Seeking recommendation for Mahler 2


I just bought the Gilbert Kaplan/Wiener Philharmoniker SACD version of Mahler's Resurrection. To my ears, the performance and recording are quite uneven. Kaplan repeatedly robs the music of its natural tension and dynamics. It's a plodding performance with no sparkle or life. His own 1988 recording with the LSO was better. And the mix puts chorus in your lap in one phrase and buries it in the next. Soloists are way larger than life at times, and hidden among choral lines at others. The whole project seems over-edited and over-mixed, giving it a tweaked-sounding, unnatural arc. I'm no Mahler scholar, but I'd appreciate recommendations for a great performance and recording of the Resurrection. (Of course, if you love this version, I'd happily send you my copy!)
77jovian

Showing 1 response by kr4

For multichannel SACD, the best choices today are the MTT/SFSO and the Fischer/Channel Classics. They are remarkably "right" all the way through although the pacing of Fischer's last movement seems to lose a bit of elasticity. Sound is excellent on both with the edge to Fischer.

I understand that the Bernstein/Columbia from 1963 has been issued by Sony/Japan in MCH SACD. I have not heard it but the original performance is explosive. (Gotta get this one.) His final NYPO on DGG is a polar opposite, building tension slowly to a nearly overwhelming finale. (I was privileged to be at his last M2 with the NYPO.)

Solti doesn't do much wrong but he doesn't do much for me. There are many, many other options of note including Klemperer, Walter and, believe it or not, Rattle/EMI.

How can you have only one (or two)?

Kal