Customer Reviews

Mahler: Symphony No. 5 ~ Dudamel

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was amazed some years back to hear a youth orhestra play the enormously challenging Mahler Fifth with virtuosic skill and freshness -- that CD featured the Junge Deutsche Philharmoniker under Rudolf Barshai (a budget release on Brilliant). Here we go a second time, and the results are even more extraordinary, for who could live farther from Vienna than children of Caracas, Venezuela? Yet these teenagers play with the thrill of discovery, and their magnetic prodigy of a conductor, Gustavo Dudamel, finds scintillating ways to illuminate this great work.

I don't know how any listener could fail to sit up and take notice -- it's a shame when originality isn't acknowledged and celebrated. The execution of the orchestra is terrific (just listen to the blazing first horn), and I imagine seeing them on stage would bring tears. To think that Mahler's genius could ignite passion in such an unlikely setting. Venezuela has promoted classical music as a national treasure, putting the public schools of the U.S. to shame. The Simon Bolivar orchestra is the cream of a very substantial crop of youth orchestras across the country. In addition, any cavil aobut the sonics here is misplaced -- this CD sounds exemplary.

Ultimately, however, judgment rests on the interpretation, and Dudamel fully justifies his recent appointment as the successor to Salonen with the Los Angeles Phil. On the whole Dudamel's interprettion is mroe delicate than any other I've heard, and the music blooms under his care. This is serious, deeply felt music-making. No wonder world-class orchestras are clamoring for Dudamel. Here his tempos are faster than usual at times, but that's a trivial criterion -- what counts is his expressive flexibility, his imaginative phrasing, his way with nuance and power combined. There's not a trace of bombast or rhetoric. Indeed, he eclipses Bernstein's extroverted mastery with its exact opposite.

I couldn't get on the bandwagon for Dudamel's debut CD of the Beethoven Fifth and Seventh, but this new release has converted me. We are witnessing a great maestro in his first, exciting phase.

Together with Christian Thielemann, the Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel (b. 1981) has recently been hailed as the new, young star conductor of Deutsche Grammophon after his Beethoven symphony 5 & 7 recording with the Simón Bolivar Youth Symphony Orchestra.

The present following-up features Mahler's fifth symphony, recorded in February 2006 in Aula Magna, Ciudad Universitaria, Caracas. Again, the same orchestra is used.

First, let me say that this is not a bad Mahler interpretation. But it offers no particular new insights, given the current catalogue of Mahler fifths. One could perhaps expected some radical or personal interpretational aspects, given a third world youth orchestra and a young, talented conductor. But, surprisingly, it is mainly a very conventional approach, apart from some very swift tempos here and there. The general and predictable formula appears to be that loud sections are played fast while piano and pianissimo are played slower (and even slower). This works quite well in the two first movements, but less well in the final three. The scherzo never really swings, as in, e.g., Barshai's and Kubelik's outstanding interpretations. And, as expected, given Dudamel's conception, the adagietto is nothing but uninspired - very slow and nothing else. Finally, the complex structure of the finale falls apart; it never forms a coherent whole as in the best interpretations (for example, Barshai, Gielen, Walter, Kubelik, Schwarz, Bernstein).

In sum, then, this a mainstream, predictable, somewhat tedious but not a very bad interpretation. Moreover, the orchestra is good but not exceptional.

Second, however, I must say that the recorded sound is a real drawback. I suppose the main reason is the dry acoustics of Aula Magna at Ciudad Universitaria. Because the sound, even if it offers both presence and detail, strikes me as quite boxy and lifeless.

Given its "post colonial" media aspect, this recording (as a media feature as such) is perhaps more interesting than the Karajan, Sinopoli and Abbado mainstream interpretations we have from the same label. But it is in no way exceptional in terms of its interpretation only, given the catalogue with many outstanding Mahler fifths. First contemporary choices should be Barshai (Brilliant), Gielen (Hänssler), Bertini (EMI), Zander (Telarc), and Gatti (Conifer). And among the classics, we have Kubelik (Tahra, DG and Audite), Walter (Sony), Barbirolli (EMI), Bernstein (DG), and Schwartz (Everest). Any of these should be considered as better "first choices" than the present recording. At least if you're interested in outstanding interpretations. But, of course, Dudamel's position as a young star conductor will attract many music consumers - especially those who love "stars".

Performance: three stars.
Hype: five stars and beyond.
Total: four stars.

Once again Amazon readers are guilty of voting yea or nay not on the quality of the music, but because of an inability to seperate themselves from the subject matter. I'm rating the performance against dozens of others on CD - not as a keepsake. If you like Dudamel and want a recording that's fine - just don't expect this to be the equal of the best recordings.

Gustavo Dudamel is very good, but in the Mahler 5th he's not quite ready to compete toe-to-toe with seasoned conductors leading better orchestras than this Youth Orchestra. It should not be forgotten that many of his competitors in this field were once upon a time themselves extremely gifted young musicians - had several of them appeared in today's Age of Instantaneous Star-making no doubt a few of them would also receive equal kudos.

This performance is okay, and better than Dudamel's sketchy attempt at Beethoven. If you're intent on purchasing this a memento it reveals a less than perfect acoustic venue, but there's more than enough clarity to show off the young musicians and their young conductor. As a performance some of Mahler's brass writing fails to ignite, while the trickier passages are frequently not pointed enough to link and hold together the complex structure of the myriad sections. The orchestra has a fair amount of color, though I frequently wished for some more distinquished playing. Counterpoint in particular falls short of the level of play of the finest ensembles. Dudamel's technical skills at successfully maintaining a slow movement - a very difficult art, usually achieved only after years of conducting - are still not yet perfected.

When Domingo first essayed conducting at the Met the pit musicians used to joke among themselves that it was amateur night. I thought he was better than that, but I willingly deferred to my betters. (I think Domingo's singing of Don Jose in Carmen was some of the most distinquished tenor singing of my generation by the way.) However, I feel pretty confident in asserting that the Simon Bolivar Orchestra, while certainly good, are not the equal of major orchestras at the top of their game, and especially when the best orchestras put as much heart and soul in their performances as these junior players do. Just as no pro football fan would expect a college football team, however good, to go head to head with the New England Patriots and come out victorious, let alone go up against Montana and Rice and the 49ers under Bill Walsh at the top of their game (those were the days!), so we shouldn't expect the Simon Bolivar group under Dudamel to surpass Furtwangler and the Berlin in Beethoven, or show greater and more insightful understanding of Mahler than conductors like Bruno Walter or Otto Klemperer, and orchestras like the Royal Concertgebouw or the Vienna Philharmonic.

Two stars for a good try. But please, don't fall for all the shilling. If you want a memento, fine. However, if you're only going to buy one Mahler 5th go elsewhere when you spend your hard-earned money. Sadly, many music-lovers readily accept the words of 'experts' and assume that if they say something is great and the public loves it, well then it has to be good. I suggest you compare and make up your own mind. Too often the public opts for press hubbub, colorful copy, and are swept away over. Fifty plus years experience watching audiences continually show strong preferences for Shotakovitch over Hadyn does not sway me from finding Haydn a vastly greater and more complex composer of symphonies.
Caveat emptor.

The miracle/mystery of the gift of great conducting is something audiences for ages have pondered. Given the schooling, the influence in early life of some great mentors, the opportunities or good fortunes that open to certain young conductors - given these and other factors, why is it that only a few conductors are great? And while no one purports to have the answer, the chief factor seems to be the innate musicality of the gifted ones. Gustavo Dudamel has the gift, the insight into the minds of composers, the ability to step onto a podium with assured preparedness, the means of communicating his thoughts and concepts to his orchestra, and the resulting stimulation of his audiences to become wholly involved with the music of the moment.

While most every classical music devotee probably has multiple fine recordings of Gustav Mahler's challenging and exquisitely passionate Fifth Symphony, few of those polished recordings played by the big orchestras of the world and recorded in acoustically mellow halls/studios can excite the ear and heart the way that this recording by Dudamel and his Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela can. The approach is straight forward, as though Dudamel conversed directly with Mahler, the insights are gleaming (inner lines have rarely been so clear, portions of the orchestration which has been muddy under the baton of others finds clarity and passion combined, etc), and the symphony makes complete sense as a whole rather than as a series of individual movements. High words of praise? Yes, but for this listener, having just witnessed Dudamel and his orchestra visiting in the Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, there have been few equals in the interpretation and playing of this mammoth score. The first desk players are superb (the solo French Horn in the third movement is near perfect) and the commitment of the orchestra to their maestro is evident and unflagging throughout the long symphony.

Dudamel and Mahler - prepare for an impressive association. Fortune has smiled on the Los Angeles Philharmonic as Dudamel approaches his role of Music Director in 2009. The hall, his musicality, and the emotional impact of Gustavo Dudamel with the Los Angeles Philharmonic bode well for the music world. This fine recording with his own orchestra of gifted young people is a stunning calling card! Grady Harp, November 07

One looks to Horenstein and Bernstein for Mahler. I could not believe the absolute intuitive rightness of Dudamel's way with Mahler's 5th. The tricky variations--in every dimension--that characterize Mahler's wordless discourses on fragmented, fraught modernity are always, in this performance, aspects of the work as an integrated whole. The Bolivar youth orchestra was, for me, absolutely and amazingly up to the job, though as a non-musician I may well have failed to notice infelicities that a musician's ear would pick up. In any case, I find this an uncannily good performance, and have recommended it to those of my friends who still sit and listen to music. The recording is very good.

As others reviewers have said, this is not a bad Mahler interpretation, but it is not an excellent one. After hearing this record I think this is nothing new, it's a very conventional interpretation. Dudamel is good in the fast movements (1st, 2nd) and at the finale, but in the sublime adagietto, he fails completely. What a big problem!, to fail in the best know of all Mahler's music and in one of the most beloved piece of classical music. Here the music sound dull, uninspired, without beauty and elegance. Dudamel seems to be immature to conduct Mahler and I think he needs more time in order to conduct and record this repertoire. Nevertheless, as I mentioned before, this is not a bad interpretation, but I would not say this is one of the best or good as the many records available with the most prominent orchestras and conductors. Dudamel has the skills to become a great conductor, he is young and has many years ahead. Only the time will say. For now his Mahler is waiting for, perhaps a first class orchestra or for the years to come.

I have three recordings of this symphony, and this one is by far the best one of all. The Simon Bolivar Orchestra of Venezuela is awesome and plays with the passion and technical ability rarely heard in even more mature and well established orchestras. I have only recently become familiar with the young Gustavo Dudamel, and the ecstatic reviews of his ability and his rapport with musicians don't do him justice. As Simon Rattle said of him, "he is the best conductor I have ever seen."

This one has heart. A sort of delicacy I personally like.
Dudamel has avoided the grim, dry interpretations.
Savor this treatment!

If you wish to hear a performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 5 which undeniably sounds like it was done by a student orchestra, then buy this recording. If you wish to hear a performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 5 conducted by a young Venezuelan who surely possesses a playful yet passionate confidence in himself and an ability to promote, if nothing else, his own abilities while bringing little of discernible insight or even boldness of imagination to his recorded performances, then buy this recording. And, if you wish to hear a performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 5 which sounds like it was recorded in a closet, then buy this recording.

No one doubts that the young Gustavo Dudamel has taken the classical music world by what only it might reckon as a storm, but after hearing this disc and his earlier reading of Beethoven's Seventh Symphony, I am reminded of the late Clara Peller who so memorably asked, "Where's the beef?" I cannot help suspecting that much of the enthusiasm generated by this latino conducting superstar is based on (1) the fact that in these past few years anything hailing from South America is automatically if not unquestionably regarded as hip, and (2) there is such a frenzy to celebrate youth in general and youth-centered musical education programs in particular that this product of the Venezuelan 'el sistema' was the surest bet going. I would venture to say that the Dudamel publicity machine is such that wherever he appears there is now the established expectation that the audience need only applaud wildly no matter what comes across the podium.

The cheesy aplomb with which Charlotte Higgins dashes off the liner notes accompanying this disc read like a 'People Magazine' excerpt, and in many ways their content tells the whole story: the young maestro Dudamel is lionized as a natural musical genius who is now able to share his talents with the world courtesy of the free-wheeling, egalitarian structuring of an innovative musical education system (reverently described here as a 'radical social-action project') found in his homeland. As its foremost 'product' Dudamel is presented as embodying the first term in each of the governing dualities operational in this torrent of hyperbole: youthful freedom vs. aged routine; freshly spontaneous insight vs. traditional approach; passionate, freely flowing energy vs. knowledgeable experience, etc.

Now all of the above might make for good promotional copy, but when it comes to musical performance something more than blurbs must remain. There should be something that survives the titillation, a trace that outlasts the celebratory mood. Alas, not much remains when this one's over. To Dudamel's credit, I will at least acknowledge that under his direction the first movement actually sounds for the first time in my memory something like its "Trauermarsch" marking, but the rest of the work never seems to break free either from its hesitatory spirit (due mostly, I think, to the fact that this IS a student orchestra) or from the boxy recording acoustic in which it is bound. In short, while some might regard Dudamel's reading as a soaring eagle of an interpretation, I found that it never really took wing.

As a collector of Mahler versions per symphony, and having heard so many throughout the years, I can only say that this one came afresh. Not so much for the vision of the performance, which is excellent, no doubt, but more so for the playing and the recording itself.
These guys make any latinamerican (such as I) feel proud. It shows the world that the mostly negative idea of Latinamerica, while sometimes justified, does not define the free soul of its people. That young players can play like this is incredible to me. If no one would have told me, and I had to guess... I would have said is was an internationally-famous major orchestra.
The other wonderful thing is the recording. European engineers dealing with a Caracas University Hall. And you can hear absolutely every instrumental line. For those of us who delight on the counterpoint of musical lines (something Mahler was a master at) this is in the demonstration class.
I confess... err... I could have copied this item (a library item) but this is so good, I'll buy me a copy in Amazon. A keeper.