Customer Reviews

Mahler: Symphony No. 9

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

 

 

I'm not an expert. Though I would like to consider myself musically astute--I'm a reasonably good jazz musician, have played professionally in a number of situations, and I own probably 2,000 records, CDs and tapes--I must confess to being fairly ignorant about the world of classical music. That said, I would like to add, for whatever it's worth, that this CD astounded me and made me a Mahler fan forever.

It was purely by chance that I happened to pick it up. I found a used copy at a local store, took it home and plopped it into the stereo and sat down to listen with no real preconceptions about what I would hear. I must say, I was completely amazed by the passion and breadth of this performance, the range of emotions, the beauty of the recording. I cant really describe it all other than to say that all of us who love music have at various times been completely floored by a given performance, so much so that we could barely speak when it was done. Such was my experience of Bernstein's Mahler. As the last notes died out, I felt like my musical universe had been re-arranged. Perhaps even my life!

Since then, I have in my new-found enthusiasm explored the other Mahler symphonies, and listened to various versions of the 9th, including Karajan's, Haitink's, Walter's and Bernstein's earlier versions. All of them have something to offer, but I still feel that this version is the most beautiful and the most emotionally devastating. Perhaps in time my sophistication with regard to classical recordings will grow and I will come to feel, as some do, that Bernstein overplays and exagerrates certain aspects of Mahler. But no matter what happens, this recording will always be very special to me. Here's hoping you enjoy it as much as I do.

There is no arguing that this is an hyper-emotional performance. Too much, however, has been made of Bernstein departing from the score or suffering from 'romantic' interpretations etc. Ultimately the test of a performance is if it lives, and this one most definitely does.

In fact, Bernstein's Mahler recordings speak with the composers voice so clearly and consummately that it transcends the barrier of music. There are many very musical versions of Mahler 9 out there, with delicate textures and glowing sonorities and the such. But this recording is more than music; it becomes an actual testament of life and death, something that defies description. Bernstein astutely pointed out that at the end of the ninth one can actually experience the sensation of dying.

But the greatest moment for me will always be the first surging climax in the first movement, which builds higher and higher, and then absolutely collapses into an abyss, and after a moment of nothing, in comes the booming timpani theme which as tradition has it represents Mahler's own fatal heart condition. Regardless, it becomes a profound work of philosophy, in which joy and sorrow for life wage a war, and we are left experiencing the profoundest anguish. It as if at every moment, we could just collapse, and yet it always drives further, one second in an ironic self-assurance, and the next an ethereal but honest self-assurance--but always a profound doubt. Every emotion is experienced, then questioned, mocked and affirmed.

For me there is no other version of this symphony (and I have listened to many). If there is any doubt left in your mind, compare the recordings. Mahler is always compared with Bruckner, and in lesser hands, he sounds like a late romantic, architectural symphonic composer. But with Bernstein, he becomes the profound creator, and we finally can hear that this work rests comfortably in the pantheon of the greatest aspirations of artists through the centuries.

Some people I know think this recording is a profoundly moving experience. Others view it as a great Classical Party Record. Either view is valid. These descriptions apply to many of Bernstein's later DG recordings, but this one (and the Tchaikovsky 6th) seems to be the most excessive and indulgent of all.

The performance isn't really as slow as it's given credit for - the first three movements are within regarded limits, if a tad on the lengthy side. It's in the 4th movement that things get weird. After the big climax, the tempo slows down. And slows down again. And again. The final fadeout seems to take forever, as if Bernstein won't (or can't) let go. This is all fascinating to listen to, but it isn't a mainstream view and you shouldn't "learn" the Mahler 9th via this performance. But it is very dramatic and will keep your attention.

The Concertgebouw plays ravishingly and the sound is warm and clear. I found myself wishing the other entires in this series were played and recorded here.

For "everyday" use, Bernstein's DG Berlin performance is far preferable, and packs an emotional wallop as well. Or get the Walter, Barbirolli, the last DG Karajan, the NY/CBS/Sony Bernstein or one of many others (we all have our favorites.) But do try and hear this at least once - it should be experienced by any lover of Mahler's music.

I credit Mahler with inventing ambient music with the final adagissimo of this symphony, and this is the very finest rendition of it I have yet heard. The intense sadness, yet acceptance, of mortal fate is brought to the levels of a religious experience here. As you descend into that eternal night there are hints of the dawn.

The other recording I have of this is Haitink on Phillips, and that is excellent as well, and cheaper. But it doesn't have the effect of this recording's ending. I have just heard MTT perform this live at the SF Symphony, and from the Saturday night performance I don't believe that recording will exceed either of those two, although it will be effective and of very high fidelity. (MTT's 2nd will be a classic however I assure you!)

This symphony builds a lot on his fifth, if you love the adagio and scherzo from that you will love this (I recommend Chailly for that). However, I found this ninth even less accessible for some reason...my respect for music is usually the inverse of its accessibility. This was well worth the numerous listens to understand and appreciate. I would suggest that it is transformative; both personally and on music as a form--where its effects are as subtle and as significant as its own composition.

Personally, Mahler is my very favorite composer for his symphonies which gives tonality at its highest, as well as its complexity, and above all, the emotions inexplainable and... how should I say it... beyond the literal physical level, beyond other Romantic composers, including Tchaikovsky (who's music evokes "materialistic" romanticism at it's highest, which I still highly respect, but in my view he's, under God, is no match against Mahler).

His Symphony No. 9 is a perfect example of explaning the motif beyond this physical level. It was THE piece I felt the strongest, emphasized the most, and wept with the warmest tears. Above all, this piece is apocalytpic; the end of, as Mahler mentioned it, tonality, his time, his era, the end of all things we should consider. When it comes to the music, I am definitely looking for a most satiable recording, especially of the anxiously fast and bold third movement, and above all, the final movement which SHOULD be the tragic (but not pessimistic) farewells of all farewells. I've already heard several recordings, but this performance by Leonard Bernstein (a great Mahler-ian) and the Amsterdam Concertgebow Orchestra is the best (if not, one of the best) pick for any Mahler fans.

Both the first (which focuse on the anxiety of death or fate) and the second movement (which seems to stray from the harsh, cruel reality) are magnificently performed. Not youthful but the intensity within the conductor still lived.

As for the third movement, it seems to lack a really tiny bit compared to Lenny's sole collaberation with the Berlin Phil in 1779, but still has lots of boost, drastic evokations of mood, and in the last segment of the movement, a perfectly high paced and nail-biting tempo. Far nerve-wrecking past any other conductors for sure.

As for the fourth movement, the best of Mahler (and Bernstein) is saved for last. Being Leonard Bernstein means he had almost every right to fill in the emotions, the trauma, the tears, at its highest, as well as putting into a much slower tempo than expected (even though the 22/23 minute movement was streched into nearly 30 minutes of countdown before death, Mahler would have never cared anyway; with the recording so emotional, so welling, so moving, he would have loved it). Personally, I couldn't stop crying every time I listen to it. I was especially in tears by the time the music has led to a building suspension of the full orchestra with full force (the best trombone and trumpet entry I have heard), and the much-anticipated climax (the first cymbal crash) which would pierce like gun-shot through a heart, followed by the anguished cry of the strings. Finally, at the very end of the piece, a calm, waning conclusion which seems to say "goodbye" before one would wake up no more. If I could do anything listening to this chronicle-ending conclusion, I would sob, literally! This is Mahler CD to listen, and will remain until my last day (or that this will be my piece before by departure). The ERTE picture is quite beautiful too.

This is a must buy for Mahler fans, especially for radically emotive ones. You would be driven to feel, witness, and weep into the work by perhaps the most-emotion driven composer with the emotion driven conductor with a world-class orchestra.

I usually stick with the first recording of anything I listen to unless there is something really unsatisfying about it. For whatever reason, the fist version always seems "right" to me, and then I just hear all the variations as "flaws."

But with the Mahler 9, I could never settle on one. I started with Berny's live Berlin recording, but was turned off by the overly-excessive background noise (even for a live, it was dreadful). I then got the Boulez, attracted by its being on one disc . . . zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz, boring! My third attempt was the Lopez-Cobos Telarc recording - it wasn't too bad, but I didn't like the third movement.

Finally, I gave Berny another try with THIS disc, and I think I'm finally set! Yes, it is over-the-top in ways - so what!? If you are some kind of purist, then maybe that would bother you. But where is the harm in dramatizing the score a little? Sure makes things more exciting! And Berny doesn't disappoint in that department.

Most of the attention in the reviews of this recording goes to the finale - the fourth is stretched to its limits here, and is one of the longest on disc. And it is very elegiac and appropriate for a "farewell to life" as the movement represents.

But for me, the recording is really distinguished by the third. The tempo is actually on the faster side compared to most versions, and the dynamics are varied to the point that it becomes a very exciting movement. When I first finished it, I whooped out loud and said, "Now THAT is a great third movement!"

My only real complaint is with the final 6 minutes of the fourth movement (which you can sample above, the last track on the disc). Things do get just a tad TOO drawn out here. There are pauses that are just about two beats too long, and pretty much derail the mood Berny was trying to set. And, as happens with EVERY recording I've heard, the last two minutes are SO low, that you have to crank the volume all the way just to hear it - and with a live recording like this, that can really be distressing as you can hear every person in the audience shifting, or "aheming," or the performers changing pages . . .

But, all told, this is the version I think I am sticking with. It combines a great performance, a great recording, and a very dramatic interpretation that I think Mahler deserves! I don't listen to music to hear the technical notes written on paper - I listen to be taken into another world - and the more dramatic a conducter can make it while still staying within the boundaries, the better.

If you just want to hear the notes played verbatim, get the Boulez - but if you want the passion of life in your music, go with this one!

Regarding Bernstein's first NYPO Mahler 9th, the first three movt. are fairly comparable to his CGOA rendition except that some instrumental lines such as horns get swamped occasionally. I'm sure it's what Bernstein's doing since in all of his later versions with VPO, BPO, and CGOA these instruments sound very forwardly and clearly. I much prefer the later CGOA version in all four movt.; the great Andante Comodo with perfect tempi relations within and between each section, the rigorous Landler, the defiant, unbelievably fast (all to good effects!) Rondo Burleske, and the great arching Adagio lasting nearly half an hour. I can't ask for more in this music. But I just wish that the sound were a little better. The latest Bernstein Mahler Box Set on DG includes the same recording in much better sound thanks to DG's careful remastering job.

Since all three of Bernstein's Mahler Ninths have been reviewed on Amazon as the "best," I thought I'd sit down and compare them side by side. The two commercially recorded versions are with the New York Phil. from 1965 (Sony) and a live Concertgebouw concert from 1985 (DG). the third account is a live concert with the Berlin Phil. on DG from 1979. As other reviewers have detailed, this version was released posthumously; it commemorates Bernstein's only appeaarance with the Berlin Philharmonic--I think he had stayed off Karajan's turf by mutual agreement, although no doubt there were anti-Nazi feelings as well.

Timings: Although Bernstein's tempos grew slower with age, his Mahler Ninth was never one of the faster ones. The first movement takes 28 min. in NY, speeds up to 27 min. in Berlin, then reaches 29 min. in Amsterdam. (By comparison, Abbado takes 25 min. in his recent Berlin Phil. reading on DG.) In the second movement Scherzo NY and Berlin are around 15 min. (the same as Abbado), and again the Concertgebouw performance is notably slower, 17 min. All these vresions, along with Abbado, take roughly 12 min. for the third movement Rondo-Bulreske. The biggest change in tempo occurs in the fourth movement Adagio, where NY is 23 min., Berlin 26 min., and Amsterdam a very prolonged 29+ min., compared to Abbado's 25 min. or Boulez's brisk 21 min. Bernstein always permitted himself expressive freedom, and a case can be made for all three tempos, including the agonized farewell from Amsterdam.

Sound: The NY recording never sounded all that clear or detailed on LP, but the Sony remastering is very good. It is warm in the string tone, and there is a good orchestral blend. One doesn't feel that individual mikes are highlighting various solos. The Berlin recording is bright, somewhat thin, and considerably more aggressive. The balance keeps strings and winds a bit far back, while at times the brass and percusison leap out. Through earphones one can detect a low-level buzz, but overall this is good sound if you can accept Bernstein's podium noises and some intrusive coughing in exposed soft passages. With the Amsterdam recording we are back to higher standards, but not as good as in New York; the orchestra sounds thinner and consierably more distant. The Sony remastering is a clear winner here.

Orchestras: The New York Phil. plays very well but without any particular Mahler sound, and there isn't a great deal of personality in the phrasing. The Berlin Phil. is more distinctive, alert, and quite diverse in phrasing; the string section is sweeter as well. (The Amazon reviewer who says that the orchestra learned the Mahler Ninth under Bernstein has forgotten the excellent Barbirolli recording they made for EMI in 1964, admittedly 15 years earlier. The further claim that Karajan piggy-backed on Bernstein's tutelage is silly.) The Concertgebouw sounds very fine but not distinctive; the overall feeling is mellow and not extremely detailed, but they are certainly premier in their own right. All three orchestras are, and only the sonics let down Berlin.

Interpretation: Considering that Bernstein was considered a Mahlerian firebrand, his NY Ninth struck me as a bit bland on its initial release, but now it sounds very musical and balanced. For anyone who wants Bernstein without excessive personality, emoitonal underlining, and over-dramatizing, this is the version for you. In Berlin the interpretation is more intense but still controlled; the sense of a great orchestra giving its all is palpable. There are many new insights not heard in NY, and Bernstein has found a sense of mystery and dramatic suspense that must have kept hte audience on the edge of their seats. In Amsterdam this special ambience isn't present. Despite the long drawn-out finale, Bernstein is not at an expressive extreme here. He doesn't have a hysterical approach to this work in any of his three readings, but I'd say the Concertgebouw performance comes in third, with Berlin first and NY second.

Overall, I feel drawn into Mahler's world with all three readings, yet that feeling is most intense in Berlin. In Amsterdam Bernstein sounds autumnal, a bit weary and resisgned, and in the last movement he holds on to every note of farewell for dear life. But one msut remember always that this is Bernstein--these three readings rise to a very high level of artistic expression, and if the NY and Amsterdam readings were the only two that existed, they would be in the front rank of Mahler Ninth recordings.

This is a landmark in M9 recordings. For my taste, i think this is the
BEST recording of this symphony by Lenny. It has not only the best sound,
but the best playing from a top form Concertgebouw orchestra. It`s really
a matter of wonder how Lenny could sustain this music in these expansive
tempi so compellingly. This is a must for Bernstein discography.

Anyone who loves Mahler's 9th symphony should own all Leonard Bernstein's recordings of this piece. They are essential, least of all the earliest quite frankly though I know many will argue with me. The early NY Phil recording is very good and it is Leonard Bernstein after all, who had an incredible affinity and emotional and musical connection to this composer. That said, once he restudied the score for his performances in 1970 with the New York Philharmonic and, more importantly, his video performances, tour and documentaries of and on the piece in the Spring of 1971 with the Vienna Philharmonic, the Ninth Symphony of Gustav Mahler became his piece in many ways. He lived and breathed it like nobody else. He made it the focal point of his now famous Norton Series of lectures at Harvard and then performed it live twice in 1979, both in extraordinary performances, one available in bootleg form with the Boston Symphony at Tanglewood (a great performance marred by a distracted Sunday Shed audience and orchestral inefficiencies) and the other, a now legendary white hot performance with the Berlin Philharmonic from October 4th of that year, a performance as important musically in its way as Furtwangler's Beethoven 9 in my opinion. That won a Grammy and is rightfully called perhaps the greatest recording of Mahler's 9th ever. Abbado's new video can rightfully claim that also, as can Bernstein's 1971 video but I digress. Here we have the final Bernstein Mahler 9 and damn is it frustrating!!! (still 5 stars but frustrating)

For anyone wanting to know why, look to my review of the Video of Bernstein's 9th and 10th Symphonies. I detail in there all the problems, the middling 1st Trumpet player with the vibrato from hell, the awful early digital sound, the pacing of the third movement which almost destroys an orchestra as great as this one in the final pages and the final pages of the Adagio that are so slow only the most extreme of Bernstein's fans can defend it (I have defended it before and to the death so I understand---but in light of the great Berlin and Vienna versions which are a good deal better and faster and in light of the new and astonishing Abbado video this is not a credible last page of the Adagio in my mind).

All that said----oh the good moments though!!!!! They are worth 10 stars. That first movement is just to die for. One of the greatest performances of the first movement ever. Extraordinary. A symphony in and of itself. Heartbreakingly beautiful and wonderful. The Landler?? Incredible. The initial moments of the Adagio?? Wonderful.

Boy....it makes me wish there were some recordings from the tour in London and abroad. I hear the Concertgebouw toured the piece with Bernstein in 1985. Now those recordings would be interesting to hear. I hear the Barbican performance was one for the ages. This is a great performance in its way. HELL!! It's Leonard Bernstein performing Mahler's 9th Symphony. But...it is at the end of his conducting career and he is pushing things to the limit. God bless him for his willingness to take risks and for his genius. The 1971 and 1979 performances are the greatest ever along with the Abbado though.