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Product Description
With its enormous vocal, choral and orchestral forces, Mahler's Eighth Symphony, later to be dubbed 24-bit, 96 kHz Stereo and Surround recordings. Symphony of a Thousand , is one of the largest and longest symphonies in the active repertoire. Part One, inspired by the Whitsuntide Vesper hymn Veni creator spiritus, is an invocation to the Creator Spirit. Part Two, a setting of the closing scene from Goethe's Faust, depicts Faust's redemption through wisdom and love. Try to imagine the whole universe beginning to ring and resound , was how Mahler himself described the impact of the closing pages of the Symphony.
Review
Wonderfully atmospheric. --IRR,Dec'11
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray
blu ray audio only disc
the track listings and set up guide
are displayed on the tv pal, tv that is
not misleading as other reviewer states on his review of this blu ray audio only disc
this is a very good disc in both hi res stereo and hd dts ma surround
so buy and enjoy it.
the track listings and set up guide
are displayed on the tv pal, tv that is
not misleading as other reviewer states on his review of this blu ray audio only disc
this is a very good disc in both hi res stereo and hd dts ma surround
so buy and enjoy it.
4 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray
Am i wrong to think that this is a bluray AUDIO disk only? If so, what Amazon writes in the "Format" description (colour, PAL) would be wrong and very misleading!
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3 reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
An outstanding performance, presented in audio that is supreme
8 Oct 2011
Format:Blu-ray
With SACD"s only achieving a moderate success, mainly because you needed special equipment to play them, and only a small percentage of listeners interested in audiophile quality (the same goes for Audio DVD',an equal contender in the high-quality audio stakes), we have wondered what suitable audiophile format would appear to replace these. Now we have it.
ownership of blu-ray players is eventually going to be almost universal, as they play every disc format (except in many cases, Audio DVDs and/or SACDs as they are overshadowed by this format), and as blu-ray player sales increase as they are the only system around that can provide good digital vision and sound, so the prices will drop. That disposes of the technical side, with this release revealing itself as having the best sound I have heard.
But, what of the performance? That is why we purchase these releases. Good sound doesn't make up for a poor performance. I am not going to enter into a deep analysis of the performance, but I will say that, subjectively, this is the finest performance of the other 5 I have (Haitink, Nagano, Gergiev and my favorite, Horenstein, recorded in 1959, also Zinman on an unexpectedly good set on Hybrid SACD with a completed 10th, the 5-movement version of the first and a documentary DVD). Individuals have so many varied expectations of a Mahler performance, that it is really impossible to write an analysis that will explore various points of view in a satisfactory way without writing a book. So I will just say that I enjoy all the performances I have to some degree or other, as each conductor has something different to say. But, until this Naxos release, Horenstain has been my favoured Mahler interpreter (although not entirely consistent) and the sound on his early stereo recording of the 8th is surprisingly well-engineered, and reveals an excellent performance. But this release, under the wonderful conducting of Anton Wit (a conductor that gets less recognition in the English speaking countries than he deserves, compared to his recognition in central Europe and surrounds) hits you from the first bars. You know right away that you are in for a very special performance, with recording quality and balances beyond reproach, that lets you hear this performance at top quality. Wit has revealed himself, through Naxos, as an excellent conductor (try his Alpine Symphony as an example). So I will let comments on the performance rest with, that for me, it is the best I have heard. I regret not going into the interpretation, but I have explained that above.
ownership of blu-ray players is eventually going to be almost universal, as they play every disc format (except in many cases, Audio DVDs and/or SACDs as they are overshadowed by this format), and as blu-ray player sales increase as they are the only system around that can provide good digital vision and sound, so the prices will drop. That disposes of the technical side, with this release revealing itself as having the best sound I have heard.
But, what of the performance? That is why we purchase these releases. Good sound doesn't make up for a poor performance. I am not going to enter into a deep analysis of the performance, but I will say that, subjectively, this is the finest performance of the other 5 I have (Haitink, Nagano, Gergiev and my favorite, Horenstein, recorded in 1959, also Zinman on an unexpectedly good set on Hybrid SACD with a completed 10th, the 5-movement version of the first and a documentary DVD). Individuals have so many varied expectations of a Mahler performance, that it is really impossible to write an analysis that will explore various points of view in a satisfactory way without writing a book. So I will just say that I enjoy all the performances I have to some degree or other, as each conductor has something different to say. But, until this Naxos release, Horenstain has been my favoured Mahler interpreter (although not entirely consistent) and the sound on his early stereo recording of the 8th is surprisingly well-engineered, and reveals an excellent performance. But this release, under the wonderful conducting of Anton Wit (a conductor that gets less recognition in the English speaking countries than he deserves, compared to his recognition in central Europe and surrounds) hits you from the first bars. You know right away that you are in for a very special performance, with recording quality and balances beyond reproach, that lets you hear this performance at top quality. Wit has revealed himself, through Naxos, as an excellent conductor (try his Alpine Symphony as an example). So I will let comments on the performance rest with, that for me, it is the best I have heard. I regret not going into the interpretation, but I have explained that above.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Simply the BEST Performance and Recording of Mahler's 8th!
27 Jun 2011
Format:Blu-ray
I've had the CD of Wit's Mahler 8 for a while, and it's been a favorite. But I just finished listening to it in 5.1 on Blu-Ray and am simply bowled over. It is so beautifully modulated, with a singular vision that puts every other performance to shame. It never "screams" as many (most) performances do. The individual soloists never fight for attention, but ebb and flow into and out of the orchestra and choruses elegantly and with great clarity. The choruses are heavenly, again--never fighting for attention but creating a cohesive whole, and are one with the orchestra. This is the Mahler 8th that finally made sense to me. I cannot recommend this Blu-Ray highly enough. It'll certainly put your home theater to the test!
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
MARVELOUS!
15 Oct 2011
Format:Blu-ray
I don't think I can in words properly express my liking for this recording. From the initial rough growl of the organ to the last grand notes, this recording is a prime example of the grandeur of Mahler. This is classical music at its best, with a well-rehearsed orchestra at the end and sound to do them justice! I can wholeheartedly recommend this release.
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