Re: The Solti Mahler Cycle
- From: O <owenx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 06 Jun 2012 10:31:50 -0400
In article
<7d6395f9-56e7-4532-9d93-a7e55b1e9dfa@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
Rich <chongkil9@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
As Solti 100 is just around the corner, I'd like to know the current
opinions about GS's Chicago Mahler cycle. Symphonies 6 and 7 from
that box are available as MP3 downloads at a very reasonable price on
Amazon. (The London M9 is even cheaper). Dave Hurwitz didn't think
too highly of the Chicago set. In this group there's a generally
positive reaction to the first recording of the Mahler 5th, but I
sense that many listeners write that record off as a showpiece for the
CSO, and nothing more. The 8th used to be a reference recording, but
there have been so many 8ths after it, that no one pays much attention
to that old classic. Regarding the Solti sound, here's a quote from
Joseph Horowitz " In 1978 at Carnegie Hall, Georg Solti and the CSO,
then at the peak of their joint celebrity, gave an unusually loud
performance of the Brahms's First Symphony. The strings, in
particular, thrust forward great sheets of sound in order to hold
their own with the winds and percussion. The effect was uncanny, as if
someone had turned a knob to obtain a uniform increase in volume.
Nearly as odd was the sound's texture with each orchestral choir cold,
forward and discrete. Rather than mingling or diffusing, the
instrumental components of Brahms's First clamped into place like
precision-tooled parts. Solti's interpretation was neutral with
regard to tempo and articulation, except where the accents seemed
exaggerated or the "lyric" phrasings peculiarly musclebound. Mainly
the high-powered exterior was distinctive-that and the machinelike
vigor and accuracy with which it was pounded out." Personally I
think this is going too far..but I've read similar criticisms here of
Solti's Mahler, Wagner and Beethoven. Perhaps a remastering of the the
Mahler cycle will change people's opinions...
Back in the 70's when Mahler was fresh and new, there was a lot of
anticipation of Solti's newest releases, particularly as three
conductors (Solti, Tennstedt, and Bernstein) were leapfrogging each
other in new releases of their Mahler series. I seem to recall that
the set was the most highly regarded at the time of completion, but,
clearly, Solti's star has fallen since his death in the public eye.
Not only his Mahler, but most of his repertoire seems to be less highly
regarded as when he was alive (lots of Grammy awards undoubtedly helped
his image as well). Of course, with all the Mahler choices out there
now, in much better recorded sound, and with the benefit of all the
previous experience in Mahler performances. In fact, I would say that
Solti's has been far eclipsed by Tennstedt's and Bernstein's series.
-Owen
.
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