Mahler Symphony No 4. Wagner Siegfried Idyll
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Richard Wagner, Gustav Mahler
Label: Eclipse
Magazine Review Date: 7/1996
Media Format: Cassette
Media Runtime: 0
Catalogue Number: 448 897-4DEC

Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Symphony No. 4 |
Gustav Mahler, Composer
Barbara Hendricks, Soprano Gustav Mahler, Composer Israel Philharmonic Orchestra Zubin Mehta, Conductor |
Siegfried Idyll |
Richard Wagner, Composer
English Chamber Orchestra Richard Wagner, Composer Vladimir Ashkenazy, Conductor |
Composer or Director: Gustav Mahler
Label: Teldec (Warner Classics)
Magazine Review Date: 7/1996
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 78
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: 4509-98423-2

Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Symphony No. 6 |
Gustav Mahler, Composer
Gustav Mahler, Composer Israel Philharmonic Orchestra Zubin Mehta, Conductor |
Composer or Director: Richard Wagner, Gustav Mahler
Label: Eclipse
Magazine Review Date: 7/1996
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 76
Catalogue Number: 448 897-2DEC

Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Symphony No. 4 |
Gustav Mahler, Composer
Barbara Hendricks, Soprano Gustav Mahler, Composer Israel Philharmonic Orchestra Zubin Mehta, Conductor |
Siegfried Idyll |
Richard Wagner, Composer
English Chamber Orchestra Richard Wagner, Composer Vladimir Ashkenazy, Conductor |
Composer or Director: Gustav Mahler
Label: Red Seal
Magazine Review Date: 7/1996
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 61
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: 09026 62521-2

Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Symphony No. 4 |
Gustav Mahler, Composer
Angela Maria Blasi, Soprano Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra Colin Davis, Conductor Gustav Mahler, Composer |
Author:
You might expect the boyish soprano of Barbara Hendricks to be Zubin Mehta’s trump card, and yet, as sometimes happens on disc, she sounds distinctly uncomfortable in places. Not that this should put bargain-hunters off acquiring what is generally a naturally paced Fourth, generously recoupled. The main drawback is the sound. No doubt attempts were made to ameliorate the unhelpfully dry acoustic of Tel Aviv’s Mann Auditorium, but the finale still seems rather brash, with Mehta pushing forward aggressively and his players unsure how (or whether) to keep up. I missed the disciplined refinement of Szell’s famous Cleveland version, not to mention the sonic distinction (and occasional somnambulism) of Maazel’s.
These days, Mehta’s Mahler is yet more expertly prepared, though still somewhat overbright to judge from his extrovert account of No. 2 (Teldec, 2/95) and this latest reading of No. 6. Anyone who finds Bernstein’s Allegro energico disagreeably pressed won’t much care for Mehta’s. His opening tempo is much the same but seems faster because he takes less note of significant details like the major/minor motto at 1'49''. While some of the string phrasing is crude (and the horns’ meaty vibrato must be something of an acquired taste), the Israel Philharmonic play better than ever and the production team get remarkable results from the orchestra’s once intractable hall. Having given us a swift, lithe first movement, Mehta rather spoils things with a coda unaccountably measured and vulgar in effect. More seriously, his finale is at once taut and shallow. Here, certainly, are sound and fury, but too much tension is allowed to dissipate after the first hammer-blow. The contrast with Bernstein is instructive: he knows just how to build towards the nodal points and how to sustain the tension in between. With Mehta you feel that things probably aren’t so bad after all. Incidentally, the Israel Philharmonic celesta sounds oddly like a marimba near the start of the finale; it may be appropriate that the booklet includes a caricature of Mahler as a man besotted with novel percussive effects.'
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