Customer Reviews

Mahler: Symphony No. 8 / Popp · Auger · Minton · Harper · Kollo · Shirley-Quirk · Talvela · Chicago SO · Solti

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I remember well this recording from my LP days. Regrettably, in my conversion over time from LPs to CDs, this somehow got lost in the shuffle. Truly dumb! But Decca has saved the day with a totally fresh remastering on a single CD, and at a bargain price to boot!

I find myself both agreeing and disagreeing with some of the previous reviewers (but, in the main, agreeing). Over the years, I've owned, listened to, and eventually discarded, several versions (Abravanel, Kubelik, Mitropolous, Scherchen come quickly to mind) and have put the two Bernstein recordings in storage for at least a while pending some time to rethink those performances through. The only other one remaining active in my collection is the Shaw, about which I make some brief comparisons to Sir Georg's along the way.

I think that, in my time, only Bernstein and Solti really got it all together in this monster piece. To a true Mahlerite (as opposed to someone who simply gets off on the wall of sound and the "occasion" nature of the work), this may be the most difficult of all Mahler symphonies to pull off with the right conviction, because it is equal parts cerebral and visceral. And it can fail in a major way if any one of the required elements (soloists, choruses, orchestra, dynamics, pacing, coherence and "the catching of the long arc" that is essential in the second part) is lacking.

In the cold, hard light of day, Solti is the winner. He is the disciplinarian that Bernstein is not, with an absolutely hair-trigger performance from the orchestra, and he is afforded better sound than either Bernstein recording. The presence of Kollo, Shirley-Quirk and Talvela guarantee a performance for the ages. Solti gauges the dynamics in the second section absolutely perfectly. I will listen to it again and again. The new "Legends" transfer is a marvel when one considers its date (1971).

Not having heard the LP version in a number of years, there were a few minor "reacquaintance" adjustments I found myself having to make:

- The sound stage comes across in a way which I do not remember from the LP version. The brass (except for the horns) sound as if they were behind a fairly heavy scrim except for when the choruses are not singing. Perhaps this is simply a matter of the singers sitting down and getting out of the way, a subtlety that was not apparent on LP nearly 30 years ago.

- The soloists are miked a little too closely for my taste. But they are unquestionably the greatest group of soloists ever assembled for a performance of this work, so I can readily look past this minor point.

- The chorus runs out of gas at the end of Veni, Creator Spiritus and thereby loses some of the cumulative impact that this "rush to an ecstatic finish" needs to have.

These are all very minor points, and should deter no one from acquiring this enduring performance.

I find myself agreeing with rac22 on the "good" and "less than good" Mahler from Solti and that this is the best Mahler that Solti ever did, because he did get the cerebral details correct (as in the long orchestral introduction to the Faust scene). I also find myself agreeing with Conrad Weisert on the matter of the performances of the choruses. Had the work been recorded in Chicago instead of Vienna, we would have had the benefit of the contributions of Margaret Hillis, which are exceeded only by those of her mentor, Robert Shaw.

For those wanting a third version behind the Solti and either Bernstein, I recommend the Shaw for both the choruses and for his own sense of dynamics and pacing (which largely mirror Solti's, with a total timing difference of only nine seconds spread out over nearly 80 minutes). Shaw's choruses win out easily, and do lift the roof off the Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta at the end of Veni, Creator Spiritus. The sound is the usual Telarc state-of-the-art. But the organ is anemic, the ASO is not the CSO, and Shaw, while having excellent and sympathetic female soloists, does not have Kollo, Shirley-Quirk and Talvela.

Bob Zeidler

It is almost inconeivable that one could possibly experience the Mahler 8th symphony in the confines of your home. As the title suggests, the forces required to pull it off are more massive than ever assembled before, or since.

And Decca pulled out all of the stops in putting together what can only be described as one of the most stunning achievements in the history of recorded music.

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, with an out-of-this-world horn section so aptly appropriate for the work, were moved to Vienna to join forces with three outstanding choirs (the Vienna State Opera Chorus, the Vienna Singverein, and the Vienna Boys Choir) in a recording venue far better suited to the massive forces than would have been available in Chicago (the Vienna Sofienaal) and where there was a far better organ to capture the opening with all of its magnificence. On top of that, all 8 soloists are top notch.

I won't repeat what so many others have said about the sound. It qualifies as a miracle in my opinion.

Experiencing this in your living room with any satisfaction is miraculous indeed, but then experiencing this so well done in the concert hall would probably be even more miraculous. For those who say you cannot compare the concert experience to the what you get in recordings, the recording playback environment being seen as inferior to the experience in the concert hall, I dare them to try to put together an experience today in a concert that would come anyhwere close to what you get here. And do it on a reasonable budget too!

Solti has doen a remarkable job on this recording. Already legendary, and often hailed as the single greatest version of No.8, the new transfer only adds to its appeal. There is an electricity here, a feeling that almost leads you to believe this concert was recorded live. Yes, as with all Solti's Mahler, the climaxes are impressive and expansive, but the quieter more intrspective moments are what really shine in this recording. Though No.8 may be a failure as a symphony, it is an amazing piece of music. The recording brings out the awe inspiring orchestral lines and keeps the gigantic choral foces from becoming a muddy mass. The new tranfer keeps the analog warmpth, while cleaning up and sharpening many of the more subtle textures. A trully wonderful achievement, and by far the greatest bargin of the available recordings.

I was looking for a recording of this symphony that would bring out the intensity that Mahler intended. Naturally, if you're looking for intensity, you look to Solti. From the first bar you can tell that you will be a part of something special and unprecedented. Never has there been such a gathering of top vocalists and instrumentalists. With names like Popp, Talvela, the Vienna boy's choir, the Chicago Symphony and one of the greatest conductors in the history of music at the helm, you can't go wrong by this recording. The soloists are absolutely magnificent, if I had one gripe it would be that they don't quite blend as well as on Horenstein's version however this is a very minor criticism and will certainly not detract from your appreciation of the recording. The ending is probably the most incredible moment in classical music history as the brass and concert organ roar out huge towering chords . To quote Mahler, "Try to imagine the entire universe beginning to ring and resound." Absolutely beautiful, brilliant performances by all groups and soloists. This is definitely a must own for any Mahler listener.

This past September, I was fortunate enough to participate in 2 performances of this giant piece. I was one of 330 people in the chorus while the orchestra of 100 people were playing in front of us. Not exactly the "thousand" people needed to live up to this symphony's nickname. What exactly is my point? Well, to pull off a monumentous feat such as this symphony is no small task. It requires large scale forces paralleled with the requirment of a competent conductor who can extract from the forces a truely stellar performance.

Well, Solti (in 1970) did something quite remarkable!

From the first movement "Veni creator spiritus" to the end, Solti's control of the mammoth forces can be heard in the first bar alone! He does not let the orchestra drown the choir and vice versa. Much of the credit can be attributed to the CSO's excellent brass section (at that time).

Solti's tempi are brisk unlike many of the other recordings out there (Shaw) but Solti's phrasing and balance of the plethora of dynamics is vital in sustaining a truely musical performance.

Solti's handling of the brass and how he aligns the forces in the boisterous finale is what creates a "fountain of light" to quote Mahler's wife remarking on the first performance of this piece.

There are many other recordings out there (Shaw, Abbado, Bernstein) but after hearing them all, Solti's stands far above the rest! Purchase your copy today!

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra; three choruses from Vienna; and the combined talents of Harper, Popp, Auger, Minton, Watts, Kollo, Shirley-Quirk, and Talvela; and strong direction from Sir Georg Solti make this the best available performance of this work.

Mahler's Eighth places enormous demands on everyone involved: the basses are expected to sing low B flats (those same inaudible "subterranean" notes that plague choruses in Mahler's 2nd as well) as well as high Gs; the sopranos and tenors have to negotiate with plentiful writing above the staff, including a few high C's. The sense that some of the singers are screaming rather than singing is at times valid; on the other hand, given the difficulty of the vocal writing, I think most singers would be inclined to scream, too.

The orchestral playing blends massed chaos and some of the most delicate chamber scoring ever devised. Making sense of the instrumentation while still conducting a choral work is a daunting, nearly impossible task, yet Solti succeeds admirably.

The highlights of this disk are many. To identify just a few: at the high point of Part I (end of track 4), we can actually hear all of the soloists and the choruses (this is rarely a given); John Shirley-Quirk's joyous Pater Ecstaticus and Martti Talvela's overwhelming Pater Profundus; and the hushed devotion of the final Chorus Mysticus (with the torturous low bass line). This is the kind of inspired performance that you can turn to time and time again--provided you have a pair of headphones, or your neighbors don't mind too much.

Some of the reviewers find that this performance is overly bombastic, with screaming singers, bloodless playing, and lackluster direction. Citing the Haitink version as the best available recording of this piece, however, does a great disservice: while the conducting is slightly more imaginative, the performance recorded here completely outshines the Haitink, where close listening reveals several major flubs in the recording, particularly in the all-important finale to part I. Bernstein, Tennestedt, Colin Davis, Haitink, and others all have given worthy performances of Symphony No. 8, but this one still trumps all others.

Gustav Mahler was scorned for half of the last century as being a composer of excesses: to the uninitiated he seemed intent on pushing sound, percussive effects, line and emotion to the outer limits of human tolerance. And nowhere are these criticisms more seemingly founded than in his Symphony No. 8, or 'Symphony of a Thousand'. Yet it is that very spectrum of composition - the mightiest of organ-based fortissimos and the near inaudible whispers of his pianissimos - that makes this wondrous work magical. Because of the vastness of forces required to perform it - a huge orchestra supplemented with extra brass choirs, massive choruses often written antiphonally, a children's chorus, and eight operatic quality soloists - it is not performed as often as his other works. Fortunately most live performances have been followed by recordings and of all these this magisterial accomplishment by Georg Solti and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as recorded in 1971 in the Vienna Sofiensaal is the crowning glory. Solti keeps the mighty forces under control, allowing them to explode for the many climaxes and shimmer when called upon to caress the poetry of Goethe. He has a choice group of soloists in Heather Harper, Lucia Popp, Arleen Auger, Yvonne Minton, Helen Watts, Rene Kollo, John Shirley-Quirk, and Martti Talvela, all of whom not only have splendid voices but the musicality to make their contributions part of the fabric of the symphony rather than diva turns. This CD is one of the Decca Legends digital re-masterings of a 33-year-old recording and it sounds as fresh as anything being made today. Highly recommended on every level.

Without a doubt, Solti's reading of Mahler's 8th Symphony was his finest recording in his critically acclaimed Mahler symphony cycle. Now thanks to state-of-the-art digital remastering, the sound quality is even better. From the very first note, Solti leads the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, three Viennese choirs and distinguished soloists in a grand performance noted for its well-balanced sound; neither the orchestra nor the choruses are overwhelmed by the others. The warm acoustics of the Vienna Philharmonic's concert hall undoubtedly played a role too in ensuring the splendid quality of sound. Yet Solti, unlike so many before him or afterwards, showed how able he was to control the vast orchestral and vocal forces assembled for this symphony. Of recent digital recordings of Mahler's 8th Symphony, only the Sony recording of Sir Colin Davis conducting the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra comes close to equally the excellence shown by Solti, his orchestra and singers. If one is looking for a great modern recording of Mahler's 8th Symphony, then Solti's electrifying account has to be it.

The recordings of Georg Solti seem to fall into two categories: (1) Beautifully detailed and gorgeous, impreccably phrased and vigorous. (2) Overwrought and hysterical at the expense of thoughfulness and detail.

This legendary recording of Mahler's 8th has both. Much too impulsive and dense in the first movement, one only has to listen to recordings by say, Tennstedt or Sinopoli to understand what is missing.

In Part II, however, everything is just about perfect. The tempos, textures are ideal and very beautiful, and the soloists are all one could ask for. (Far from being "too light", these solists are exactly what is needed to clarify and soften the textures of this massive piece). Solti finds so many beautiful moments that cannot be heard in any other recording.

I have yet to hear the perfect Mahler 8th. If you don't mind switching performances in the middle, I would recomment Tennstedt/Solti.

Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 8 "Symphony of a Thousand", like his second symphony, requires great forethought and is quite problematic to perform, nonetheless record with some semblance of quality. This Decca Legends digital transfer of Sir Georg Solti's great 1971 Vienna performance was the first to translate well to a recorded medium, where others failed.

The first problem in putting together the Symphony No. 8 is instrumentation. A large woodwind section, brass section with 8 horns, 8 trumpets, 8 trombones, celeste, piano, organ, harmonium, mandolin, not to mention eight soloists, two mixed choirs, and a children's choir is tough to balance, not to mention perform. The symphony is in two parts: the first part is on a Latin text, the famous Veni, Creator Spiritus. The opening with full organ and double chorus brings me to the second problem in putting the work together, the music is terribly difficult. Solti has combined the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, two Viennese choruses, and the Vienna Boy's Choir; by all accounts, a world class occasion. The musicians tackle the virtuosic music in stride, on both the instrumental and vocal sides. The 20+ minute first part is a unceasing, breathless praise to God. The music's extreme ranges and quickly changing harmonic foundations are performed with reckless abandon here, as Solti does anything but dwell, but instead forges ahead. The soloists, all legends of their time (and this time as well) are a treat. Each are heard well over the orchestra (the tenor is sometimes overwhelmed by the orchestra and soprano soloists) and the same goes for the chorus. The ending Gloria is taken at break-neck speed and ends as stated in the text, gloriously. The second section is in German and sets the final scene of Goethe's Faust. A scene of redemption, it fills the rest of this 79 minute CD. A bit more subdued, the lovely opening instrumental gives a breather after the first part. The rest that follows is rather operatic in nature, with arias, duets, ensembles, and chorus work. The last six minutes, which begins extremely soft in the chorus and strings, is the last great build-up to the conclusion of the work, a splendid finale. The third problem in putting together the work, especially from a modern perspective, is quality of sound and balance. Suffice to say, with the 1971 transfer, it is very difficult to tell the age of the recording. All voices speak well across the board, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra cannot be beat by any other ensemble, especially the brass section, and only on rare occasions are their signs of the recordings' age. The voices are clear and the text is conveyed satisfactorily. Each classical music fan has their favorite "Symphony of a Thousand" by Gustav Mahler; this is mine. An easy recommendation.