Mahler: Symphony No. 6 - Tragic

Gustav Mahler (Composer), Leonard Bernstein (Conductor), New York Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: New York Philharmonic Orchestra
• Conductor: Leonard Bernstein
• Composer: Gustav Mahler
• Audio CD (March 31, 1998)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0000062D4
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #38,562 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #19 in Music > Classical > Historical Periods > Romantic (c.1820-1910) > General
  • #32 in Music > Classical > Historical Periods > Romantic (c.1820-1910) > General AAS

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the finest Mahler Sixths., April 23, 2004

By 

Jeffrey Lee (Asheville area, NC USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mahler: Symphony No. 6 - Tragic (Audio CD)

I sometimes think one would have to be an athlete to maintain the level of energy expended here by Bernstein in his often driving yet still sensitive account of the great Mahler Sixth. To cap it off, there is an absolutely jarring "hammer" crash at the close, though there is disagreement in regard to how powerful that final crushing blow should sound. Mahler himself eventually eliminated it altogether. Still, Bernstein includes it here, as have some others. Anyhow, both the searing and sensitive aspects of Bernstein's vision are immediately apparent. He is intense and capably catastrophic. His and Mahler's multifaceted development of the opening theme is colorful and vivid. There are also some memorable touches, including an eerie, dream-like presentation of the distant cowbells, followed soon thereafter by a poignant expression for violin. My only criticism applies to the second movement, where in some of the march-like trio sections, Bernstein is a little too deliberate in his shaping of the musical line. Here and elsewhere, however, he is excellent at portraying the darker side. In the third movement he very sensitively captures Mahler's sentimentality and bittersweetness. In contrast to Tennstedt, who also renders a very fine account, Bernstein (and perhaps the recording engineers) focus greater attention on the strings relative to the brass. This helps to impart a more musically attractive quality overall to his recording. I feel Bernstein's Mahler Sixth is one of the best renditions of his earlier cycle and one of the classic versions overall of this magnificent work.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Which Bernstein Mahler Sixth to choose?, October 31, 2005

By 

Santa Fe Listener (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mahler: Symphony No. 6 - Tragic (Audio CD)

Despite the shibboleth that Bernstein radically changed as a conductor in his old age, many of his Mahler interpretations stayed basically the same between the first cycle from NY in the Sixties and the one twenty years later from Europe. That's not the case here, however. There are very big differences between his 1967 reading--a bargain on a single mid-price Sony CD--and his 1988 Vienna version for DG, on two full-priced discs with the Kindertotenlieder as filler.

Sound: The NY Phil. is caught in totally clear sonics from Avery Fisher Hall. Inner detail is nicely captured, and the orchestral balance is natural. But we are in a different league with DG's digital recording from a live performance in Vienna's Musikverein, where the sonics have incredible urgency and impact.

Orchestra: The NY Phil. plays beautifully (although calling them the world's Mahler orchestra, as the Amazon reviewer does, is silly). Yet the Vienna Phil., even in a live setting, play with incomparable accuracy, power, sweetness, and style.

Interpretation: Bernstein in NY is fast enough in the first movement to be called brisk, which leaves no breathing room for the immense inner detail Mahler provides. Bernstein slows down by two min. in Vienna, which is all to the good. He also slows down by two min. in the Schrezo and the Andante--played in that order. They are also more expressive given a bit more leisure. But it's the last movement, which went from being one of the fastest on CD at 28 min. to the absolute slowest at 33 min., where the greatest improvement occurs. Here Bernstein creates a complete wowrld, full of magical color and haunting details. It becomes almost a symphony in itself--no music lover should pass up the experience of hearing it. By comparison the whole of Bernstein's earlier effort is eclipsed; it is even a bit literal, contrary to those reviewers who call it excessive.

In sum, Bernstein's Vienna Sixth is one of a kind, a must buy. If you want a single disc version, the recent Abbado on DG from Berlin is more exciting, brilliantly played, and imaginative than the NY reading from Bernstein. As to the Kindertotenlieder filler, also from Vienna in 1988, the young Thomas Hampson can't rival his female counterparts--Christa Ludwig, Janet Baker and Kathleen Ferrier--but he has far more warmth and emotional impact than Fischer-Dieskau, his closest rival among the men. Bernstein conducts extremely well, but he did the same in his two earlier versions with Jennie Tourel and Janet Baker. All three are worth owning and treasuring.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hard Driving Mahler 6th, March 9, 2011

By 

M. C. Maier (Seattle, Wa USa) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mahler: Symphony No. 6 - Tragic (Audio CD)

Bernstein will always be remembered as a great Mahlerian and this is a valuable contribution to his discography. Recorded in the 1960s, when Mahler was not yet a fixture on concert programs of many orchestras, this recording of Mahler's Sixth fully embraces the demon-driven fury of the first two movements.

My first listening of this symphony was a live-recording of Szell on the Sony Budget line. I feel that Bernstein's advantage over Szell is his flexibility with the score and the moments of emotion that percolate. I am particularly moved by the Alma Theme of the first movement and the characteristic Mahlerian breakthrough here.

The Adagio (Movement Three) is deeply felt and captures the Apollonian serenity couched in between the Dionysian frenzy of the other movements.

I have never been a huge fan of the last movement of the 6th, and I say that knowing that for many this is the keystone to the entire work. For me, Mahler's Sixth will always be most memorable for its hard-driving initial marches and it's serene Adagio, and Bernstein conducts these extremes with great elan.

A highly recommended contribution to any Mahler collection.