Customer Reviews

Mahler: Symphony No. 6 [Hybrid SACD]

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

 

 

This CSO Resound label sure knows how to capture its orchestra live in concert. The orchestral balances within this performance are amazing. I am hearing details of the score that have been to some extent buried within the mix on other recordings...some of which I love dearly. I believe the phrase is transparency. Anyway, the sound and execution of the playing is magnificent. The reading of the score is another matter and I believe that this reading will be unfairly maligned because while it does not pack the immediate punch of a Levi, Bernstein, or Tennstedt (especially his recently released live recording from London, it does have merit. I found myself initially getting impatient but as I sat with the recording longer I found that I became more and more wrapped up in the emotional arc of Haitink's reading. At face value it may seem dull but that is deceiving because it does work very well on its own terms and I becoming rather fond of the reading as a result. Mahler is about long paragraphs and Haitink practices what Mahler preaches...he takes his time a let's the score slowly unfurl. It may not be immediate gratification, but sometimes things of worth need to grow on you.

One for the ages is exactly how I feel about this glorious Mahler 6th Symphony recording on the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's new CSO-Resound Chicago Symphony Orchestra Live label. LSO Live label producer James Mallinson and his recording team have produced one of the best Mahler symphony recordings in recent years, emphasizing the spectacular musicianship of not only the Chicago Symphony itself, but also, of its principal conductor, eminent Mahler interpreter Bernard Haitink. Haitink's latest Mahler 6th symphony recording is vibrant, and relentless in its passion and technical brilliance. While Haitink adheres faithfully to Mahler's score, he does so without forsaking its rich sonic architecture, or its ample expressiveness in what many refer to as Mahler's "tragic" symphony. Indeed there is a strong undercurrent of tragedy which pervades every note, from the opening military march in the first movement to one last loud chord at the very end of the Finale, which is almost chilling in its finality. Haitink also emphasizes the artistic links between Mahler and Shostakovich, especially in the brisk inner movements and the expansive, but still swift, Finale; this may be the only recording of the Mahler 6th Symphony in which I can hear obvious parallels between it and much of Shostakovich's symphonic oeuvre, especially the 4th, 5th and 7th symphonies (Though this ought not to surprise long-time admirers of Haitink, since he is almost as celebrated for his interpretations of Shostakovich's symphonies, as he is for Mahler's.). Having heard the best live performance of Mahler's 1st symphony I've heard, recently at Carnegie Hall with Haitink conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, I knew I was in for a treat with this recording. Happily, it doesn't disappoint, with rich intonation from the winds, brass and strings. Mallinson's recording mikes have rendered a truly three-dimensional sonic quality to this recording which is on par with his Beethoven recordings with Haitink conducting the London Symphony, it is as though you are sitting within the orchestra itself, hearing them perform. While the SACD version of this recording is rather expensive, it is definitely well worth its price, and should be a highly sought after acquisition for fans of Mahler, Haitink and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

It is clear that the first (Three Star) reviewer put a lot of time and thought into his review of the Haitink CSO Mahler 6. And I applaud the effort. However, I heartily disagree with his summation.

I give this recording 5 stars and put it along side the Barbirolli/Philharmonia recording of 40 years ago as a top recommendation.

There are different approaches to Mahler's 6th and one should have a couple to see which a given listener prefers (or like me that you like both major approaches for the different light they shed upon the score).

One approach is a sort of cutting, fast, grab you by the lapels style as heard in the Kubelik or Solti recordings. It is bracing and rousing and doesn't necessarily arouse deep contemplation in the listener.

The other major approach to the piece is heard here: a view from above of the whole tragic landscape of this symphonic traversal. It is slower, builds gradually to fewer, but more powerful climaxes and leaves one devastated at its finish. It is a train wreck in slow motion from an omnicient perspective. I applaud and thank Haitink for this recording.

RE the sound and the orchestral playing -- the CSO has become a tremendous instrument following the tenure of Daniel Barenboim. All the power and brilliance of the Solti sound are still available, but the strings and winds are orders of magnitude finer. The CSO now is capable of anything -- both peel the paint off brass power and Berlin Philharmonic-style string luminosity and transparency. Ricardo Muti is arriving at a special time for the CSO and I look forward to hearing the results when this sensitive crafter of orchestral sound gets this instrument into his hands.

RE the SACD Mix -- The sound is very full and enveloping. Great balance and weight. I think that the engineers have found a great way to capture this orchestra.

This latest in the series of great new releases from the CSO Resound label features Haitink and the Chicago Symphony in a powerfully restrained performance of Mahler 6. The keys to the success of this interpretation lie in the decision of the conductor to let the music stand on its own without imposing arbitrary stylistic tweaks, and also the musicians' careful attention to the score's details. This results in terrific transparency, since the dynamic balance across sections is close to ideal, and musical lines and orchestral colors previously unnoticed are allowed to be heard, particularly in some of the otherworldly woodwind writing and the eeriness of percussion effects that Mahler evoked.

It goes without saying that the CSO sounds brilliant technically and fully-committed to delivering the highest degree of eloquence in Mahler's music. I think this SACD also features sonics that are as clear and impactful as can be expected from a concert recorded live in the congested acoustic of Chicago's Orchestra Hall.

Over the course of the four movements, Mr. Haitink's pacing leads to the sense of inevitability at the conclusion that Mahler likely was striving for. The natural austerity of the textures and deflated sadness at the end of the finale are fully realized by Haitink's reluctance to interject his own emotion onto the piece in favor of letting the music speak for itself.

Mahler is an old passion of mine going back 45 years to when I was a teen-ager. His 6th Symphony captured my imagination at a very tender age and I have never gone back. It remains my favorite of his symphonies without question.

It is a strange work, oddly classical in form but BIZARRE, which snared me as a mystical teen-ager looking for answers to existence. It is also a deeply moving work and Bernard Haitink, to my surprise, has nailed it.

This is a magnificent live performance with the Chicago Symphony playing the way it did years ago when I worked at Orchestra Hall on Michigan Avenue during Solti's tenure. The organization went into eclipse under Barenboim's direction but is now, happily, well on the way to being the premiere American orchestra again, perhaps in the world, though I can't fathom any symphony orchestra topping the Vienna Philharmonic, especially in this repertoire.

I bought this cd out of curiosity as to what Haitink would do with it. I have always admired him in works by Debussy and even Verdi operas (his Don Carlo-Italian version, is fabulous, and who would have thought?), but I have shied away from his Mahler because there are other conductors who I think are tremendous in these symphonies; Bernstein, Solti, Tennstedt, Karajan and Nagano (yes, Nagano, try his 8th on for size and ignore the nay-sayers). I was amazed at how alive, vibrant and finely tuned (in every sense) this performance at hand is. Special kudos to Dale Clevenger's brilliant horn playing, a great master who must be close to retirement by now. He shall be much missed when that sad day arrives. The Adagio in this recording is tremendously moving, deeply nostalgic and heart-aching and Clevenger's beautiful, understated playing adds immensely to the over-all effect. I don't recommend you listen to this movement if you are in mourning or anything because it is very emotionally destabilizing under normal circumstances. All those beautiful oboe lines, gorgeously played by Eugene Izotov, reminded me of my late 17 year old cat ,and I had to busy myself in the kitchen until those 'bits' were through. But the impact was notable.

Haitink's metronomically precise conducting works beautifully in what can become a real Halloween wallow in lesser more hysterical hands; Bernstein skirts the limits in this work and he is thrilling but I don't think anyone else could pull off the hair-raising effects he produces in this symphony, it's pure chutzpah and even Bernstein (NYPO Sony) remains king of the hill in this piece. But Haitink is right there behind him in this work, with Tennstedt and Karajan.

The sound is spectacular, very clear, highlighting hitherto unnoticed instrumental combinations and under currents, and there isn't so much as a sniffle from the audience at what is obviously a live performance (something about the aura around the orchestra attests to the alive-ness of the performance) aside from the FACT that it is a live performance. It really IS like you're sitting in the front of the first balcony at Orchestra Hall. There is also no applause or rustling of butts or programs between movements. The engineers at CSO Resound are to be commended for producing one of the greatest sounding Mahler recordings I've ever heard.

However, one of the things that I loved about the old Bernstein/NYPO performance on my old reel-to-reel tapes (long ago worn out) was the hazy ambiance created by those engineers. I slightly prefer that mysterious element in this particular work, but the clarity of the CSO Resound recording is something that needs to be heard by all who love this beautiful and soul-moving symphony.

I am compelled to buy the Haitink/CSO Mahler symphonies 2 and 3, just to see if he is really the great Mahler conductor that he exhibits himself to be with this great recording.

Mahlerians take note. This is a must-have recording, even if you were like me and under-estimated Haitink's gifts here.

The Mahler's symphonies aren't showpieces . The orchestra is enormous and the writing is full of virtuosity . But these symphonies are profound in a large spectra of fields . When we hear the performances of Gergiev and Dudamel the tempi are so fast that we forget all the profoundity of the music.Haitink, like Bernstein and Abbado are now the best choices we have to listen these works , and in My opinion Haitink show in every recording that he profounds his thinking . And now we have one fantastic Sixth, the slower and the most tragic I heard. The order of the movements is in the correct position, and specially the last movement sounds really tragic. Forget Gergiev. The Sixth with the Russian conductor sounds superficial . Profoundity we have here. The orchestra sounds gloriously and the recording is amazing.

Actually, 4.5 stars! I agree with the other reviewers. The sound on this disc is exceptional. I have only listened to it on regular stereo; it makes me wish I could take advantage of the SACD layer! Completely transparent sound, beautifully recorded, exceptional playing. Haitink's reading, on the other hand, may strike you initially as underpowered, but don't let that deceive you. This is the first time I have listened to this symphony and actually thought, "what beautiful music," rather than, "I love this anxiety-ridden musical journey." Haitink seems to find the right tempos, allowing him to present the Mahler of the 1st symphony, rather than the 9th. I love Tennstedt and Bernstein for the 6th, but removing layers of nervosa actually works with this music, especially if you are conditioned to those conductors. This "mellower" approach allows for details to emerge which I can guarantee you haver never heard on recordings before. The exceptional recording helps too!

I am not a scholar of Mahler by any means, merely a devoted and amateur fan. Bernstein's recordings on Sony Classical and Deutsche Grammophon, Boulez's on DG, and Abbado's with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra -- all superb, I think. There are others as well: Karajan's on DG, Chailly's on Decca, that are also, again, superb.

Here, I think, there are disagreements over Haitink's interpretations, some of them valid, but one thing stood out to me, clear and bright as a constellation: the performance of the Chicago Symphony. It is, simply put, sublime. Whatever the happy coincidence of performance and engineering which occurred, I think this might be one of the finest recordings of a Mahler symphony extant. To my ears, it was near tonal perfection. Aesthetically and existentially, this was a very moving experience. Highly recommended.

Please note: I listened to the sacd/cd hybrid version, but just on a regular cd player. I do not own any surround sound equipment.

It gives me absolutely no joy to be so negative about this release. I was hoping for this to be an improvement over Haitink's CSO Mahler 3rd, which ain't bad (not great, either), but this is even more disappointing. It makes me wish now that I had never said anything nasty about his recent French one for the Naive label (L'Orchestre National de France). That one was positively thrilling compared to this snooze-fest. For starters, this is among the very slowest versions of the Mahler 6th symphony ever recorded (Sinopoli has the slowest one on record). But it possess none of the sleezy decadence that made the Sinopoli M6 sort of interesting (way too slow in the andante movement, though), much less the steely resolve and grim determination of the old John Barbirolli one. Haitink is just grim . . . and dour. Surely the CSO could have held off for some fresh blood to offer a few new or interesting insights. I just don't find anything new or interesting here at all. Let's begin on the gruesome details.

I have no problem with any conductor starting M6 with such a slow march, especially when you have low strings that are as strong as those in Chicago. But that also means that you have to conjure up some degree of contrast when you reach the sweeping second subject; the so-called "Alma theme". Haitink boldly fails to go where a few men have, indeed, gone. He's just slow and trudgy from start to finish - well over 25 minutes worth! I could have forgiven all that if he had simply whipped up some genuine excitement at the close of the movement. But just as with several spots in his recent CSO M3, he gets a lot of loudness from the famous Chicago brass, but with insufficient forward motion or sense of enthusiasm to go along with it. All this makes me think that Barbirolli made the right call by leaving out the exposition repeat. If you think that tragic means dark, heavy, and slow - from start to finish, mind you - your ship has arrived.

Scherzo: why bother? I think this performance is a good argument for dropping the scherzo altogether - thus ending the never ending debate over movement order, once and for all - and turning Mahler 6 into the greatest three movement symphony every written. Seriously, this is about as dull and poker-faced as you'll ever hear this oh-so-spooky scherzo. It's very well played, and little more. If you want to hear what this scherzo can - and should - contribute to the overall narrative of the symphony, try Rattle (either one); Gergiev/LSO (just came out too); Neumann/Czech Phil. (Canyon Classics), or Macal/Czech Phil. (Exton). Even Sinopoli provided some interesting contrast with his Mahler 6 sludge-fest, just by taking the scherzo at a relatively quick tempo.

Andante Moderato: Haitink isn't ridiculously slow with this - well less than 17 minutes, actually. But it might as well have been 19 minutes. Again, the playing is there but not much else. For example, there's absolutely nothing graphic or outdoors-y about the brief "Alpine" passage, located about six minutes in, under Haitink's dreary direction (rising, unsion horns; on-stage cowbells; naive sounding solo trumpet; swirling violin trills) - how could it all have fallen so flat? On the plus side, the Chicago strings do themselves proud over the movement's climactic passage. But it's all too little, too late. What's all the romantic fuss about?

Finale: from bad to worse. For example, let's just take the slow introductory section. There's a brief, funeral dirge for low woodwinds, followed by the low brass, that's located no more than 90 seconds into the movement. Haitink takes this at an extremely slow tempo, but then fails to make a ritard at the one spot where he could have inserted a huge one to great effect: the last A-major to A-minor chord meltdown, just before the movement begins its first allegro (fast) episode.

Haitink also fails to build up the tempo while traversing the chromatic (half step) harmonies leading up to the first hammer blow - which, by the way, is rather underwhelming in comparison to all the loud brass surrounding it - or approach the second one with much sense of trepidation, for that matter. Both Gergiev and Tennstedt (1991) are far better at objectifying the differences between the two hammer-strokes, just by the way that they approach them. As for the hammer-strokes themselves, I'm more bothered by the balances at those critical junctures, than by the slightly underwhelming sound of the hammer itself (the second one gets reinforced by the optional, additional percussion).

The famous Chicago brass dominate at those big junctures, just as they should, but to the extent that the brass sound as though they're sitting in the front row along with everyone else. No doubt, that kind of effect is a byproduct of Mr. Mallison's recording technique (very wide sounding), along with the relatively shallow depth of Chicago's Orchestra Hall. As so often happens, the strong Chicago trumpets make little or no distinction across the various gradations of forte - it's all just equally loud. Again, that's probably more an issue of logistics and acoustics, than any negligence on their part. I just don't like it when the trumpets sound front and center - literally! Perhaps a better solution would have been to put the horns where the trumpets normally are (front and center, but along the back), and put the trumpets more off to the side.

Well, why go on? I could point out that Haitink interestingly makes a huge ritard for the brief "false victory parade" passage, located before the spot where the third hammer-stroke originally existed (and sometimes gets reinserted) - and gets his horns to blast a true fortissimo there too - but then fails to bring out the all-important percussion underneath the horns and sweeping violins. But what would be the point? The battle is over, and so am I.

If you want the big guns of an American orchestra in Mahler 6, I would strongly recommend sticking to the recent Eschenbach/Philly one on Ondine. While Eschenbach may not be perfect either, he's vastly more varied and interesting with his conducting than Haitink. The balances are also far, far better than here. And while I'm not a huge fan of Tilson-Thomas' Mahler in general (his 8th should be great), his sixth is much better too. It's also a shame that DG never remastered and reissued their Abbado/CSO M6 on to their fine "Originals" series, because it's really pretty good - much better than this. As for Haitink, his best Mahler 6 is still the very first one he made with the Concertgebouw. His Berlin remake was pretty dull in the first two movements, but the slow movement and finale were darn near excellent - much, much, much better than this. Even his French one had its moments.

Perhaps these would have appeared to have been great performances in a "live" situation (albeit loud), but something simply isn't translating on to disc. Instead, I wish that the well meaning folks at the CSO had waited for someone new to get a crack at it. In my opinion, this is a wasted effort for the CSO. And I take no pleasure in saying that.