 |
Dec-10-2009, 05:18
|
||||
|
||||
New Guy - Mahler Enthusiast
Well, I guess I'll finally introduce myself. I've posted a handful of times already.
My name is Mike. I recently became increasingly interested in classical music, beginning with Otto Klemperer's recording of Mozart's Magic Flute on EMI - my wife got it for me for Christmas last year. Since then, I have been expanding my collection exponentially. From Mozart I moved to Beethoven, then back to Bach, then forward to Brahms. Since then, I have gone crazy exploring new pieces and composers. Although I enjoy works from baroque, classical, and romantic periods, my favorites predominantly fall within the early and late romantic periods - Mahler and Bruckner right now command a lot of my attention. Beethoven remains a favorite, as well. Lately, I have also really come to enjoy Rachmaninov's piano works. I have not been as drawn to the classical period as much lately, and I have not yet developed much of a taste for much of the 20th century works. Schoenberg and similar composers have no appeal for me. I am moderately interested in Shostakovich. I do enjoy Elgar. Currently, if I had to pick 2 pieces that get the most listening, it would be Elgar's Cello Concerto (du Pre and Barbirolli) and Rachmaninov's 2nd Piano Concerto (Richter's performance, although I also enjoy van Cliburn and Rubinstein performing this work). But as the title suggests, Mahler is my current main passion. I first procured a recording of each of the symphonies as a survey, but now I am working my way through the highly recommended recordings. Thus far, I have the following: Symphony 1 - Bernstein, Concertgebouworkest Symphony 2 - Klemperer (live); Slatkin, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra; Solti, CSO Symphony 3 - Abbado Symphony 4 - Tilson Thomas, SFSO Symphony 5 - Bernstein, Vienna Philharmonic Symphony 6 - Abbado, BPO Symphony 7 - Bernstein Symphony 8 - Solti, CSO Symphony 9 - Haitink; Bernstein, BPO; Rattle, BPO Adagio from Symphony 10 - Bernstein, NYPO Symphony 10 - Rattle, BPO Das Lied von der Erde - Bernstein, Fischer-Dieskau; Walter, Ferrier That is what I remember off the top of my head. I do have a few more, just can't remember right now. I always appreciate recommendations, and, as I said, I am looking to add some more recordings to this list (I am working my way through Tony Duggan's recommendations).    
|
|
Dec-10-2009, 08:52
|
|||
|
|||
|
hi, dr. mike! i also have mahleria.
 your list is fine, allow me to add some for you... 1-leinsdorf/boston, walter/columbia 3-levin/chicago 4-reiner/chicago 5-solti/chicago 10-ormandy/philadelphia dlvde-reiner/chicago, klemperer/philarmonia dj
|
|
Dec-10-2009, 09:36
|
|||
|
|||
|
Wow, that is quite an extensive collection of Mahler! I just wanted to say that the recording you chose of the Elgar is really excellent; du Pre's rendition is obviously legendary. I think it's interesting to listen to other recordings and compare them to hers, seeing how each draws from her rendition in its own ways.
|
|
Dec-10-2009, 17:22
|
||||
|
||||
|
Quote:
Secondly, what is your ratio of Mahler:Non Mahler CD's. I suppose if you have 10,000 CD's it's not too disproportionate. Finally, can someone explain to me what set's Mahler apart from his contemporaries. He doesn't sound anything special to my ears. No doubt it's good stuff, just none of it particularly grabs me as unique.
|
|
Dec-10-2009, 18:34
|
||||
|
||||
|
Hehe. Insane? Not a bit. I have around 3500 CD's. Herr Mahler is by far and away my favourite composer and so therefore I own many different performances of everything he composed. As an amateur musicologist, classical is my passion and a valuable part of my life. I would own more if I had an income that allowed me to.
But I also own more Haydn and Mozart than Mahler. So much music to listen to. Mahler's contemporaries were not instrumental (pardon the pun) in the orchestral colouring and phasing as well as innovative IMHO. The only composers that come close are Richard Strauss in orchestration and Hugo Wolf and Strauss in Lieder writing. This would be in a Germanic/European model of course. If you read music and follow scores, just look at what Mahler employs for instrumentation and how they interact. He was teased incessantly about using everything but the kitchen sink and washboard. Yet, Mahler is more popular now than ever before. He was certainly way ahead of his time. In time one appreciates Mahler. As one listens to the chronological progression of works in the 19th century it is evident completely how Mahler sounds in comparison to others. Just my thoughts. Jim
__________________
http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum http://forums.fluteportal.com/ http://www.runnersworld.com/community/forums/index.jsp
|
|
Dec-10-2009, 18:53
|
||||
|
||||
|
Jim, all I can say is . . . wow. 300? I'm nowhere close. But I do love Mahler. I have no formal music training - I am a scientist by trade. So I can't speak to the technical aspects of his works. All I know is that I am moved by them. It is hard to pick favorites, but DLVDE and the 2nd Symphony are definitely at the top. My goal now is to hear one of his symphonies performed live, in concert. I just have to convince the wife (not as enthused about classical music as I am).
|
|
Dec-10-2009, 18:57
|
||||
|
||||
|
I am also crippled by disease!
Mahler 1 - Kubelick - Bavarian Radio 2 - Boulez - Wiener Phil 3 - Abbado - Wiener Phil 4 - Abbado - VPO 5 - Barenboim - CSO 6 - Solti - CSO 7 - Solti - CSO 8 - Kubelick - BRSO 9 - Kubelick -BRSO Das lied - Klemperer The 8th is my favorite. For me Mahler is so great because each symphony is a gargantuan monument of the human soul, and speaks millions of words. They are all so individually characteristic. Historically Mahler was important in the transition into the 20th century as his symphonies began to break down the essence of tonality and paved the way for schoenberg and many others.
|
|
Dec-10-2009, 19:07
|
||||
|
||||
|
Quote:
Fair enough. If you can afford to buy that many CD's and enjoy listening to them there is no reason why you shouldn't own over 300 Mahler discs. Weirdly, I do like Richard Strauss' orchestral works and greatly admire his use of the orchestra as a single instrument but I just feel he had the 'hooks' in the music to accompany the great orchestration that I haven't really experienced in Mahler. I have listened to 3 or 4 Mahler symphonies and they were quite enjoyable but after the final note had been played I can't say I could remember any part of them in my head afterwards. Maybe I need repeat listenings but is there anything of his that anyone can recommend that has a 'hook' or particularly memorable section? I have yet to study or even look at any Mahler scores but I am sure I will gain some knowledge from analysing them and am guessing he probably built on the advances of composers like Wagner in harmony and motive development. I also hear is harmonic texture is quite complex and modulatory yet retaining traditional tonality which means I should be able to understand it. Symphonies are possibly my favourite medium for classical music and being that Mahler (like Bruckner) supposedly specialised in them I expected to like both of them a lot more.
|
|
Dec-10-2009, 19:07
|
||||
|
||||
|
Being "moved" by a composer is the start of a delight journey indeed. That's how I started my love affair with Herr Mahler. It has consumed many years of my life and I'm the better for it. I DO listen to many others though so it is not a singular affair.Just that GM's music speaks volumes to me and that has translated into this passion.
A love of music can be instantaneous or a lifelong pursuit. In my own case, I was introduced to classical at a late age of 16. That's when my life long journey started and it will not end until I die. My first Mahlerian experince was the 9th under Solti in the mid 80's. I was hooked. Now I own CD's,at least 25 books and 50 scores of various works,etc of Mahler. Obsessive? Maybe. But then again I could be obsessive about a lot of bad things as far as that goes. Music is my vice. LOL. And I indulge daily and frequently. A part of my collection include these complete sets: Bernstein/NYPO-DG set Kubelick-Bavarian RSO-DG Tennstedt-LPO-EMI Boulez Abbado-(combination of Chicago and Berlin. Rattle MTT And many,many other singular recordings.
__________________
http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum http://forums.fluteportal.com/ http://www.runnersworld.com/community/forums/index.jsp Last edited by handlebar; Dec-10-2009 at 19:17.
|
|
Dec-10-2009, 19:25
|
||||
|
||||
|
And as Mahler's teachers included Herr Bruckner (formally) and Wagner (informally), you will have no problems hearing the correlation. Strauss just does not do it for me for the most part,with a few exceptions. His symphonic writing seems clogged and stuffy as well as texturally cluttered.
His lieder writing is truly good though as well as the chamber music. If you want to listen to other Mahlerian contemporaries, listen to Hans Rott,Zemlinsky,Hugo Wolf and even some Schoenberg echos strains of GM. Jim
__________________
http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum http://forums.fluteportal.com/ http://www.runnersworld.com/community/forums/index.jsp
|
|
Dec-10-2009, 19:49
|
||||
|
||||
|
Sorely missing in your Mahler collection are his main orchestra song cycles (Kindertotenlieder, Rueckert Lieder, Lieder eines fahrneden Gesellen). Especially the Kindertotenlieder in the version(s) by Fischer-Dieskau.
|
|
Dec-10-2009, 19:54
|
||||
|
||||
|
Quote:
Not sure if I can remember all the artists in my Lieder collection but they include: D F Dieskau Janet Baker Christa Ludwig Thomas Hampson Thomas Quasthoff Kathleen Ferrier Anne Sophie von Otter Violette Urmana Jose Van Dam Maureen Forrester Charles Kullman Kerstan Thorberg Julius Patzak and a host of others that I cannot recall as I'm at work. I would say that my Mahler Lieder collections stands at near 50 or so. Jim Last edited by handlebar; Dec-10-2009 at 20:02.
|
 |
«
Previous Thread
|
Next Thread
»
| Thread Tools | |
|
|
Similar Threads
|
||||
| Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
| The I'm Addicted To Mahler Thread | Mirror Image | Classical Music Discussion | 98 | Yesterday 23:11 |
| Sibelius vs. Mahler | Tapkaara | Classical Music Discussion | 119 | Jun-06-2009 23:43 |
| DFW Mahler | shsherm | News, Concerts and Events | 0 | Aug-18-2008 16:45 |
| Mahler, Bernstein and Critic Schonberg | Erik Helm | Classical Music Discussion | 3 | Mar-18-2008 22:37 |
| MTT’s Mahler 9 | Todd | Recorded Music and Publications | 7 | Aug-22-2005 22:13 |
All times are GMT +2. The current date and time is Jul-30-2010 22:33.