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Chailly Mahler 9th

The new Riccardo Chailly/Concertgebouw Mahler Ninth from Decca just might be the best-sounding recording ever made of a Mahler symphony. And as a performance it moves straight to the top of the class.

I am in awe of this powerful, moving, impeccably prepared, beautifully crafted performance of Mahler's last completed symphony, and of the magnificent, state-of-the-art sound Decca has provided for it. Chailly's tempos all work; his performance is profound and utterly convincing. The Concertgebouw has Mahler in its bones, and its committed playing and sumptuous sonority are all that could be desired. And Decca's engineers have captured every nuance with unrivaled immediacy, clarity, richness, and impact, revealing countless felicitous details, as well as exceptionally wide frequency range and dynamic range. Soft passages have beguiling delicacy; climaxes have potent bass and gut-wrenching power. The grand, heaven-storming scale of the reading is fully conveyed; what we hear here can stand as a model of how to record a Mahler symphony. This recording marks the triumphant conclusion of Chailly's distinguished Concertgebouw Mahler cycle for Decca. It was made in the Concertgebouw Great Hall, famed for its superb acoustics, in June 2004, in conjunction with Chailly's farewell concert as principal conductor of the orchestra (but it is not a live recording).

I've been a Mahler buff for 40 years and have many recordings of his symphonies, including half a dozen Mahler Ninths. But I've never heard a more eloquent Ninth than this one, and I've never heard one in which every thread of the complex orchestration is so clearly revealed. If I could keep only one Mahler Ninth, this would be the one. In addition to Chailly and the Concertgebouw, Decca engineers Jonathan Stokes and Philip Siney deserve to take a bow. Anyone who loves Mahler, anyone fond of the Ninth, anyone curious about how good a recent digital recording of a Mahler symphony can be, ought to hear this recording.

Have any of you guys listened to this one? What did you think? Also, my comments apply to the standard redbook CD version, but there is also a (separate) SACD version. Anyone heard that one?
texasdave

Showing 2 responses by jhwalker

jhwalker
23 posts
 
TO ME,
Chailly has always been to clinical a conductor. Many of his recordings are technically and sonically perfect, but there is no, for me anyway, feeling in a great deal of his recordings. I have several of his Bruckner Recordings( 2, 7, & 8 ) and I like them. However, they would not rank as my all time favorites. So to, his Mahler, technically brilliant, but I am not taken to the heights like I am with Karajan( BPO-DG) Abbado( BPO-DG ) Barbirolli ( BPO-EMI )Walter ( VPO-Dutton ) and Bernstein ( NYPO-SONY ). SO I guess I am in the Vvrinc camp on this one, but that was a nice review TDAVE.
Happy Listening,
JWALKER
jhwalker
23 posts
 
Mario,
I was referring to CD issues not LP. I totally agree with what others have said about sound quality among various labels. I agree with TDAVE about DG sonics. I much prefer many of their analog CD recordings to their Digital ones, but I agree that the DG 4D process is a step in the right direction. Others mention recording venues which play a vital role in the sound. Venues like the Concertgebouw Hall and the Sofiensaal in Vienna have phenominal sound. I would nominate the Decca Legends CD issue of Bruckner's 4th with Bohm/VPO as one of the all time great performances in both sound and performance. In many cases, I find a performance is so good it tends to out weigh any sonic limitations, and sometimes the reverse is true in that the sound is so good it out weighs any limitations in performance.
Happy Listening,
JWALKER
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