Customer Reviews

Mahler: Symphony No. 5

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

 

 

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.

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.

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'.

Funny how people can disagree -- I thought the Adagietto was the only "disappointment" with this recording (so "only" 4 stars). A little lacking in tension, a little too relaxed and easygoing.

Still, it's the most beautifully played, paced and recorded fifth movement I've heard. Incredible detail; if you've got a high-end stereo you'll probably reach for this recording to show off your stuff. The imaging, spaciousness, presence and dynamic range leave little to be desired. It's worth buying to hear the arrival of the chorale after a perfect buildup. The nobly descending trombone line and yelping horns, the timpani resonating ten feet beneath the floor, and the melting, devotional way the brass players sing the chorale -- goosebump material. The *huge* burst of the chorale tune's second phrase, the most effective I've ever heard on CD. It wants to take the roof off my house each time I play it. The breakneck final bars will take your breath away, again with a one-two punch of splendid detail and overwhelming power.

BTW, mvts. 1-3 are equally satisfying...A memorable scherzo, just right in the soft moments, with the wonderful acoustic atmosphere of the Concertgebouw clearly captured. You can sense Chailly really working to sustain tension in mvt. 2, where the accents and dynamic contrasts are played to the hilt. The funeral march is at exactly the right tempo, and rightly sounds here like the single most "Mahlerian" movement of all.

The Amsterdam Concertgebouw is one of the few orchestras (Vienna also) still to enjoy a sound all their own. In a world becoming increasingly homogeneous, this is something to treasure.

Populatiry can be a double-edged sword when it comes to classical music: Orff's "Carmina Burana", Mozart's 21st Piano Concerto, Beethoven's "Pastoral Symphony" or "Moonlight Sonata" - all these suffer from a particularly popular movement, which often takes on a life of its own on so-called "Popular Classics" compilations. This in turn means that the work it originates from is often not listened to in its entirety. The other edge of the sword is that the popularity might indeed inspire listeners to explore the originating work. Who can say which side wins?

Mahler's Fifth Symphony contains such a movement in the rightly famous "Adagietto", which opens Part 3 of the work. Surely one of the most sublime noises to eminate from his or indeed any composer's pen, it has been used as the theme of commercials ranging anywhere from soap to traveling. It is therefore very tempting to listen to it on its own. Purportedly offered by Mahler as a declaration of love to his future wife Alma, one could even argue that it functions very nicely as an entity. Yet the listener will be deprived of an infintely more thrilling experience, which is the work as a whole.

Forming what most musicologists consider a watershed in the composer's output (although this point is interestingly and entertaingly argued in the booklet of this recording) it is nevertheless a work which is easily listenable. Built around a passionate central Scherzo (its longest movement), it features two sets of coupled movements on either side, each borrowing thematically from the other. Although supposedly not programmatic, it opens which a Funeral March, which immediately suggests that some programmatic development should take place. The final movement can therefore easily be seen as "redemptive", much like the programme for the Second Symphony. The thematic material, though typically Mahlerian (wonderful "shrieks of pain" from the woodwinds and triumphant blasts from the brass), is perhaps more easily accesssible than most of the other symphonies.

As far as this recording goes, it is ever so tempting to make forays into superlatives. Chailly and his Concertgebouw Orchestra present yet another arresting and insightful performance. Chailly has the knack of picking out themes and their counterpoints and delivering them with deceptive clarity. The orchestration sounds transparent, the details lovingly caught and presented in a seemingly straightforward way. It allows one to draw the whole together almost without thinking: as themes recur, they are instantly placed in their original context and the feelings they evoke juxtaposed to the musical situation which has subsequently developed. It is an intellectual excersize which requires very little effort and is therefore even more rewarding! The recorded sound is again astonishing in its clarity and reproduces very closely the aural effect of hearing the work live in the Concertgebouw.

I cannot let this go without commenting on the "Adagietto", though: it is rendered with such purity and grace as to leave the listener literally breathless and enthralled. I have seldom been so transported by any recording and cannot recommend it highly enough.

The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra first won me over during a live performance of Mahler 6 in September of last year. I was blown away by the nuanced playing and expressive musicality of each and every orchestra member.

This recording of the fifth is amazing. The balance is absolutely terrific - I can hear subtle details that elude me in every other recording. This is no doubt from the phenomenal accoustics of the Concertgebouw (if you ever get a chance - go!).

This is by far the most musical rendition of Mahler 5 that I've heard. It feels more like listening to chamber musicians than a giant orchestra. You can tell that each and every member of this orchestra is playing his/her heart out. The musicianship embodied in this recording is second to none.

To the reviewer who complained about the "loose" playing, I think you have to understand that there is a different emphasis in European orchestras, especially this one. Sure, there are more technically-exact renderings, but technical perfection often seems to compromise musical expression (e.g. the Mehta/NY Phil recording).

I'll take purity of emotion and overall musicality over rigid technical precision any day. So what if the trombone entrance wasn't exactly perfect? It's really insignificant in the overall musical expression of the work. With such a wonderfully expressive reading, I readily forgive an occasional technical fault! I believe it even adds an endearing human quality to the performance.

It's interesting to watch these guys play, compared to most American orchestras. When I saw them, all of the players were visibly affected by the music. They are engaged in it on an emotional level I've rarely seen in an American orchestra. This is what really comes through for me in this recording, and what makes it the best I've heard so far. Highly recommended!

I was present during the recordind sessions in amsterdam. Never before the traditionally silky strings of the concertgebouw had sounded so magnificent. Tempos were broad, yet rythm was kept tightly in control. Huge dynamics and beautiful brass sound particularly from the horn session. The famous "Adagietto" for strings and harp saw the italian director at his best. Great pleasure from this CD, not to say anything about the recording in itself, in a class of its own. Marco (Further comments in Audio Review, Italy's leading hifi and music magazine)

This performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 5 performed by the Royal Concergebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam under the direction of Riccardo Chailly will blow you away! The sound is just amazing. The brass blares, the strings soar and the percussion is nothing less than awesome! I have this symphony on DVD with Claudio Abbado conducting the Lucerne Festival Orchestra and also on CD with Abbado and the Berlin Philharmonic. Abbado might be more in tune with Mahler, but Chailly has the better recording and better sounding ensemble. I cannot get over how amazing the sound is; a perfect recording to show of your sound system!

This recording is highly reccommendable and well worth your money!

I've bought and listened many Mahler's Fiths in the last years: Bernstein I, II & III (Sony & DG), Haintink I & II (Philips), Kubelik (DG), Barbirolli (EMI), Rattle (EMI), Sinopoli (EMI), Abbado I & II (DG), Barenboim I (Teldec & TDK), Solti (Decca)... but I can say this is the better I know in many senses.

Of course, Chailly's version doesn't have all the possible ways of the symphony, but it embraces a lot of the work's possibilities. From the technical point of view the Concertgebouworkest play in a level that is quite impossible to repeat, full of musicality and with a clarity of soloists, orchestral groups, tempos, dynamics... outstanding, all coordinated under Chailly's baton. To hear the clarity of the orchestral playing with the general score in your hands is really a probe about how far has gone Riccardo Chailly in the art of conducting and in the deep relation with this orchestra, something we can listen in his next recordings of the cycle, specially symphonies 3rd or 9th. Chailly never losses the clarity of the music meaning, going behind the score and bringing out all the feelings you can imagine in this 5th. He sings really outstanding movements, like the second, third or fourth, an Adagietto no melancholic and yes full of love, as great love song to Alma, after the very hard and vehement first movements. The way the Concertgebouw's strings plays is amazing.

This 5th is recorded with a different technology than the more recent 3rd or 9th, but it sounds outstanding, full of presence, bright, well balanced, without any noises... It's not so incredible clear like the new SACD recordings in the last two symphonies of the cycle, but on the other hand, it's a bit more aggressive and very enjoyable.

A master version of one of my favourite symphonies. I hard believe that a better version, in many senses could be recorded in many years, it could be with Berlin & Chailly, but I don't know why this pair it's quite impossible, and I'm sure it could be the most incredible association in orchestral music today.

A must have for beginners in Mahler's world and for those who aspire to perfection in this work.

This recording is worth owning for the opening fanfare alone. Crank up the volume and prepare to be shaken to your bones. From that point onward,the playing and interpretation remain superb. The adagietto, as mentioned by an earlier reviewer, is truly sublime; Chailly's pace seems just right. Even if you own other recordings of the fifth, you won't regret adding this one to your collection.