Customer Reviews

Symphony No. 1

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4 star:		(3)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was reluctant to write a review because I consider myself such a novice in comparison with some of the articulate and intelligent classical CD reviews found here on Amazon that are encyclopedic in their knowledge of the catalogue. I also do not have a strong education in music.

That said, I do own copies of the Kubelik, Bernstein, and Horenstein versions of Symphony No. 1, and I must say these recordings simply pale in comparison. Kubelik's interpretation is solid and faultless, but somewhat missing in drama and story-telling. I appreciate this recording, but I do not respond to it. Bernstein tends towards the "symphonic" and lush; I've always thought that it's a great recording for introducing people who don't listen to music to Mahler's works. It's also "Bernstein," for better or worse. The Horenstein I just thought was flat, and so consequently never listen to it.

Tilson Thomas's version with the SFO is technically brilliant, lush--but intelligently so--and narrative without being "programmatic." This version calls me to listen to it, and takes me into it. I marvel again and again at Thomas's choices.

For better or for worse, I listen to a lot of classical music in the background while I am doing something else. 99% of the time the music remains just that: background music. But time and time again while listening to this version, as I said, I am made aware suddenly of its beauty, of its depth, of what Thomas is able to articulate in this symphony that I've never heard before. It's cliché to say, especially with Mahler, that symphonies create a world. But at the age of 40, although I am to a large degree an unsophisticated listener, and after listening to classical music for the last twenty-five years...this is the first time I can say that I have experienced a world, another world, listening to a symphony.

This second CD in the in-progress Mahler cycle by MTT and the SF Symphony is simply without equal among recordings of Mahler 1. Now, to explain!

The first thing one will notice, especially with headphones, is the exquisite recordings. The sound is wide, deep and rich, yet as transparent as can be, each detail available to the ears and specifically placed. And I'm just listening to the standard level, for those with a SACD player, I imagine the quality is even greater. This is a live recording, but crowd noise is essentially non-existant.

Following the sound, the listener will be captured by the beautiful playing of the SF Symphony. Hard to believe these are the same strings I first heard 10 years ago! Their sound has gained beauty over time, rich yet light. The soloists, woodwinds and brass are all as fine as one will find, and the quality of phrasing and expression is not only very fine, but it is very fine Mahler, plenty of melting quality in the phrases, longer lines being passed back and forth between sections. The opening bass solo of the third movement is simply the finest I've ever heard in this piece, on CD or in concert. When properly played, there should be a quality of difficulty and anxiety in the execution, which should still be flawless, and it is so hear.

And finally MTT proves himself an exceptional Mahlerian. Gramaphone aptly described him as less extreme than Bernstein, more emotionally engaged than Karajan. Well put. He has great command of this music; the interpretation demonstrates how he has thought through and conveys every phrase in the piece. The opening string harmonics are controlled, and the nature fanfares have a real lontano quality. Then the glide into the Ging heut morgen phrase is as natural as a breath. The tempo is flowing yet never hurried, as perfect a choice as one can find. Yet when the score calls for heat, it is there aplenty, with just enough rough edges. The scherzo moves from a beautiful Viennese quality to a classical flavor and back, the schmaltz and schmerz on the slow movement is slathered on, and the orchestra rips through the opening of the final movement, while the close measures are fulsome and dignified. MTT's manner with Mahler is to judiciously chose certains spots for the kind of milking Bernstein famously pushes thoughout, and for the rest to convey the music clearly, with portamento, melting phrases and the absolutely best judged tempos extant. This is a clear #1 recording, worth the price, indispensible to any and all Mahler lovers.

"Curtain and Fanfare" is the title of the first chapter in Theodor W. Adorno's Mahlerian analysis, "Mahler: A Musical Physiognomy." Immediately after an introductory paragraph, Adorno begins his insightful, if idiosyncratic, analysis of the symphonies with this characterization of the First Symphony. The work does begin, after all, with the sense of a curtain being raised on a nature vista, perhaps on a hot summer morning, with all the strings playing an "A" spanning the full range of octaves. It is a hazy, "dawny" sound - heightened by having all but the lowest double basses playing the notes as harmonics - that is soon broken by the imitative sounds of cuckoos, as if peering through this hazy curtain. Not long after, the first of the fanfares begins, initially softly, on muted trumpets. Then, soon enough, these muted fanfares give way to an explosion of stirring fanfares in the full brass choir. And by the time we reach the final blaze of the concluding pages of the fourth movement, there is no question whatsoever regarding the aptness of the "fanfare" appellation. In between the opening curtain and the closing fanfares, we hear a second movement based on the rustic Austrian ländler and a third movement that is a parody - in minor key - of the famous "Frère Jacques" song. The work is a "first symphony" effort so original and so distinctive in the way it announces the arrival of a new compositional voice that I think it has only one other 19th-century equal in these qualities of originality and distinctiveness in the genre: the Symphonie Fantastique of Hector Berlioz.

Over a four-decade period, I've had a number of "favorite" performances of this work, beginning with a now-ancient Angel monophonic LP with Paul Kletzki conducting the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Other, newer, performances that have made their mark on me are those of Jascha Horenstein and Rafael Kubelik. Without question, though, the performance which had previously held the top spot in my listening preference is the (second) Leonard Bernstein performance, with the Amsterdam Concertgebouworkest. To me, "Bernstein II" seemed to best capture the youthful swagger, the gemütlich sense of the ländler, the irony of the "Frère Jacques" parody, and the peculiar combination of dynamism, nostalgia and forward-looking Mahlerian aspects of the final movement, performed with an orchestra which has had "Mahler in its blood" for, now, a century or more.

It is no mean accomplishment, then, for this Tilson Thomas/San Francisco Symphony Orchestra recording to replace my beloved Bernstein II at the top of the heap. In fact, it is a monstrous accomplishment. Recorded live at a SFSO performance shortly after Tilson Thomas's equally memorable recording of Mahler's Sixth, it is, if anything, even better than that one, which had been performed in the shadow of 9/11.

The recording is so realistic in its sound stage, and the instrumentalists so perfect in their playing, and Tilson Thomas so spot-on in his reading of the work, that I initially came away with the sense - and continue to do so - that here, at long last, is a performance that captures those uniquely Adornian "curtain and fanfare" descriptors set out above.

My highest kudos go to the orchestra musicians themselves. While unquestionably Tilson Thomas has succeeded in elevating the performance level of the orchestra beyond what it had ever been before, what I hear here is really something special. Nowhere is this more evident than in the fanfares themselves, whether unison trumpets or full brass choir in chordal harmony. The crispness and accuracy of attack, as well as the perfect intonation of these brass players, is something one is seldom fortunate to experience. And one really DOES know when these matters of attack and intonation are dealt with accurately, and when they are not.

There is so little that I can fault about this performance that it borders on nit-picking (and likely unfair nit-picking at that). The double bass soloist in the "Frère Jacques" movement, like most, uses a modest amount of vibrato when none at all is likely more appropriate. And, in the final movement, there is a quiet interlude - a period of repose - which, if listened to very carefully, suggests a precursor, in style, of the later Mahler yet to come. I think that in this rather brief interlude Bernstein II captures that sense slightly better.

But to me the overall balance of matters seems quite clear. This Tilson Thomas/SFSO Mahler 1 is the one to have. It's not inexpensive. But, unless you're an absurd Mahler completist like me, it's the only one you'll ever need.

Bob Zeidler

Let me state my biases before we begin: first, that I am a first year trombone student at the SF Conservatory of music and my knowledge of the many recordings of this first symphony is not expansive - I have only listened to two others besides this one, secondly, being a brass player, I tend to be somewhat oblivious to everything else in the orchestra(well, at this point in time anyway - I don't want to further any stereotype of brassplayers always being like this!) and this review comes from a player's perspective, and thirdly, living in the San Francisco Bay Area, being a member of the San Francisco Youth Orchestra, and an ardent SF symphony fan. Now with that said, let us begin...

I was, at first, somewhat weary to see the show when it was performed last year because I had played the work the previous year before, had listened to a few recordings in preparation of playing it, and was utterly sick of it. This symphony was not anywhere near the top of my most favored symphonies of all time, in fact it was at the very bottom. A friend finally coaxed me to go with her and I did, dragging my heels. However, by the second movement of the work, I was alive with enthusiasm and Tilson Thomas has captured my attention and didn't let go. Needless to say I went out after the show and promptly bought the Mahler 6 recording that had been just released.

As I listen to it as I write this, as whenever I do, I'm awestruck by the lush, lyrical, and ingenious interpretation of this work. It always has you on the edge - either patiently expecting the surge of energy after some ritard or vigilantly picking out all the tone colors of all the different intsruments weaving this magnificient symphonic tapestry. The mastery of the playing is just incredible!

When I listened to the long introduction in the first movement, I was not bored and I actually noticed the woodwinds and what they were doing! The delicate flute, oboe (combined with bassoon to produce a really bright sound with a dark undertone), and clarinet lines poked out of the texture and produced a profound joy with in my heart. Then the off stage horn and trumpet lines were equally astounding. The horn sound was just as big and lush onstage as it was offstage. In the third movement, the horns rocked the house on their melodic lines and stopped hits! In the Fourth movement in the last hundred bars, they rolled our the sound like heavy freshly minted gold bricks. The trumpets, however, blew me away! They were so together on their fast triplet 16th lines that I cried aloud when I heard it on CD. All of their articulations were so exact and precise that I would wager much of my personal possessions to find a better recording or live performance. Glenn Fischthal, principal trumpet, is one of the most under-rated ochestral trumpet players in this country. All of his solo lines just floated and sounded so easy and the high C in the fourth movement soared like a large bird of prey in the fourth movement (If you are a trumpet player, do not pass this recording up (or the Mahler 6 recording, which has one of the best high C#s ever), just listen to the fat lip trill in the third movement!!). Craig Knox's tuba solo in the third movement was dark and seemed as if to weep, and was flawless!
There's absolutely nothing negative I have to say of this recording... I once heard from a friend of mine that Tilson Thomas acts like a large net to catch all of the musical ideas within the orchestra and bring them together to create something special. I think he does this unerringly. One can hear some of his teacher, Bernstein, in his interpretations, but only faintly. MTT has come to create his own concept of Mahler - something new and untried. I highly recommend this recording to all, not just musicians!

Michael Tilson Thomas is a phenomenal music director. He inherited the San Francisco Symphony in 1995 and has, since then, turned the band, which was already quite accomplished under Herbert Blomstedt's tutelage, into a world class ensemble in the truest since. Despite its few (but glaring) weakness - bad flutes and violins that tend towards thinness - the San Francisco Symphony boasts consistently fine playing and musically intelligent contributions from the soloists - droll clarinets, boisterous bassoons, a horn section second to none, beautiful lower strings, and rich, big toned lower brass. Listening to this ensemble - an ensemble in the truest sense of the word - is always a joy. But good playing only accounts for so much, and in Mahler, the competition is fierce. Thomas delivers here a very good Mahler 1st that is shy of great entirely because of the annoyingly tiresome rubatto that smothers the performance.

Objectively looking at Michael Tilson Thomas's ongoing Mahler cycle has been increasingly difficult for me mainly because, the more familiar I become with Thomas's conducting style, the more egregious the apparent faults become. Thomas's penchant for rubatto and mannered stylization started off as an interesting, if unnecessary, detail in the 6th and 1st symphonies. It became a bit more problematic in the 3rd. And finally, it became irritatingly obnoxious in the 7th and 5th symphonies. Thomas's insistence on smothering his interpretations with a thick coat of decorative frosting and fussy, mannered detail leaves a fluffy, decadent, at times even saccharine aftertaste which belies the often overwhelmingly high-level of musical nourishment these recordings offer. Indeed, nearly every other musical choice Thomas makes is a good one - it's just a shame he cannot discern between the good and bad.

Simply put, the first movement never takes off. Although the opening is rapt with tension, Thomas's tempo is just a bit too slow, which causes the tension to snag by the entrance of the allegro proper, which receives a somewhat faceless reading. True, this is not the unbridled frenzy of the 2nd, 3rd, or even 4th symphonies' opening allegros, but so much of the energy and rustic charm of this music is conspicuously absent in Thomas's micro-managing hands. The orchestral sound has been polished to excesses, delivering opulence at the expense of musical character and a true idiomatic Mahler sound. The exposition comes off well enough (repeat observed) but the development section is just painfully slow, dragging where it should flow. It's really not until the climactic fanfare and coda that there seems to be any urgency or energy, but even then the brass sounds underplayed and the orchestra seems stubbornly in check by Thomas.

The scherzo, however, is spectacular. Thomas really has a handle on Mahler's scherzo movements, for nearly all the scherzos throughout the cycle (perhaps with the exception of the 3rd) have been uniformly spectacular. Right away, things just seem right as the lower strings don't just dig into their parts, they attack the music with vigorous rustic energy. The winds of the symphony have never sounded more characterful than they do here, delivering some really magical solo and ensemble moments. The violins contribute greatly as well, reaching vertiginous heights in the dizzying transitional passages. Brass blazes, horns shine, and the whole proceeding has an infectious energy. The trio is excellently paced, framed within the context of the music like the picturesque dance that it is. The return of the scherzo features some thrilling horn work that leads to a particularly exhilarating close.

The third movement goes well enough despite some atrocious flute playing. The various klezmer episodes are appropriately sleazy without sounding vulgar and the march is fittingly mordant and idiomatic. Which makes the Wunderhorn episode all the more wonderful, here receiving a lovely, sensitive reading.

The finale opens with tremendous energy, immediately building tension. The strings clearly articulate their parts, the brass is ominous without becoming gratuitous, and the heavy presence from the percussion adds to the vehemence of this music. Although Bernstein (either on Sony or DG) growls a bit more as the music transitions into the doleful second subject, Thomas has more than enough of a bite to sustain tension. The second subject features wonderful string playing and (as typical with Thomas) predictable moments of heavy mannered rubbato, but this music can sustain a heavier interpretive hand much more so than late-Mahler and, thus, comes across well enough. The vehement return of the opening music is quite frightening, due in large part to the wonderfully present percussive effects that really rattle the bones. The fanfares in major and subsequent cadence are appropriately bombastic without becoming over-the-top featuring some wonderful playing from the brass. The nostalgic reappearance of the music of the first movement is pastoral and well paced, interrupted by spectacularly full-bodied viola playing and some prickly sounding strings. The coda blazes in with the necessary pomp and circumstance, a bit on the slow side as Thomas predictably milks this triumphant music for all it is worth, but again, this music can sustain the heavy, mannered touch. A huge drum roll brings the symphony to an appropriate close.

On a side note, I think it is important to discuss the nature of the sound of the San Francisco Symphony in these recordings. The winds are quite lively, playful, and at times even coquettish. The brass is rich, powerful, but never overbearing. The percussion, while excellent as a section, has never been captured faithfully by the engineers - only in forte does the timpani cut through the texture with any real acuity. The strings are rich, plush and bright. Again, the orchestra itself really is something, and, as far as orchestral perfection goes, the San Francisco Symphony delivers a near perfect performance, despite its bright sheen.

Overall, Michael Tilson Thomas is quite well versed in Mahler and there is, despite all the shortcomings, a profundity of incite here. The playing is top notch, the contributions from the soloists are wonderful, and many of Thomas choices are good. However, his insistence on micro-managing every aspect of the score prevents his orchestra from creating a true idiomatic Mahler sound. The first movement never really takes off and thus, the tension falls flat, Thomas's tight grip keeping the orchestra stubbornly earthbound. And while the march and scherzo especially are quite exciting, the finale, as good as it is, still doesn't quite reach the heights of the competition - Bernstein and Kubelik being the front-runners. It is frustrating, really, when everything is perfect on paper but fails in reality. Thomas needs to learn how to let go when the music demands explosive energy. Frustrating.

It's astonishing that the young Mahler produced such a breakthrough work as his First Sym. in his mid-twenties. I've loved it for forty years and remember many vivid recordings. The classic in mono is Bruno Walter's with the NY Phil., remastered by Sony in very listenable sound. In the early stereo era Bernstein, also with the NY Phil., stands out. In recent years I've gained enormous pleasure from the second Bernstein on DG, Tennstedt on EMI, Boulez on DG, and above all, Abbado with the Berlin Phil., also on DG, which stands at the top of the list for me.

And Tilson Thomas? In general I find him a lightweight in Mahler, but he sems very much in sympathy with the Mahler First, the most lightweight of the ten symphonies. Orchestral textures are clear, the recording is very detailed, but the surprising element is that MTT has real ideas to offer. His nature painting in the first movement moves effectively from hushed wonder to a thrilling climax, and he imparts wide rubato, very much in Mahler's own style. The Scherzo is light-footed rather than climping, moving at a good pace. There is such a wide dynamic range to this SACD recording (I listen through a regular two-channel CD system) that the solo double bass in the third movement is quite faint, but I like Tilson Thomas's lugubrious tempo here--this is a mock funeral, after all. The modern sonics also give the opening of the finale great visceral impact, and the movement is played for suspense and thrills.

So why not five stars and exclamations of wonder, which other reviewers are happy to bestow? Well, good as he is, Tilson Thomas isn't Bruno Walter, Bernstein, or Tennstedt. This is one of a number of very fine Mahaler Firsts, the balance going against it because the San Francisco Sym., as much as it has improved under Blomstedt and MTT, isns't the Vienna Phil. or the NY Phil. This becomes evident in the wind solos, which lack that extra degree of personality and virtuosity, and in the strings, which are a bit light. Otherwise, this is a very enjoyable and distinctive reading.

I agree with most other reviewers - this is a superb Mahler 1, alongside Bernstein's and Abbado's DG recordings and many others.

One tiny caveat I will pass on is that compared to the other MTT Mahler SACDs I have heard in surround sound (Nos 4 and 6), this one does feature rather too much ambient sound from the rear speakers - and I am not the only reviewer to have commented on this. Such a slight imbalance does not afflict the superb Fourth on SACD, which is truly state of the art in terms of sound.

If you don't have SACD or just listen in stereo, then buy with 100% confidence, as this is a highly involving performance in superb sound.

I simply cannot agree with the previous reviewer. This recording is another excellent entry in the cycle of symphonies by Maestro Tilson Thomas and the SFSO.
The first symphony is undoubtedly the most flogged symphony of Mahler's cycle. Every hack orchestra attempts it and most fail. there are also a myriad of recordings available. In my own collection I have the Inbal, Abbado (BPO) and Bernstein (DG) recordings as well as having heard recordings by Solti, Chailly, Kubelik and Tennstedt. Without a doubt this current version is the most dramatic performance around.
MTT holds your breath at the climaxes and then lets the huge orchestral sound swamp you from all around.
The recording sound is simply brilliant and fully captures the gigantic range of dynamics needed in this symphony.
As you would expect from such a fine orchestra, the playing is superb and immaculate.
This cycle promises to be one of the finest of the modern era. But what else do you expect from Bernstein's protege?

This, by the way, goes for a number of SACDs I've heard so far. I find that there's a lack of bass. I've got the Mahler 3rd also by MTT and The San Francisco SO. As Well as the Bernstein recording of West Side Story on DG and I've found the same thing is true. I have several (regular CD) recordings of the Mahler 1st and 3rd and the regular CD of the WSS as well and the bass is ample on the recordings. Is this a problem of my system's bass management system? Contact me at laurentco(nospam)@shaw.ca

What is the good of the latest technology , fabulous SACD sound and wonderful orchestral playing when the conductor mangaes to make such a mess of the work as Tilson Thomas does here ! I don't even believe that he creates a real Mahler sound on the orchestra (for that listen to Bernstein on DG) what we have here in terms of sound (not the quality of recorded sound) is the worst kind of Mahler conducting , in which this staggeringly original First Symphony is treated merely as an Orchestral Showpiece . The emphasis here seems to be very much on presenting the work as a Symphonic Poem (in which case why not include Blumine). But this is a Symphony and the conductor who fails to recognize this will always sell this music short , producing the kind of sprawl we witness here instead of a cogent Symphonic argument .It is the conducting , though , which drives me up the wall !!! Every expressive point heavily underlined , every rhetorical gesture overdone so by the end of the finale I was tearing my hair out !! (and I don't have much to spare these days). The sleeve of the CD reproduces Mahler's movement titles and instrucions . The Third Movement ; Solemn and measured without dragging - so what does Tilson Thomas do ? Drags and drags and .... Those who aspire to be Mahler Conductors should have the words Nicht Schleppend tatooed across their .. well somewhere , because of the many qualifying German instructions Mahler writes into his scores Nicht Schleppend (DON'T DRAG) must be the most frequent . When will conductors realize that in some (not all of course ) but some of Mahler's Music what is needed is simplicity - the music allowed to flow without constant agogic hesitations .
The First Symphony cries out for this . It is the work of a young man , springing from the Fahrenden Gesellen Cycle .
Mahler must have been all too aware of the pitfalls to which his highly emotional music was prone - how else can we explain why his detailed instructions more often than not tell the conductor what he should NOT do ! The emotion is inherent in the music and doesn't need to be thickly applied by the sort of conducting style which is the equivalent of Ham acting !
Go to Inbal ( the sound isn't as good ) to hear just how this music should sound . No exaggeration but no undercharacterisation either and a real Mahler sound