Mahler: Symphony No. 2 in c minor [Hybrid SACD]
![Mahler: Symphony No. 2 in c minor [Hybrid SACD]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41At4TYcUGL._SL160_.jpg)
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List Price:
$34.98
Hungary Hotels Travel Price: $34.98
Subject To Change Without Notice
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Channel Classics Nl
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0723385235064
Format: Hybrid SACD
Label: Channel Classics Nl
Manufacturer: Channel Classics Nl
Number Of Discs: 2
Publisher: Channel Classics Nl
Release Date: 2006-10-10
Studio: Channel Classics Nl
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Best CD I bought 2007
Comment: There has been some sort of Mahler boom for the last few years. There's is simply too many Mahler symphony CD's, and you just don't know which one to buy!
Yes this Fischer/Budapest Mahler 2nd is very quiet and modest. However, out of nine Mahler 2nd's I own, this is the one that I always go back to many many times. For that sake, I consider it the best CD I bought in 2007 (out of many hundreds).
No I am not impressed because it is SACD. I find the recording dull, non-exciting and I don't even own a SACD player!
Then why do I like this CD? It is because i just find it "right".
Mahler is a very emotional kind of a guy, and his symphonies are emotional explosions. However, I always think that Mahler recording sounds better when it's clean, clinical and modest, because the scores already make them so emotional in itself, that any more emotional gestures added by the conductor simply makes it a triple chocolate sundae! Just too much!
That's why I also like Abbado's BPO Mahler interpretations, so if you liked Abbado 3rd, 6th, etc, you might like this one too?
Actually, the most inspiring Mahler 2nd I ever heard was Bernstein's LSO recording (excellent DVD by DG). It physically got me off the seat and stand up in excitement. However, I simply can't listen to it properly because of how messy it is. Emotion and messiness is like a double-edged sword!
This Fischer CD doesn't have any of those emotional explosions, but on the other hand, everything is all in its nice little corners, which makes it a joy to listen to over and over again, without squinting your eyes at unagreeable interpretations and sudden crescendos here and there etc.
Urlicht is sang modestly, and the Finale tones down after the initial explosive bang. Takes a while to get into the swing. You might fall asleep if you don't know what is coming ahead. However, I like that because you don't get tired by bombastic swell of musical madness.
If you're new to Mahler 2nd, I think you should get the well received DECCA/Solti/CSO recording. (I didn't like the Solti/LSO one although cheaper). The iconic bombastic Solti style really excites you and makes you feel like you're listening to something great, rather than a long, boring romantic.
However, for a second buy, this Fischer 2nd is highly recommended!
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Where's the Pulse?
Comment: Weingartner's sage advice about tempos here applies. A listener/conductor should instinctively recognize when the pace drops to a point too slow to maintain the structure of the work. (Ditto with going too fast!)Trying to enjoy this Mahler 2nd is frustrating. Fischer holds back things just enough to hurt the momentum. The tiny little exaggerated pauses here and there are not so much mannered as ill-conceived. After a while it was unappealing and distracting. Further, as befits super modern sonics, things are either too soft or too loud. This is not just Fischer or the SACD format - Boulez's Mahler has this problem - the Boulez Mahler 1st is crippled by DG's microsound entrances followed by shattering climaxes. This may indeed be more natural, but on a recording the effect weakens the forward propulsion by rendering asunder any legato. Maybe we should bring back compression if this yo-yoing is what modern digital sound creates.
The actual performance here never catches fire - the first movement opens with a mysterioso quality which cannot be sustained - destroyed by the lack of proper support for the work's architectural details. Only the greatest performers - such as Caruso in song - what unsurpassed mezza voce singing! - or a conductor such as Furtwangler - can maintain both attack and tone color in quieter passages. Few modern artists can do this - though you can be sure Mahler achieved it in his conducting. From what I have read his leadership was extremely extroverted, so there certainly is room for excesses. The problem is that whatever path you take, there must be a guiding and overarching vision. You have to believe Mahler had this, I mean - look at the symphonies - but I often wonder if the same can be said for conductors today. Too, Mahler fans should never underestimate the operatic personality lurking within their favorite symphonic composer. As the head of the Vienna Opera Mahler showcased tremendous skills at leadership and musicianship. Only a very great conductor could have performed the late Romantic repetoire to such acclaim.
The sound of the disc showcases the advantages of SACD over regular digital. I like SACD, and the sound here is quite good. I also think it at least as impressive as a restorative; certain recordings of the Cleveland Orchestra sound far, far better using SACD than their inital congested and harsh LP issues.
With the availabilty of the EMI Klemperer Mahler 2nd (which is also a tad slow, but at least better integrated architecturally) costing little more than a third as much as this Fischer CD, it's impossible for me to urge the Fischer on novice listeners looking for a single Cd os this peice. New listeners instead should be aware of "Special Circumstances" surrounding recordings of this symphony. Both Klemperer and Bruno Walter worked closely with Mahler, in the case of Walter for many years as assistant and confidant. Klemperer and Walter each were outstanding conductors who recorded this work in the stereo age. What an almost unigue chance! Rarely are documentary conditions so supremely right for someone interested in hearing the music of a major composer who left no recording of the work himself! (Mahler made a few piano recordings only.)
Customer Rating:
Summary: Not quite
Comment: This is a fine Mahler 2. There are many wonderful things, and the recording is great, as are most of the multi-channel SACDs from Channel. There are unfortunate problems, however. It is great to have a real sense of rubato in movt. 2, but do you really need to hold back virtually EVERY downbeat? The timpani at the beginning of movt. 3 is agonisingly out of tune (the reverberation of the top note of the fourth really hard to listen to!), as are various other exposed moments (trumpet sustained high C in the last movt.!). The soloists are both pretty wobbly, sounding about 30 years older than their pictures, and not even close to as good as those in what still is the finest performance of this on CD: Slatkin and St. Louis on Telarc. This recording is never mentioned when the great recordings of the work are brought up, but it is truly wonderful. The tricky thing is that it is showing its age a bit: especially in the last movt., where the background hiss is intrusive if the CD is played loudly enough for the right impact. That said, this is still the only one that gets close to capturing the organ entry near the end, and this new one doesn't quite get there. Channel's philosophy of using the rear channels for ambience only is normally absolutely right, but here I think they missed a huge opportunity by NOT utilising the rear chanels (or at least an element of them) for the offstage band. Many concert halls round the world use a deeply set-back space for these effects, and this could have been hugely effective. Alas no.
It is still a good recording, however, and most will not be dissappointed!
Customer Rating:
Summary: A study in contrast, and the freedom from contrast...
Comment: Wow, everything really sounds right in this performance, which easily tops my favorite modern accounts by Kaplan, Chailly and Rattle in terms of interpretation, sound (I heard the SACD layer) and overall mood. Like Kaplan and Chailly, Fischer takes time to build and reveal the musical/dramatic discourse and doesn't give everything away in the first movement (like Rattle)...yet Fischer's 1st movement is more devastating in the contrasts, like the aftermath of the climax at the beginning of the development section...made more serious by the fact that there is no "added" interpretation that I can hear between the lyrical and dramatic sections. Indeed, this among is the least "romantic" of all M2's I've heard (Mehta's NYPO 1982 M2 is another). I have this impression because the playing is not overly exaggerated, rather the score is played straight without judgement or literal discourse. I am impressed how Fischer doesn't give in to the temptation to overdo every climax.
In the 1st movement, the lyrical sections are felt more because overall, the performance of the "allegro maestoso" sections are the sound of an apathetic universe, which is why the second movement finally makes more sense than I'm used to...the contrast and lyrical connection to the 1st movement is underlined with the warm timbre of dancing strings and the controlled expression and grace of the tempos...played in this manner, the 2nd movement couldn't be more different from the sarcastic 3rd movement, which is executed with even more rustic character and color, and the atmospheric trumpet section sounds soft and otherworldly...a hint of the finale to come...not overplayed or literal...just played as it is. The Urlicht is beautifully sung by Birgit Remmart, with her tone and the illuminated execution of the orchestra a different world is conjured from what we heard before...that of surrender and light. A Mozartian grace appears in this performance for the first time, and the orchestral sound is that of repose and stillness...the first glimpse of the "other" side...very subtle and refined.
Somehow all these contrasts are held together, coherent but allowing the extreme contrasts to shine. The finale really hits hard, especially at the final measures, where suddenly the universe cracks into a another dimension altogether. I kept hearing the ghost of Mozart between the transparent choir and the clarity and graceful playing of the orchestra (the voice of Lisa Milne contrasts nicely with Remmart and the choir). Before this enlightenment occurs, the contrast between the "cold universe" and lyrical nostalgic vistas reoccur without exaggeration, until the climatic percussion crescendo pushes the envelope beyond structure and balance (as I imagine Mahler intended here) of the entire work. Bravo to the orchestra, which reminded me of Scherchen's Vienna State Opera Orchestra in his M2, because it doesn't sound like a large orchestra, and the sound is lean and intimate during the lesser scored sections. The whole performance appears to fly by...I usually go for slower tempos, but this M2 is built so well it doesn't matter.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Absolutely wonderful performance and sound!
Comment: I admit to being a nut for this music. I've purchased and traded many different versions, and I still have 10. While I confess to loving Stokowksi's mono BBC aircheck, this is very close to knocking Stoki off the throne, and it's certainly the finest modern recording I've heard--including MTT and Boulez. It's superb. Those of you who don't have an SACD player may be missing a lot, but even the standard CD layer, playable in all CD players, sounds absolutely terrific, better than any other standard CD I have! I can hardly wait for Fischer's forthcoming Strauss recordings.
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