Customer Reviews

Mahler: Symphony No. 7

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Mahler's Seventh symphony has grown on me for the last few years and it has now become my favorite of the Mahler symphonies. It is quite interesting that most casual listeners have reacted in a very perplexed way to this symphony whereas avid listeners and musicians have used it as their key to Mahler, Arnold Schoenberg for instance. Not only has Mahler mastered his integration of Wunderhorn song, march and symphony he has also expanded his orchestrational technique, truly creating a "world" of a symphony. Daniel Barenboim's new recording is an absolutely exquisite performance. The Berlin Staatskapelle really sounds magnificent, he has done some wonderful things with this orchestra. The orchestral color, blend, rhythmic accuracy and infallible intonation are all here. The sheer range of dynamics and color effects that Barenboim pulls out of this orchestra is breathtaking and the beautiful recorded sound gives it to us in vivid detail. Barenboim has stated in previous interviews that he didn't record earlier because he didn't really care for Mahler's sound world. However, recent performances with the Chicago symphony have shown him to be a very intuitive Mahler interpreter. Barenboim is not afraid to demand a pianissimo from the violins in the moonlight episode in the first movement nor demand a very vulgar character based sound from the horns in the second theme. The two night music movements are very beautiful and his finale is really exciting. This is a well paced, well thought out interpretation that can hold its own with the likes of Bernstein, Abbado and Tilson Thomas. Let us hope that this cycle he has started remains as consistent and masterful as Tilson Thomas' recent cycle. For the seventh, you definitely need this recording and Tilson Thomas' London Symphony recording. Highest Recommendation!

I agree. Barenboim's recording captures the implied atmosphere and inherant mystery of the first Nachtmusik, as well as the central "moonlit" episode in the first movement. The scherzo is spooky in a fleet and wispy manner. Yet, the last two movements make their effective transition into the brightness of daylight. As is more common these days, the second Nachtmusik is taken a bit quicker; clocking in well less than 13 minutes. That makes for a more natural transition into the finale. Did I mention that there's plenty of mandolin and guitar in the fourth movement as well? And as for the finale, Barenboim simply let's it rip. He's not quite as fast as Kondrashin was with it (who is?), but he pegs the climaxes just as well, if not better. My only complaint is that I would like for the allegro (fast) passages of the first movement to be a tad slower. To my mind, Boulez's 23 minutes is just right for fully digesting the first movement's fast harmonic rhythm (chord changes) and dense counterpoint. It's a very rich movement - sort of like a condensed, yet harmonically more modern rehash of the entire sixth symphony. Still, Barenboim gets the most out of that marvellous central "moonlit" episode - the heart of the movement, if there is one.

This recording is typical of Daniel Barenboim -- highly personalized, overaccented and italicized. It takes the argument of Mahler's least accessible symphony and does everything but clarify it. Instead, Barenboim, as is his wont, prevails upon Mahler's score with his own personal stamp. Whether or not you can adjust to, and enjoy, the characteristic Barenboim overindulgence is the key to whether you believe this is a longlasting interpretation of the music you can return to over and over again. As my rating indicates, I do not believe this.

Right from the opening bar lines, Barenboim makes clear his intent to oversway. With coarse, chopped playing from the low strings and italicized harping from the brass, the conductor lets you know his reading will be virulently interpreted. The sluggish second subject in the opening shows Barenboim's tendency to overdo contrasts, to follow highly inflected near mania with graniloquent slowdowns. His failure to elucidate the thick textures throughout shows he's not interested in delineating the complex scoring.

So what does this conductor do well? When he is on better behavior, such as in the quieter development of the first movement, he allows the music to expand and breath using rubato and subtle inflections in tempo that enhance the listening experience. All too often, however, Barenboim is back to overinterpreting the music through his own often misguided ideas, as if to show he knows more about the music than Mahler.

The Stattskapelle Berlin responds well to the conductor's requirements and gives him good, if sometimes raw, playing and execution. Recorded in the Philharmonie in Berlin during Feburary 2005, the sound is good but not outstanding for its period. I'd recommend this to unabashed fans of the conductor like those that gave it five star reviews here.

Others looking for a good-sounding recording of the "Nachtmusik" symphony must look elsehwere for satisfaction. Minimalists that want to hear and understand the score should enjoy the Boulez reading on DG. Meanwhile, fans of the school of overinterpretation will probably find more enjoyment from recordings by either Bernstein or Thomas, clones that rarely limit thier indulgence. An alternate out of the maintstream is Horenstein, a conductor underapprecatiated in his day. For a reading between these extrmemes, I'd recommend Vaclac Neumann's recording with the Gewandhouse Orchestra Leipzig that you may be able to find through Amazon here or in Europe.

Next spring I will have the pleasure of hearing all the Mahler symphonies performed live by the Staatskapelle Berlin under the batons of conductors Daniel Barenboim and Pierre Boulez at Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium. So I was especially curious in listening finally to this WarnerClassics recording of the Mahler 7th Symphony recorded by Barenboim and his favorite orchestra. I am truly astounded, and wonder why Barenboim hasn't opted to record all of the Mahler symphonies with the Staatskapelle Berlin. This is a wonderful Central European orchestra in the grand tradition of the Staatskapelle Dresden and the Wiener Philharmoniker; if nothing else, its vibrant, exceedingly warm, playing should clue listeners to what Mahler himself came to expect from the Wiener Philharmoniker a century ago. Barenboim has been underrated as a Mahler interpreter, but his exceptional account of the 7th Symphony is one that deserves recognition as a primary recommendation. Why? This fine interpretation is distinguished for its exceptionally warm playing of the Staatskapelle Berlin's strings, winds and brass. It is also noteworthy for Barenboim's intense, probing account, that is light-years removed from Boulez's own compelling - if somewhat clinical - approach. If you are seeking an excellent account performed by an orchestra capable of producing an extremely bright, lush, and warm tone, then look no further.

Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 7, sometimes called the Symphony of the Night because of the two 'Nachtmusik' movements serving as spacers for the symphonic structure, is fast becoming the Mahler everyone wants to perform. For many years the symphony was felt too excessively long (80 minutes) for the average audience and even some conductors found the work too fragmented to make it make sense. But time has solved these 'non-problems' and more and more of our finest conductors are programming and recording this truly magnificent work.

Mahler seems to have brought a maturity of orchestration techniques to this work. Repeated listenings reveal juxtapositions of instrument chairs in ways not used prior to this work. The instrumentation is augmented with even more than Mahler's usual percussive tools. The ideas are stated then explored and fragmented only to be rejoined later in each movement. The two 'nachtmusik' movements are some of the more spiritually lyrical in his repertoire.

But the majesty of this work is the manner in which Mahler strives for and successfully reaches climaxes without bombast, without repetition. Daniel Barenboim conducts the Berliner Staatskapelle in an inordinately beautiful, well managed, thoroughly realized performance of this symphony. Under his baton the Berliner Staatskapelle plays as though to Mahler born. This is surely one of the finest performances on record - yes, even in the same rank with Abbado and Tilson Thomas. It is a welcome addition to the ever-widening Mahler discography. Grady Harp, January 07

I have 16 versions of this symphony, including Abbado (Berlin & Chicago), Zinman, Solti, Halasz, Gielen, Tilson-Thomas, Boulez, Sinopoli, Haitink, Bernstein (on Sony & DG), Zender, Ozawa, Rattle, and Solti. This Barenboim is my favorite for its wonderfully clear sound and involved interpretation. Abbado comes in #2 for me (Berlin, but Chicago is very good too).

You can nitpick anything, and no version of any Mahler symphony is the best every bar by any one conductor. If you are a Mahler fan, and who would read this but a Mahler fan, you will want this in your collection.

Another fine performance from Barenboim. Although Abbado's recording is deeply imprinted in me after two years of listening and therefore defining the symphony for me I find Barenboims interpretation to be quite similar as far as tempos, dynamics etc. Once again subtle differences that unsettle and enlighten at the same time. The difference in the phrasing of the french horn solo, the reserve on a melodic line rather than lush indulgence, is it a tambourine you hear more clearly in the first movement ? , all the things that reawaken the listener's awareness of each measure of music. Do you like it this way or do you like it that way more? Barenboim is the perfect conductor for those who like their Mahler with feet still on the ground rather than having fallen into the score. I may be a drama queen but the music does speak for itself.

I find it a little hard to assess this Mahler Seventh because in general I feel that Barenboim conducts from the outside, as it were, imposing his mannerisms without real feeling for the score. But this performance is a vast improvement over the live Seventh I heard from the Chicago Sym. under him, which was infuriating in its stilted, clumsy phrasing and crude bombast. Perhaps Barenboim feels more relaxed with an orchestra that doesn't have to uphold a world-class reputation. I wouldn't go so far as to say that Barenboim's reading is miles ahead of, say, Gerard Schwarz with the Royal Liverpool Phil., but nothing really untoward happens, which is to the good.

The Mahler Seventh's reputation for being difficult has long passed, I think, and only the turbulent, ungainly first movement taxes an audience. One reason for Bernstein's supremacy in this symphony was his ability to carry the listener through the first movement, making its conflicting elements seem of a piece. Barenboim takes an easier route, playing each episode separately and letting the stitches show. In lesser hands this approach can be herky-jerky, while barenboim carries it off. He's robust, direct, and propulsive. His musicians seem eager to respond, and the recorded sound has nice depth and impact.

If you're going to love the Mahler Seventh - and many don't - it's the mysterious, eerie middle movements that capture your fancy the most. There's nothing quite lie them in the other symphonies, especially the two Nachtmusik movements, which filter Viennese elegance and Gemutlichkeit through a bad acid trip. Their spooky nuances are caught superbly by the Berlin Phil. in a live reading under Abbado (DG), compared to which Barenboim is a bit crude and obvious in his effects. The ghostly dancers in the Scherzo don't evoke bare, ruined ballrooms. Barenboim is too eager to keep the pace moving, and he conducts a quick one-to-a-bar. Yet on its own terms, the reading more than holds one's attention. Without doubt lots of expressive gestures are being applied.

In the finale I miss the headlong exhilaration delivered by Bernstein and, more recently, Gergiev. Barenboim hits the right frisson with the major-minor turn-on-a-dime harmonic collisions, but he's not quite as thrilling as he could be. The fussy polyphony that follows bogs down a bit, too. But in total this is an impressive Seventh, not among the best but without any complaints - perhaps Barenboim's best Mahler, in fact.

Much of this recording gave me the peculiar feeling I was listening to a run-through rather then a performance. Tempo relations seem hardly considered at all; the wild, abrupt, and too numerous fluctuations of pace wreak havoc in the finale especially, where any sense of direction is lost and no clear culmination point is identifiable, even though the score has it just about outlined in red (2 bars after nr. 286). Overall, tempos are too fast, ruinously so in the scherzo, where Barenboim ignores Mahler's underlined instruction "aber nicht schnell" (`but not fast') and makes a mad dash for it, in an apparent attempt to turn the piece into a showcase of orchestral (and conductorial?) virtuosity. As a result, however, the players cannot articulate the many filigree figures, and things just get messy.

Not all is bad. Some nuances of phrasing and dynamics are observed to beautiful and sometimes surprising effect. The spectacularly present bass-line makes you aware of things you didn't hear before. On the other hand, its presence is often exaggerated; the tuba, especially, several times dominates the sound picture in a way Mahler cannot have intended. And anyway, the somewhat undernourished violins are having a hard enough time as it is.

Overall, the first movement seems to fare best, though the poetic `alpine' sections are not realised to their full potential, nor is there much sense of climax towards the coda. In the first `Nachtmusik' Barenboim seems to miss out completely on the 19th century nature-mysticism at the core of the piece. Freshness and wonder are replaced by ponderous deliberation. The birdsong is pushed to the background as if it's mere accompaniment. Just before number 79, at `L'istesso tempo', oblivious of the meaning of that phrase, Barenboim slows down hugely, so that the 4/4 march all but turns into a 12/8 waltz. Just after 92, the solo of the two cellos is articulated in a manner that I can only describe as downright vulgar; I got the distinct impression Barenboim was trying to imbue the passage with folksy, Yiddish overtones. After the scherzo has flashed by, the second Nachtmusik fares a little better. The finale, as said, unfortunately doesn't.

The recorded sound is warm, thick and bass-heavy. It has power, but doesn't realize it at the points where it's needed: the famous fffff cello pizzicato in the scherzo goes for nothing; and the trumpet fanfares in the finale sound rather feeble, as does the nearly inaudible bell-ringing in the coda. When the volume goes up, detail tends to get lost. The recording was made live in concert (though the booklet doesn't betray it), but fortunately the Berlin Philharmonie has the rare kind of audience that only coughs between movements.

Avid collectors of this piece might find a few things to interest them in this interpretation that is nothing if not distinct. But those looking for a single, truly excellent recording of this symphony I would urge to seek out Gielen on Hännsler (also on a single disc).
Mahler: Symphony 7 In E Minor

Once more, the unfathomable talent of Barenboim is carved in relief once more with this sensational performance of the well known Mahler's Seventh.

It nothing easy to find actually in the market recording of such relevance, signed and featured of such formidable persuasion level and artistic commitment.

One of the most important recordings in years to keep into account at the moment to be proud of having the best versions of this Opus.