Mahler: Symphony No. 4 [Hybrid SACD] [Hybrid SACD - DSD]

Gustav Mahler (Composer), David Zinman (Conductor), Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra (Orchestra), Luba Orgonasova (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Luba Orgonasova
• Orchestra: Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra
• Conductor: David Zinman
• Composer: Gustav Mahler
• Audio CD (March 11, 2008)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Hybrid SACD - DSD
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B0012X6FM6
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #193,374 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Sinfonie Nr. 4 in G Dur; I. Bedächtig. Nicht eilen

2. Sinfonie Nr. 4 in G Dur; II. In gemächlicher Bewegung

3. Sinfonie Nr. 4 in G Dur; III. Ruhevoll

4. Sinfonie Nr. 4 in G Dur; IV. Sehr behaglich

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ignore the Comparisons, March 19, 2008

By 

Brian F Hudon - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mahler: Symphony No. 4 [Hybrid SACD] (Audio CD)

For the record, I am commenting on this recording's musical performance, not the "super audio CD" aspects of the disc.

That said the recorded sound on this disc does sound very very beautiful. There is great balance, and much breathing room in the piece. David Zinman's triumph here is allowing the score to be the star on this recording, not as it would seem his own person ambitions as are apparent on other recordings by other conductors. (This is not always a bad thing, simply a different approach.) Zinman's restraint is breathtaking, the brass playing is articulate and absolutely pitch perfect. And as with the previous Zinman recordings of Mahler symphonies I was delightedly impressed with the playing of the woodwinds and how they came alive in the recorded sound. The percussion is clear and delicate, an important point as light percussion is very prominent in this symphony. The playing by the principal soloists is brilliant and makes repeated listenings worthwhile; note the violin solo playing in the second movement. Luba Orgonasova's performance should be viewed in light of the rest of this performance; detailed, articulate, powerful, as another beautiful instrument in the orchestra and score. What the result of all this is, is an extremely musical and lyrical performance of the Mahler 4th Symphony; not a interpretation, but rather a translation of the score that jumps off the page. One can listen to the disc again and again and mentally focus on any part of the score and appreciate all of the details, something to be savoured in the Mahler 4th.

David Zinman is now in the midst of a great musical journey and this disc is only the latest step. The Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra is now its seems at the height of it's musical powers and this is exciting to see. This is no entry level performance, this is mature and disciplined music making at its finest. If you haven't purchased or heard any of the Zinman Mahler symphonies, this is a great first disc. This is not a Mahler cycle for the sake of a Mahler cycle. Zinman is taking great care with each symphony.

While the contributions of Leonard Bernstein to the Mahler legacy are immeasurable, I think that it is entirely unfair to make comparisons between Zinman in 2008 to Bernstein in 1960. Both are great recordings, for radically different reasons. I give the edge to Zinman, who has a better orchestra and vastly different technology at his disposal. The only modern version that comes to this one is Christoph von Dohnanyi's now out of print version (1994) with the Cleveland Orchestra and Dawn Upshaw.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nicely Performed and Recorded, March 13, 2008

By 

Virginia Opera Fan (Falls Church, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mahler: Symphony No. 4 [Hybrid SACD] (Audio CD)

I enjoyed my first hearing of this new release in Zinman's ongoing Mahler cycle with the Tonhalle Orchestra. Everything is nicely judged, well played, and clearly recorded. The SACD layer gives a nice sense of the hall. The second movement solo violin employs appropriate portamento, giving the music an appropriate macabre, or gypsy, bent (depending on how you view the character of the movement). The third movement contrasts the placid and the agitated very nicely.

The finale doesn't hold up the promise of the first three movements. Orgonasova gives us a rather bland vision of the heavenly hosts at the dinner table. The singing, as such, is very nice and her diction is quite good. There just doesn't seem to be much interest in the proceedings. Contrast her work to that of Della Casa, Margaret Price, Reri Grist, and Camilla Tilling to see that there can be a personal imprint while avoiding "any hint of parody" as specified in Mahler's score.

Overall, this is a very good rendering of the symphony. The SACD format gives a very lifelike sonic picture of some very good playing. It doesn't, however, dethrone older favorites like Bernstein (I), Horenstein, Reiner, and Benjamin Zander.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great 4th, bad vocalist, August 30, 2009

By 

Prescott Cunningham Moore (San Francisco, California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mahler: Symphony No. 4 [Hybrid SACD] (Audio CD)

The Mahler Fourth has recently faired quite well on disc. There was Michael Tilson Thomas's stunning, is somewhat manicured, performance, the highlight of his San Francisco Cycle. Ivan Fischer's Fourth was also thrilling, featuring spectacular attention to detail. And now Zinman offers a wonderful Fourth which may fail to reach the vertiginous heights of these other installments in the vocal department but in all other instances is certainly their equal.

Zinman is true to the idea that this is a child's symphony and keeps the orchestra in check in most of the tutti passages in the first movement. While this could potentially rob the music of tension, Zinman's detailed account of the development is just fabulous, all the various timbral nuisances of this music ringing through. He walks the tightrope between gentle grace and mysterious wonder better than many others. Predictably, the scherzo is less sleazy sounding than conductors who really relish in the solo violin writing, but Zinman does highlight the duplicitous quality of this movement and transitions into the trios well. The adagio, on the other hand, is ideal. There are literally too many wonderful moments throughout to highlight here, but the E-major heaven burst is one of the best on disc period. The various tempo shifts are handled brilliantly and the strings really sing their part as beautifully as any. A real joy too because Zinman's architectural understanding of this movement never lets tension snag do to tasteless rubatto or by wallowing in unnecessary sentiment. Zinman's contribution in the finale is equally fine, sensitively highlighting Mahler's beautiful accompaniment. However, Luba Orgonasova's contribution is off-putting at best. Her voice is both too mature and too heavy for the part and, although she tries very hard to sound child-like, she makes some truly ugly sounds throughout the finale. She has had wonderful success in opera and as a vocal soloist, most recently in Chung's magnificent Stabat Mater (Rossini), but even a cursory examination of her discography reveals she is in no way the right instrument for the part. True, her performance is nowhere near as awful as Rene Flemming's atrocious Fourth with Abaddo, but she is nowhere close to sounding right for the part. She does not ruin the performance, per se, but it certainly downgrades this installment from a reference position to one of qualified recommendation. Still, those familiar with this symphony will certainly love what Zinman brings to the table, and Orgonasova is not so terrible as to make the finale unlistenable.