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?