Mahler: Symphony No. 1 in D Major / Symphony No. 9 in D Major

Gustave Mahler (Composer), Gerard Schwarz (Conductor), Royal Liverpool Philharmonic (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Royal Liverpool Philharmonic
• Conductor: Gerard Schwarz
• Composer: Gustave Mahler
• Audio CD (January 29, 2008)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Artek
• ASIN: B00114XQN2
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #576,405 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly good, October 15, 2011

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Laszlo "CD Explorer" (Ashburn, VA (USA)) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: Mahler: Symphony No. 1 in D Major / Symphony No. 9 in D Major (Audio CD)

My headline refers to the fact that I was not expecting a superlative performance (nor sound) from the artists or producers (and it is at budget price). But such prejudices of mine should be put aside.

The 9th took a while to warm up, but by its ending it delivered a powerful performance in excellent sound. The marvellous last movement is especially successful; very touching. Tempi all over are correct, perhaps even perfect (I hesitate using that word on Mahler recordings).

So is the 1st (which comes after here). Successful from beginning to end on all counts, definitely above the market average. In fact, I felt the orchestra was really having a great time playing for Schwarz, so there seems to be a nice symbiosis here.

So there. Since I wanted to complement the usual Santa Fe review and add to the star count, I leave the warmest recommendation.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easily overlooked, but very assued Mahler anyway, April 21, 2009

By 

Santa Fe Listener (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Mahler: Symphony No. 1 in D Major / Symphony No. 9 in D Major (Audio CD)

Here at super-budget price are two highly enjoyable Mahler performances from Liverpool, not the first (or fifth or tenth) place you'd look for Viennese style. But as it happens Schwarz's parents were both Viennese, and he played trumpet under Leonard Bernstein when he and the NY Phil. led the global Mahler renaissance. What it all amounts to is that Schwarz conducts with an innate sense of Mahler's complex idiom. Here we have Sym. 1, which began his ongoing Mahler cycle in 2004, coupled with a Ninth that came along later.

I think the highlight of the cycle so far is a gripping, totally convincing Sym. #7, but these two readings are impressive, too. Since the Ninth is programmed first, I listened to it first. This is one work where a rich orchestral tapestry always seemed necessary, but thanks to alert solo work, a sweet-sounding string section, and excellent sonics, there is o sense that the Royal Liverpool orchestra is too thin except at rare moments. Schwarz is canny to scale back the ambitions of his interpretation. Here is a Ninth where everything is in place, favoring balance and poise -- no volcanic eruptions or cathartic tragedy. I found some tempos a bit too brisk to allow Mahler's multi-layered ideas to bloom, especially in the Rondo-Burleske, which hurtles past shorn of savagery and satire. However, the final Adagio is very well managed, and Schwarz reaches its climactic heartbreak without exaggeration.

The Mahler First is among the easiest of his works if a conductor wants to make a good impression, but very few have offered exceptional interpretations (has anyone bettered Bernstein and Kubelik, two evergreen recommendations? Perhaps Abbado's second account on DG, with Berlin). Again Schwarz has everything in place, with musical phrasing, careful balances, and involved playing. I marvel that English provincial orchestras have achieved such a high level of execution, a decided leap from twenty years ago. I don't think Schwarz has found the magic key, though. His reading falls just shy of the ecstatic swell that the youthful Mahler wrote into his score. Still, as music-making Schwarz's account is never pretentious and always enjoyable in its colorfulness and vitality. I would easily put it ahead of Maazel, Chailly, Ozawa, and Leinsdorf despite their world-famous orchestras.

Instead of heading automatically for Naxos, listeners in search of udget Mahaler should be aware that recordings like this are miles ahead artistically. The best comparison is with Abravanel's famous Mahler cycle from Utah on Vanguard, but Schwarz still comes out on top.