Mahler: Symphony No. 2 [Original recording reissued]

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (Artist), Hilde Rossl-Majdan (Artist), Gustav Mahler (Composer), Otto Klemperer (Conductor), Philharmonia Orchestra & Chorus (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Philharmonia Orchestra & Chorus
• Conductor: Otto Klemperer
• Composer: Gustav Mahler
• Audio CD (March 14, 2000)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued
• Label: EMI Classics
• ASIN: B00004R8TO
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #108,290 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It is what it is....and it's wonderful!, June 14, 2005

By 

DAVID A. FLETCHER (Richmond, Va United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mahler: Symphony No. 2 (Audio CD)

Klemperer afficianados adore everything the maestro laid his hands on. Those who don't stray much beyond respect will divide his output roughly between the "middle-aged Klemperer" and the "aging Klemperer" categories. The distinction seems to be that in the former, he was all piss and vinegar, while in the latter, he was like an aging grandfather clock that just kept slowing down. Young Otto kept things moving smartly, while old Otto just plodded. You get the idea.

This recording of Mahler's "Resurrection" symphony dates from late 1961 and early 1962, and here we encounter the "aging Klemperer," age 77, but....and it's a serious "but".... conducting the one piece of symphonic literature to which he publicly credited his most personal attachment. From 1905, when the 20 year old Klemperer conducted the offstage brass in a performance led by Oskar Fried (attended by Mahler and pronounced "very good")to 1907, when he created his own piano reduction of the score, the work was clearly in the forefront of his mind. Mahler himself aided Klemperer in attaining his first professional appointments, in Prague (1907) and Hamburg (1910).

Yet for all of the above, Klemperer was of mixed views concerning Mahler as an overall symphonist. Much of the Mahler canon he conducted either rarely or never at all. It was the "Resurrection" symphony, though, which Klemperer consistently programmed, recording it for Vox just ten years prior to the performance under discussion here. It was this hybrid of arch-Romanticism, drama, and religious/philosophical yearning that Klemperer remained devoted to for the entire length of his professional career. Perhaps it is this quality--devotion--that has magnetized listeners with this performance ever since its issue by EMI/Angel in 1963.

There is urgency from the very first bar. The pace is a gripping one--nothing "plodding" here. Attacks by the strings, from basses and cellos straight up to first violins, are hair-raising. Brass and winds shriek, bray, and proclaim their choruses and accents precisely as the score's instructions demand...and then some. Momentum is never abandoned--no fermata-as-smoking-break here! And yet it never feels rushed. Klemperer has indeed set a brisk pace, by contemporary performing standards (he clocks in at just over 19 minutes, with most recent outings averaging at around 22). It is this devotion to the drama...the urgency...that makes it so compelling.

The fireworks of the opening movement are soon held in stark contrast to the second movement's laendler-esque nostalgia, complete with the wonderfully executed string pizzicati, a subtle bit of performance theater when violins and violas adopt a horizontal strumming position a la mandolin. "Sehr gemaechlich" is Mahler's performing instruction, and leisurely--with a distinct Austrian accent--is indeed the operative term here. The push-pull of the rhythm is in evidence, but never dominant. Klemperer gets it right, without lathering on the schmaltz.

Mahler, Klemperer, and the orchestra then deftly switch gears once more, with the sardonic lilt of the third movement's portrait of St. Anthony preaching to the fish. The humor is pointedly presented, with verbal outbursts characterized by the solo winds, brass accents, and percussive punctuation...all while the swimming strings answering in blithe counterpoint. Tempo here is a bit slower than most of the competition, but it's never obtrusively so, given the prowess of the Philharmonia's colorful solo and section work. While truly in rondo/scherzo mode, Mahler doesn't set a driving pace here, and neither does Klemperer.

Movements 4 and 5, beginning with the intensely haunting "Urlicht," or primal light, also serve to re-introduce mezzo Hilde Roessl-Majdan, reprising her role in Klemperer's 1951 recording. She delivers her song of intensely determined hope with palpable conviction, setting the stage for the fireworks of the fifth movement's sequence of spiritual, emotional, and musical climaxes. And when they come....they COME! Shattering eruptions from all quarters are announced by offstage brass choirs, distantly placed so as to be sensed as much as heard, making the orchestral tuttis all the more compelling. Magic moments continue with the Wilhelm Pitz-led Philharmonia Chorus' subito entrance of "Aufersteh'n, ja aufersteh'n......" Vocal projection is beautifully concentrated and balanced, a quality maintained even in their fortissimo outbursts. Then, back to a whisper as Roessl-Majdan reappears, this time in the company of Elisabeth Schwarzkopf. Their duet is well-matched, with Schwarzkopf's honeyed tone soaring appropriately, tethered only by Roessl-Majdan's mezzo.

From here, momentum continues to build, with chorus and orchestra in fine balance, all the way to finely-wrought conclusion with the organ's entrance (a tribute to Walter Legge's legendary production values). From beginning to end, one is aware of the full range of dynamic contained in Mahler's visionary scoring, with the beefy Kingway Hall ambience ably tamed and clarified. Recording quality is remarkably good, given the age, with only a few instances of high-end thinness present in the upper-octave violins and slightly splashy cymbals. One comes away with an appreciation for Klemperer's obvious teamwork with Legge, as solos and sectional passagework make their presence known with undue spotlighting.

Is it, then, a near-perfect performance? To that, a short "yes," and a long "perhaps." One could quibble about the pitch variance in the closing pages, with bells, organ, and orchestra sometimes vying for primacy. Could the third movement scherzo be just a bit quicker? Possibly. These are questions which could be posed about almost any great recording of a major work as complexly scored and layered as Mahler's "Resurrection." What remains, though, is the sense of conviction and devotion that Klemperer brings to this work. Klemperer saw overwhelming greatness in this piece, and spent much of his life as an apostle for it. This is a performance and recording that will never leave the catalog, and no Mahler collection should be without it.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't believe the hype!, January 7, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Mahler: Symphony No. 2 (Audio CD)

Music is more than mere entertainment , it has the power to change lives. This recording of Mahler's 2nd is truly exellent. I really disagree with those who say the finale is disappointing. Let us not forget that Klemperer performed this symphony with Mahler present, and after some changes, Mahler approved. Yes, the 4th movement is a little short, but the performance has class, charater, and it is not overdone. If you only buy one Mahler 2nd make it this one. It is an experience that will stay in your mind until the day you die.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A clear first choice, September 30, 2004

By 

LJM (Earth) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Mahler: Symphony No. 2 (Audio CD)

Mahler's second symphony has its greatest exponent in Otto Klemperer. He performed it frequently, and this celebrated incarnation of Klemperer's interpretation is an unsurpassed achievement. Klemperer's grasp of the details is impressive, as well as his overall view of the work as an organic whole. The Philharmonia plays beautifully - the orchestra was in its best shape when this recording was made early in the sixties. Choir and soloists are also impressive.

Moreover, the recording quality is good enough for most ears, at least if your hifi equipment is of decent quality.

This is the recording of the second symphony that I appreciate most, a frontrunner before Scherchen's with the Vienna Symphony and Walter's with New York Philharmonic. It has its place in every collector's shelf. A real desert island disc, warmly recommended.