Gustav Mahler David Zinman Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra - Mahler Symphony No 3 (6 tracks) +Album Reviews

An interesting addition to the catalog

Rodney W. Helt | Verona. WI USA | 01/04/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"While this recording continues to grow in my appreciation on repeated hearings, it doesn't replace my often expressed preference for both of the Bernstein renditions. Bernstein's Vienna dvd release on DG is also uniformly excellent.

This release is surperbly recorded. The chorus seems to jump right out of the speakers during their entries, so realistic are their presence. I am glad that I have this recording. For the historically minded, any of Mitropoulos releases are wonderful along with the 1953 Vienna Adler air check. Unfortunatly, these are all now difficult to find. The 1960 Leipsic Scherchen recording is also interesting but eccentric. So this Zinman release is very fine, but just misses my 5 star rating."

Middle of the Pack

Virginia Opera Fan | Falls Church, VA USA | 01/28/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This is my fourth, and frankly, least favorite version of the Mahler Third in SACD format. There is nothing wrong with Zinman's performance (which is well recorded, too) it's just that there's nothing here that the SACD competitors in my collection (Chailly, Tilson Thomas, and Zander) haven't done better. I won't even get into the two channel stereo competition (Bernstein I & II, Horenstein, Leinsdorf, Solti, Tennstedt, etc.). Nothing is actively wrong with Zinman and the Tonhalle. Everything is nicely interpreted, well played, nicly sung, and beautifully recorded. It's just that there are better options. Zander's Telarc effort is my favorite, not the least for his witty and insightful commentary disc included as a freebie. He also manages to keep the vast first movement together without resorting to the rigid tempo adherence of Horenstein in his classic Unicorn effort. Chailly and Tilson Thomas both give use good performances in good sound. It's a toss up between the two, but I'm won over by Chailly's inclusion of several Bach orchestral suite excerpts orchestrated by Mahler.

You certainly won't have wasted you money if you opt for Zinman - particularly since the two disc set is being sold locally at a reduced price. You won't be getting the best either."

Plodding

Gary Odom | 02/25/2010

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I generally like Zinman's Zurich Mahler cycle, but his interpretation of 3 is not up to snuff. The sound is great, and the inner movements are fairly well done, but his first movement is plodding until the last couple of minutes, where he picks it up nicely, but loudly. The last movement also suffers from more deliberation than celebration. This is one to pass by.

My hands-down favorite Mahler 3 is by Jesus López-Cobos. Cincinnati never sounded so good. Nor has anyone else has sounded as good on M3, including Bernstein and Barbirolli, among others. (Don't get me wrong, Bernstein and Barbirolli put in fine performances. Everything is relative.) On this one, Jesus is just alright with me. ;-)"

Excellent Third with some minor reservations

Prescott Cunningham Moore | 08/17/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I have only two reservations about this otherwise fine release from Zinman and his Swiss band. First, Birgit Remmert does not have the right voice for either the fourth or fifth movements. The fourth movement goes well enough due to her sensitive phrasing, wonderfully supported by the Tonhalle players, but her contributions in the bim-bam choral movement are simply vile. Secondly, after a truly breathtaking adagio, Zinman keeps the brass, particularly the trumpets, in check at the symphony's close. While this certainly makes sense in light of Zinman's overall musical conception, it lacks the "heavenly" sound Mahler so clearly intended, and so many conductors, Bernstein, Haitink (Concertgebouw), and Chailly especially, have achieved.

Despite these reservations, Zinman really has produced a worthy Third. For those familiar with Zinman's approach to Mahler, there are no surprises here. Zinman focuses more on structure and architecture than theatricality, which imbues the first movement with a deep sense of cogency. The craggy march is gruesome but never mannered and is punctuated with fine solo work from the Tonhalle brass. The Pan march is light, buoyant, and as spring-like as the first march is angular, and the music blossoms with each successive entrance, bubbling over with effervescent charm at the movement's close. The second movement is equally delightful while the Scherzo is both ruckus and rough, punctuated by one of the most finely balanced trios on disc. That movement's coda benefits greatly due to Zinman's careful observance of balances. The fifth movement is calmer than most and many listeners may find the child-like wonder conspicuously absent, but it fits perfectly within Zinman's overall conception, flowing into the correctly paced adagio. Of the three climaxes in the finale, the first two are quite eruptive but properly shaped, sidestepping the vulgarity that plagues so many performances, like Tilson Thomas or Solti.

Overall, I can forgive Zinman for failing to bring the symphony to a blazing close because his overall conception is quite commendable. He has brought unity to Mahler's somewhat disparate parts better than most and creates a Third that feels much more like Symphony than a collection of beautiful orchestrated but unrelated movements. Listeners who want their Mahler big (and honestly, Mahler is at his best when conductors, like Bernstein, can bring unity without sacrificing drama) should turn to Bernstein (I or II), Haintink (I), Chailly, and Levine. But listeners who are interested in hearing a thoroughly musically satisfying architectural conception of this work will be quite pleased with this fine addition to the Mahler discography. It may not supplant the great performances, listed above, but it is certainly a worthy contender."

Search - Gustav Mahler, David Zinman, Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra :: Mahler: Symphony No. 3 [Hybrid SACD]

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