and is still marvelous. There is come slight distortion when the side drum is played in the great climaxes in the Scherzo, for example, but this hardly detracts from my enjoyment of the recording, and actually, for me, adds to the excitement. This recording is one to hear.

Solti's earlier and studio recording of Mahler's 5th, made in 1970, seems to attract two opposite reactions: there are those who love it, and those who reject it, the latter on account both of its "garish, overly bright sonics" and "Solti's tendency to relentlessly pressure the music forward instead of letting it breathe naturally" (to quote two of the more lukewarm to negative reviews under that version's entry, Mahler: Symphony No. 5). Those who dislike it tend to oppose it to this version, recorded live by the same performers, in Vienna, in November 1990. Being myself decidedly in the first camp (I find that, within its own interpretive option - brisk tempos, high voltage, maximum bite, which doesn't preclude moments of great atmosphere and not just in the Adagietto -, it is the best, and I love the way the Decca sonics spotlight so many details from low strings and the intricacies of brass that are covered in most other versions), I was curious to hear the more recent version, and find out if the differences in interpretation or sonics justified the diffference of treatment.

Yes, interpretively, Solti has evolved, to an extent. His first movement funeral march now conveys more a sense of burdened plight, where in 1970 it marched on, grim, assertive, dogged, ferocious almost. Signficantly, Solti now reaches the fast section in 5:17 (incidentally, this is the same as Boulez, Mahler: Symphony No. 5, and only slightly slower than Bernstein's first version, Mahler: Symphony No. 5), to his previous 4:52, and invests the "gehaltener" passages (1:05 and 2:52) as well as the last, nostalgia-filled section at 9:53, with more restraint and a beautifully soft atmosphere. What he has maintained is his perfect sense of architecture and organic unfolding, and his fast section is not rushed in the manner of Scherchen or Leinsdorf; in fact, despite his now slower opening section, he takes the fast one at exactly the same pace as before. It may come as a surprise that, overall, it is to Bernstein's first recording (New York 1963) that Solti now comes closest to, in overall timing (S 12:34, B 12:25) as well as section by section.

Sonically things have changed also, and the sonic pickup isn't as close-up as in 1970. I can easily understand why those who consider the 1970 sonics to be aggressive and garish (and, to an extent, I agree, although I see it as a positive value) would prefer the remake: it affords more comfortable listening. The downside is that the impact of all those orchestral details that jumped at your ear in 1970 is now somewhat dulled - although this is perhaps perceptible only on comparison.

Therefore, while excellent in its own right, the second movement doesn't have the bite and intensity of voltage as in 1970. Here too Solti has perceptibly mellowed down - his fast isn't as high-strung and hectic (it now takes him 1:21 to reach the first slow section - which is the tempo of Karajan, Mahler: Symphony No. 5 / Karajan, Berliner Philharmoniker, or Bernstein in Vienna, Mahler: Symphony No. 5 - to his 1:13 back then), his brass are more recessed and don't approach the bite and impact they had in 1970; try the return of the fast section at 3:32 and compare with the previous version at 3:17: the perspective may be more realistic, but 1970 was Mike Tyson's punches in your chin; 1990 is watching the match on TV, and that comment can be extended to all the similar passages. The notion of a "relentless" Solti even in 1970 was a far too simple one, and even then his slow sections developed great atmosphere and romantic sweep, and they still do in 1990, with even an added spaciousness and gentleness, although the string tone isn't as full as it was in the 1970 pick-up (2:44, Mahler's indications being "large bowing" and "G-string - big tone"), and there are now spots where, for sake of expressivity, Solti comes dangerously close to dragging (9:15, 9:58). Again, those who find Solti in 1970 too aggressive (and they certainly have cause to think so; Mike Tyson's punches in my chin are not something I personally wish to experience, other than sonically and metaphorically, where I can more easily identify myself to Tyson himself rather than to his sparring partner) are likely to prefer the new version. I personally think it is the essence of that movement to be aggressive.

Solti's tempos in the Scherzo remain very similar to those of 1970 - urgent like Walter (Mahler: Symphony No. 5) rather than leisurely like Bernstein -, but he is now more willing to relent, especially on the gracious little "nicht eilen" passages at 1:01 and 1:52. But again, while heard on his own Solti 1990 may sound convincing, on comparison with himself in 1970 you realize what a loss of impact the lesser sonic presence and Solti's slightly mellowed approach has entailed, especially in the furious moments ("wild" is an indication that recurs throughout the movement, especially on the strings fff eighth-note runs); typical is the passage starting at 3:48 in 1990, which Solti in 1970 (at 3:38) took very slightly faster, but enough to give it an added intensity, and the first climax which it leads to at 5:05 almost misfires in 1990, and comes nowhere near the scorching intensity of 1970 - no more Mike Tyson, but a napalm bomb (4:50). The same comments apply at 9:48, with a chubby timpani stroke introducing recessed and almost tensionless strings and brass, vs 9:52 in 1970, with potent timpani thwack, frenzied strings, piercing brass. The strings' greater presence in 1970 also gives more romantic sweep to the sweepingly romantic moments (try 1990's 7:17 vs 1970's 7:15). The coda at 16:08 is fine, but compared to the unleashed frenzy of 1970 (at 15:53), it sounds almost tame (all things being relative, of course). Again, those who don't like being scorched by napalm, even sonically and metaphorically, will prefer the newer version.

Solti's Adagietto remains extremely similar to the previous one - it's now a hair slower (but perceptibly only by the clock really), and if in the end it is 10" shorter it is because Solti presses the final measures more. Still, I find that the greater presence of both harp and strings in the 1970s version give it an added passionate warmth and glow. Also, in the live recording, audience is in general very quiet, but it is at the beginning of the Adagietto that you hear some coughs: not that they are very obtrusive, but this is precisely where you'd want NOT to hear them.

Again it is jawdropping how little Solti's approach to the finale has changed in 20 years, all the way to the smallest details, the way for instance he does NOT observe Mahler's indication to play the opening oboe and clarinet phrases respectively "hesitantly" and "somewhat slower", or the way he does NOT relent at the charming "grazioso" passage at 1:50. As in 1970 he goes for sheer, exuberant joy and lets nothing, no trace of sentimentalism, even mocked as it can be with Mahler, come in between. During the first half, his tempi are even the carbon copy of those of 1970, never straying by more than 2 seconds. He now relaxes a little more starting at the section at 7:19 (where Mahler writes three times "Nicht eilen" in the course of circa two minutes), where in 1970 he kept pressing on. I thought there was a unique thrill in the way he made it back then, and it also had the advantage that when the pressing music returns, after the Luftpause measure 525 (now at 9:26, then at 9:12), with its build-up to the triumphant ending, Solti hadn't lost the driving momentum, the enthusiasm, the exuberance. Not that it entirely lacks those qualities in 1990, but, comparatively, with the more distant sonics, it sounds again tamer.

The Chicagoans play stupendously well. Other than the fact that the great trumpetist Adolph Herseth (I am presuming it was he playing that night) starts his opening solo slightly under pitch, I've spotted no execution glitches - and I'm usually pretty good at that. Those who find Solti's 1970 sonics too garish and interpretation too hard-driven forward to this remake, and they are absolutely right: if you find Solti's 1970 sonics too garish and interpretation too hard-driven, this is the Solti Mahler 5th you want (I haven't heard his 1992 Zurich concert, Mahler: Symphony No. 5 ~ Solti). I've concluded my review of Solti's 1970 recording with the comment that it wasn't a "Mahler for the sissies", and I stand fast. But listeners with b... ulls' ears are directed to it. To me the value of this remake is mainly in its first movement, where the more deliberate approach and mellowing of conception has something to add to Solti's previous interpretation, rather than subtract.

You have to laugh at the cover art. Solti himself must have laughed dryly when he saw it and thought, "Why are these people making me walk on water?" Nevertheless, he must have known the recording was great work. As is the composition. God, what a marvel. Its many characters are captured perfectly and put forth so well in this performance. I strongly second all the praises in the prior reviews here. One of those reviews finds fault with the 4th movement adagietto, but I can find nothing to complain about in it. To the contrary, it is really wonderous. (And you could easily go wrong in that movement.)

Part of the technical excellence must be the digital recording, and, of course, the acoustics of the Musikverein. But every aspect has received the best treatment.

so as far as I know this is a live recording but you can't tell... all the great low end of the Chicago symphony is there and you can hear all the low brass *clears throat* Tuba:) but this is a wonderful recording though!!!! it's all chicago baby, yeah!! well worth the wait for shipment. I got it for christmas. I'm very happy with it. Highly recommended!!