Customer Reviews

Mahler: Symphony No. 6 - Tragic

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Yes, Bernstein takes the symphony quite differently. Some people find this dissatisfying to the likes of the subtle, detailed work of Karajan (who I agree has the greatest of Mahler sixths on record). But I found this one first, and I relate to it more than ever. To me, it seems that Bernstein tries to emphasize this inevitable drive, or fate behind the work (which you can see in the tempi in the 1st movement). As for the scherzo, I still have yet to find one any more exciting this one recorded here. No one had the pair to go out and conduct the scherzo with such confidence and agility.
All in all, Ill say that Bernstein is my favorite conductor, my hero in music, and the greatest Mahlerian.

The NYPO/Berstein M6 is an amazing musical journey. Do you find that there are some musical works, no matter how good an alternate recording may be, that simply can't be replaced if listened to first?

This recording is such a recording. It is the first recording of M6 that I heard. Stunning, amazing. It does not matter what Maestro Bernstein did "right" or "wrong" according to the "expert critics" in this recording; the whole work is greater than the sum of its parts. It is an amazing achievement considering its age and M6's lack of popularity at the time of recording.

I do not care, if the critics think Karajan's tempos and march rhythms are better (whatever that means). There will never be any other recording that will win me over from this Bernstein treasure. I also have his M9, and highly recommend it as well.

That Bernstein is often described as "excessive", demonstrative", or "overly emotive" while Kubelik is considered "classical" and "straightforward" seem to me to miss the point altogether. Such characterizations do not seem to be borne out in their respective performances of Mahler's Sixth (which, coincidentally, are parts of the first two complete Mahler cycles to be recorded).

These readings are similar in terms of pacing, and many think they're too fast. Well, I like my Mahler to move along briskly, especially in this most classical of his symphonies. But apart from pace, these performances seem to me different from each other and at odds with the conventional wisdom.

I have tried hard to love Bernstein's M6, but his performance seems to me to be homogenized, more polished than Kubelik's sharp-edged and trenchant reading. Where Bernstein strives for (and achieves) beautiful and refined sound, Kubelik presses on with an insistent energy that lets the sound emerge naturally and -- guess what -- it's still beautiful, if often "scarier" than Bernstein's.

Unfortuantely, Kubelik's studio version is (in my opinion) superior to the live rendition on Audite, but is available in the US onlty as part of the box set, ASIN: B00004SA86 (it has apparently been reissued singly in Japan). Fortunately, Kubelik's DG cycle offers several world-class performances and can usually be purchased used through Amazon Marketplace for a reasonable price.

The Bernstein is okay, but it just doesn't have the immediacy, drive, edge, or natural enthusiasm of Kubelik's performance.

Both deserve a listen, at least, and you can decide for yourself how you like your Mahler. In the Sixth, I much prefer the Kubelik. Curiously, despite his fantastically "expansive" first movement, without repeat, Barbirolli's M6 remains my second choice. Jansons' brisk live performance with the LSO would be recommended listening also.

As an aside, I prefer the Andante before the Scherzo. Barbirolli and Jansons take it in that order, but Kubelik and Berstein both performed the work Scherzo-Andante. So I have cheated and programmed Kubelik and Bernstein to play A-S.

This is a very good recording of Mahler's sixth. It was my first time hearing the piece, and it left me in awe. The New York Philharmonic's playing is very good, and the sound quality is wonderful. I am liking this even more with every listen.

I remember the original LP release of this recording being rather hard edged and bright. A common complaint to the old Philharmonic Hall. This remastered cd release is pleasingly warm, fresh; and has an airy, wide sonic stage. Recorded near the end of Lennys tenure with the NY Philharmonic in 1967, it is one of my favorites along with his exciting Mahler 3rd & 7th from the same cycle. His brisk tempi in the first movement sound right to me as opposed to the Jarvi Indy 500 on Chandos. So it is hard to go wrong buying this wonderful disc, and at budget price at that. I still like the Tennstedt, Szell, and Levi releases best, but would be fine taking this to the deserted island.

Unlike the playing and interpretations of some of the other Mahler recordings in the first cycle this cd is excellent with exciting playing and awesome sound quality.

I fell in love with the Mahler 6 listening to the Laserlight recording conducted by Haenchen which I had bought for [cheap] on a whim. After a while I decided I needed to hear one of the more famous interpretations, so I purchased this Bernstein recording. I found it to be quite illuminating, with many details emphasized by Bernstein that I had not noticed before. However, for sheer emotional power, I still prefer my old budget Haenchen recording. Perhaps listening to the Haenchen first biased me, but I think Bernstein's pace is often too fast in passages which I'd like to revel in a few moments longer, especially in the first movement. Also, as a percussionist I found that the hammer blows of the final movement weren't quite earth-shattering enough for my taste. However, I'm not at all disappointed that I bought the recording, as there are some fantastic moments and Bernstein's unique approach is worth hearing. Overall, I'd recommend this recording as powerful and well worth its price, but be sure to check out the Haenchen on Laserlight as well, which is a fantastic value and a great interpretation by any standard.