Gustav Mahler Leonard Bernstein Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra - Mahler Symphony No9 (29 tracks) +Album Reviews

You'll either love it or hate it

Ed Ting | Amherst, NH USA | 11/14/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Some people I know think this recording is a profoundly moving experience. Others view it as a great Classical Party Record. Either view is valid. These descriptions apply to many of Bernstein's later DG recordings, but this one (and the Tchaikovsky 6th) seems to be the most excessive and indulgent of all. The performance isn't really as slow as it's given credit for - the first three movements are within regarded limits, if a tad on the lengthy side. It's in the 4th movement that things get weird. After the big climax, the tempo slows down. And slows down again. And again. The final fadeout seems to take forever, as if Bernstein won't (or can't) let go. This is all fascinating to listen to, but it isn't a mainstream view and you shouldn't "learn" the Mahler 9th via this performance. But it is very dramatic and will keep your attention.The Concertgebouw plays ravishingly and the sound is warm and clear. I found myself wishing the other entires in this series were played and recorded here.For "everyday" use, Bernstein's DG Berlin performance is far preferable, and packs an emotional wallop as well. Or get the Walter, Barbirolli, the last DG Karajan, the NY/CBS/Sony Bernstein or one of many others (we all have our favorites.) But do try and hear this at least once - it should be experienced by any lover of Mahler's music."

For what it's worth

05/04/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm not an expert. Though I would like to consider myself musically astute--I'm a reasonably good jazz musician, have played professionally in a number of situations, and I own probably 2,000 records, CDs and tapes--I must confess to being fairly ignorant about the world of classical music. That said, I would like to add, for whatever it's worth, that this CD astounded me and made me a Mahler fan forever.It was purely by chance that I happened to pick it up. I found a used copy at a local store, took it home and plopped it into the stereo and sat down to listen with no real preconceptions about what I would hear. I must say, I was completely amazed by the passion and breadth of this performance, the range of emotions, the beauty of the recording. I cant really describe it all other than to say that all of us who love music have at various times been completely floored by a given performance, so much so that we could barely speak when it was done. Such was my experience of Bernstein's Mahler. As the last notes died out, I felt like my musical universe had been re-arranged. Perhaps even my life!Since then, I have in my new-found enthusiasm explored the other Mahler symphonies, and listened to various versions of the 9th, including Karajan's, Haitink's, Walter's and Bernstein's earlier versions. All of them have something to offer, but I still feel that this version is the most beautiful and the most emotionally devastating. Perhaps in time my sophistication with regard to classical recordings will grow and I will come to feel, as some do, that Bernstein overplays and exagerrates certain aspects of Mahler. But no matter what happens, this recording will always be very special to me. Here's hoping you enjoy it as much as I do."

The most incredible performance ever

M. Mclain | VA | 06/04/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There is no arguing that this is an hyper-emotional performance. Too much, however, has been made of Bernstein departing from the score or suffering from 'romantic' interpretations etc. Ultimately the test of a performance is if it lives, and this one most definitely does.In fact, Bernstein's Mahler recordings speak with the composers voice so clearly and consummately that it transcends the barrier of music. There are many very musical versions of Mahler 9 out there, with delicate textures and glowing sonorities and the such. But this recording is more than music; it becomes an actual testament of life and death, something that defies description. Bernstein astutely pointed out that at the end of the ninth one can actually experience the sensation of dying.But the greatest moment for me will always be the first surging climax in the first movement, which builds higher and higher, and then absolutely collapses into an abyss, and after a moment of nothing, in comes the booming timpani theme which as tradition has it represents Mahler's own fatal heart condition. Regardless, it becomes a profound work of philosophy, in which joy and sorrow for life wage a war, and we are left experiencing the profoundest anguish. It as if at every moment, we could just collapse, and yet it always drives further, one second in an ironic self-assurance, and the next an ethereal but honest self-assurance--but always a profound doubt. Every emotion is experienced, then questioned, mocked and affirmed. For me there is no other version of this symphony (and I have listened to many). If there is any doubt left in your mind, compare the recordings. Mahler is always compared with Bruckner, and in lesser hands, he sounds like a late romantic, architectural symphonic composer. But with Bernstein, he becomes the profound creator, and we finally can hear that this work rests comfortably in the pantheon of the greatest aspirations of artists through the centuries."

Mahler, and Bernstein, at it's highest, and beyond

Shota Hanai | Torrance, CA | 04/14/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Personally, Mahler is my very favorite composer for his symphonies which gives tonality at its highest, as well as its complexity, and above all, the emotions inexplainable and... how should I say it... beyond the literal physical level, beyond other Romantic composers, including Tchaikovsky (who's music evokes "materialistic" romanticism at it's highest, which I still highly respect, but in my view he's, under God, is no match against Mahler).

His Symphony No. 9 is a perfect example of explaning the motif beyond this physical level. It was THE piece I felt the strongest, emphasized the most, and wept with the warmest tears. Above all, this piece is apocalytpic; the end of, as Mahler mentioned it, tonality, his time, his era, the end of all things we should consider. When it comes to the music, I am definitely looking for a most satiable recording, especially of the anxiously fast and bold third movement, and above all, the final movement which SHOULD be the tragic (but not pessimistic) farewells of all farewells. I've already heard several recordings, but this performance by Leonard Bernstein (a great Mahler-ian) and the Amsterdam Concertgebow Orchestra is the best (if not, one of the best) pick for any Mahler fans.

Both the first (which focuse on the anxiety of death or fate) and the second movement (which seems to stray from the harsh, cruel reality) are magnificently performed. Not youthful but the intensity within the conductor still lived.

As for the third movement, it seems to lack a really tiny bit compared to Lenny's sole collaberation with the Berlin Phil in 1779, but still has lots of boost, drastic evokations of mood, and in the last segment of the movement, a perfectly high paced and nail-biting tempo. Far nerve-wrecking past any other conductors for sure.

As for the fourth movement, the best of Mahler (and Bernstein) is saved for last. Being Leonard Bernstein means he had almost every right to fill in the emotions, the trauma, the tears, at its highest, as well as putting into a much slower tempo than expected (even though the 22/23 minute movement was streched into nearly 30 minutes of countdown before death, Mahler would have never cared anyway; with the recording so emotional, so welling, so moving, he would have loved it). Personally, I couldn't stop crying every time I listen to it. I was especially in tears by the time the music has led to a building suspension of the full orchestra with full force (the best trombone and trumpet entry I have heard), and the much-anticipated climax (the first cymbal crash) which would pierce like gun-shot through a heart, followed by the anguished cry of the strings. Finally, at the very end of the piece, a calm, waning conclusion which seems to say "goodbye" before one would wake up no more. If I could do anything listening to this chronicle-ending conclusion, I would sob, literally! This is Mahler CD to listen, and will remain until my last day (or that this will be my piece before by departure). The ERTE picture is quite beautiful too.

This is a must buy for Mahler fans, especially for radically emotive ones. You would be driven to feel, witness, and weep into the work by perhaps the most-emotion driven composer with the emotion driven conductor with a world-class orchestra."

Sensational...especially the end

peederj | San Francisco, CA USA | 10/04/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I credit Mahler with inventing ambient music with the final adagissimo of this symphony, and this is the very finest rendition of it I have yet heard. The intense sadness, yet acceptance, of mortal fate is brought to the levels of a religious experience here. As you descend into that eternal night there are hints of the dawn.

The other recording I have of this is Haitink on Phillips, and that is excellent as well, and cheaper. But it doesn't have the effect of this recording's ending. I have just heard MTT perform this live at the SF Symphony, and from the Saturday night performance I don't believe that recording will exceed either of those two, although it will be effective and of very high fidelity. (MTT's 2nd will be a classic however I assure you!)

This symphony builds a lot on his fifth, if you love the adagio and scherzo from that you will love this (I recommend Chailly for that). However, I found this ninth even less accessible for some reason...my respect for music is usually the inverse of its accessibility. This was well worth the numerous listens to understand and appreciate. I would suggest that it is transformative; both personally and on music as a form--where its effects are as subtle and as significant as its own composition."

Search - Gustav Mahler, Leonard Bernstein, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra :: Mahler: Symphony No.9

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