- Audio CD (25 Oct 1990)
- Number of Discs: 2
- Format: Import
- Label: EMI Classics
- ASIN: B000002RPF
- Other Editions: Audio CD | MP3 Download
- Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 47,128 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
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Product details |
Track Listings
| Disc: 1 |
|---|
| 1. Symphony No. 2 In C Minor ('Resurrection'): Allegro maestoso |
| Disc: 2 |
| 1. Symphony No. 2 ('Resurrection'): Andante Moderato |
| 2. Symphony No. 2 ('Resurrection'): In ruhig fliessender bewegung |
| 3. Symphony No. 2 ('Resurrection'): Urlicht. Sehr feierlich, aber schlicht |
| 4. Symphony No. 2 ('Resurrection'): Im Tempo des Scherzos. Wild herausfahrend |
| 5. Symphony No. 2 ('Resurrection'): Wieder sehr breit |
| 6. Symphony No. 2 ('Resurrection'): Ritardando...Maestoso |
| 7. Symphony No. 2 ('Resurrection'): Wieder zuruckhaltend |
| 8. Symphony No. 2 ('Resurrection'): Langsam. Misterioso |
| 9. Symphony No. 2 ('Resurrection'): Etwas bewegter |
| 10. Symphony No. 2 ('Resurrection'): Mit Aufschwung aber nicht eilen |
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
A swift survey of the many reviews of this version of Mahler's mighty "Resurrection" symphony reveals a bewildering range of responses, utterly unhelpful to anyone looking for guidance in how to pick a recording. The truth is that there are many successful recordings of this work out there, and many will give satisfaction, be it Mehta, Solti, Bernstein or - my favourites - either of the two Klemperer versons, one live, one studio, but this is a worthy addition.
To dispense with the more obvious absurdities I have read: first, the sound. Some complain of too great a dynamic range; I do not have the best equipment but neither do I play these discs on cheap tat, and to my ears the recording quality is incomparably spacious, full, rich and detailed. It strikes me that it's sometimes the same reviewers who recommend harsh, faded historical recordings who then take a self-aggrandising delight in finding imaginary flaws in a wonderful modern version such as this. Secondly, the quality of orchestral playing: you will read cutting criticism of the CBSO - that they are "ragged" and "amateur". Complete rubbish. I heard them many times when I lived in the Midlands, and they were very fine indeed - as they are here. Thirdly, we hear that Rattle is self-consciously "arty" and deliberately, perversely "different". Well, I note that it's the same reviewers who moan elsewhere about the bland, homogenous state of modern conducting who have taken umbrage that Rattle has imposed a clear interpretation upon the music. You can't have it both ways and Rattle is to be commended for having an identifiable, individual overview of the work, even if you don't like it. It is true that he takes an inordinate amount of time making some points and fails to generate the kind of febrile momentum and grim, ironic intensity achieved by Klemperer, but he also avoids the stasis courted by Bernstein in over-indulgent mood. This is a performance which has clearly been very carefully planned and thought through, relying on tightly controlled, painstakingly wrought contrasts. This description implies some slight lack of grandeur and a certain deliberateness in Rattle's manner; there is perhaps some slight disappointment in the final climax, but also compensation in the monumental quality of Rattle's vision. The first movement in particular is awesome - in the true sense. The contributions by a mature-voiced but unfailingly wise and sensitive Dame Janet Baker, the silvery Arleen Augér, and a subtle CBSO Chorus, add enormously to the overall quality. I have also read elsewhere that the praise accorded this recording is the result of the pathetic desire of partisan British critics to crown a new conductor-king. Well, I have no particular bias that way and have not by any means invariably admired Rattle's work, but to my ears this is a performance worthy to stand alongside half a dozen other great ones as another enriching interpretation of a tremendous work.
To dispense with the more obvious absurdities I have read: first, the sound. Some complain of too great a dynamic range; I do not have the best equipment but neither do I play these discs on cheap tat, and to my ears the recording quality is incomparably spacious, full, rich and detailed. It strikes me that it's sometimes the same reviewers who recommend harsh, faded historical recordings who then take a self-aggrandising delight in finding imaginary flaws in a wonderful modern version such as this. Secondly, the quality of orchestral playing: you will read cutting criticism of the CBSO - that they are "ragged" and "amateur". Complete rubbish. I heard them many times when I lived in the Midlands, and they were very fine indeed - as they are here. Thirdly, we hear that Rattle is self-consciously "arty" and deliberately, perversely "different". Well, I note that it's the same reviewers who moan elsewhere about the bland, homogenous state of modern conducting who have taken umbrage that Rattle has imposed a clear interpretation upon the music. You can't have it both ways and Rattle is to be commended for having an identifiable, individual overview of the work, even if you don't like it. It is true that he takes an inordinate amount of time making some points and fails to generate the kind of febrile momentum and grim, ironic intensity achieved by Klemperer, but he also avoids the stasis courted by Bernstein in over-indulgent mood. This is a performance which has clearly been very carefully planned and thought through, relying on tightly controlled, painstakingly wrought contrasts. This description implies some slight lack of grandeur and a certain deliberateness in Rattle's manner; there is perhaps some slight disappointment in the final climax, but also compensation in the monumental quality of Rattle's vision. The first movement in particular is awesome - in the true sense. The contributions by a mature-voiced but unfailingly wise and sensitive Dame Janet Baker, the silvery Arleen Augér, and a subtle CBSO Chorus, add enormously to the overall quality. I have also read elsewhere that the praise accorded this recording is the result of the pathetic desire of partisan British critics to crown a new conductor-king. Well, I have no particular bias that way and have not by any means invariably admired Rattle's work, but to my ears this is a performance worthy to stand alongside half a dozen other great ones as another enriching interpretation of a tremendous work.
19 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This is an outstanding disc, even by the consistently high standards set by the rest of Simon Rattle's (now complete) Mahler series. He has lived with this symphony since his teenage years when he organised his own performance of the work. Clearly time has not staled it for him.
He sets out his distinctive stall from the very first notes - an electrically intense tremolo and then a dramatic accelerando on the rising figure in the lower strings. This is the real voice of musical argument, not a mere statement of musical fact. And so it carries on right through the high dramas of the first movement. How often one catches an individual inflection to a phrase or an inner voice one had never quite seen fit into the argument. But turn to the score and you will always find an authorial justification in the text for what may surprise you.
It continues like this through the whole work. The andante has a lightness of touch that makes of it the real interlude it is supposed to be - rather than the elephantine galumphing of a Klemperer or the hyped urgency of a Solti. The scherzo acknowledges its Wunderhorn origins, but retains it symphonic cogency - and the first Trio is a wonderfully supported piece of levitation. Janet Baker brings a lifetime's experience to a profound Urlicht. And the vast final movement, which can so easily reveal its episodic nature and fall apart at the seams, is sustained and controlled with a fierce intellectual coherence. Which takes nothing away from the splendours of the choral finale.
The playing is always committed and thrilling. I always have the feeling in this series that Rattle's Birmingham band love Mahler's music in a way that the Berliners, for all their superior technique, don't. The recording is ideal, detailed but rich and deep enough to reveal all the splendour of this marvellous score.
All of which makes this, I would suggest, a first recommendation for this piece (though the Barbirolli versions are worth exploring, too, for an even more impassioned, if less sonically spectacular, view.
18 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This performance is, as many critics long have noted, a great Mahlerite testimony from Simon Rattle. It is so good and convincing that he probably never will be able to repeat it. The orchestra plays as good as any other, and Rattle's interpretation is personal, interesting, and deeply moving. It has both drama and impetus. It is nice having such a good studio performance caught on record, which is very much like the live experience of this work.
Together with Otto Klemperer's best recordings - the one with Philharmonia and the live take from Bavaria - and Bruno Walter's with NYPO, I think this is one of the very best recordings of Mahler's 2nd symphony. Perhaps one could include Zubin Metha's Vienna account in that list, and even Rafael Kubelik's underrated studio version. But Klemperer-Walter-Rattle will satisfy most needs, including the HiFi one.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
The most dramatic Mahler's 2nd
The dramatic impact of the contrasting moods (and volume) is awe-inspiring, and the final movement in particular makes the spirit soar (as implied by the title 'Resurrection'). Read more
Published 13 months ago by Mr. J. Lazzerini
Balance please
I'm no classical buff like most of the reviewers here appear to be, but I bought this on the basis of the reviews here and am distinctly underwhelmed by the production values. Read more
Published on 15 July 2008 by K. N. Tole
Compelling
'Resurrection' represents the creative peak of Mahler's first symphonic trilogy - the so-called Wunderhorn symphonies. Read more
Published on 1 Jun 2008 by Jon Chambers
An energetic account of a great work
This is my only recording of this symphony, so I cannot compare it to anything. However, I will say that the reason I only have this recording is becuase I feel that nothing can... Read more
Published on 10 Sep 2006 by Lingos
good but not great
the long, tormented journey from grief to exalted elevation is well represented in this recording, but it does not match the depth of emotion and intellectual struggle of ealier... Read more
Published on 18 Jun 2006 by G Pelloni
A phenomenal achievement from Rattle and the CBSO
This recording of this spectacular work is breathtaking. For a start the sound on the EMI label has fantastic depth and allows the expansiveness of the work to be brought out to... Read more
Published on 18 April 2002
Electrifying Performance
The CBSO under Sir Simon Rattle here sounds electrifying. Perhaps out of all Mahler's symphonies this may be classed as the greatest and the performance on this disc is magical. Read more
Published on 16 Oct 2001 by dq@douglasquigg.demon.co.uk
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