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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
24 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I do not know of any other recording of Mahler 9 that is so perfectly poised as to negotiate all the extremeties of anguish and regret, terror and comfort. When it first appeared in 1969 the late Deryck Cooke said of it in the Gramophone Magazine, "...we can hear Klemperer's Mahler 9 or Solti's Mahler 9 but on this record we seen able to hear Mahler's Mahler 9..." There is flowing sense of forward momentum in the great First Movement, with a purity of utterance that is unlike any other interpretation I have heard - including Haitink's own from the Christmas Day Concert set. Each movement keeps up the high standard with the Concertgebouw Orkest turning out a wonderfully deliniated Scherzo with the three tempi well represented as the sardonic mood builds and remarkable and passionate Rondo Burleske and final Adagio. After forty years of listening to records and live concerts of this most taxing and magnificent of symphonies I can honestly say that this disc, together with Raphael Kubelik's slightly more severe recording on DGG (only available as part of a boxed set), represents the pinnacle of Mahler interpretation.
In "Das Lied von der Erde" the special quality of Janet Baker's voice, especially in "Der Einsame im Herbst" and "Der Abschied" will be a great attraction to many. James King is a goodish heldentenor but he does tend to a slightly hard tone and, at least in my opinion, misses something of the sadness behind the sardonic humour in "Der Trunkene im Fruling". But by anybody's standards this is a first rate Song of the Earth and to have it coupled with one of the greatest symphony recordings in the Mahler canon is an unquestionable bargain. Get these discs whilst you can.
In "Das Lied von der Erde" the special quality of Janet Baker's voice, especially in "Der Einsame im Herbst" and "Der Abschied" will be a great attraction to many. James King is a goodish heldentenor but he does tend to a slightly hard tone and, at least in my opinion, misses something of the sadness behind the sardonic humour in "Der Trunkene im Fruling". But by anybody's standards this is a first rate Song of the Earth and to have it coupled with one of the greatest symphony recordings in the Mahler canon is an unquestionable bargain. Get these discs whilst you can.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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8 reviews
32 of 33 people found the following review helpful
a winning combination
3 July 2000
Format:Audio CD
Full marks have to be given to Philips for releasing this very logical coupling, which is essentially Mahler's last two completed symphonies in everything but name only. (Das Lied was finished after the 8th, but Mahler felt reluctant to call it his 9th Symphony due to fear of imminent death.) Haitink's reading of the 9th was arguably the best performance of his complete cycle in the 1970s; it has much incandescence, deep thought, beautiful playing, and a wonderful bloom on the sound, thanks to the acoustics of the Concertgebouw. The reading has a degree of reticence which many listeners will favour (I personally prefer a more dramatic, extroverted approach, but that is a matter of taste). Until the emergence of the two Karajan recordings in the early 1980s, this account dominated the catalog and still sounds very impressive even today. The digital remastering has been successful.
Das Lied is also a great success. Dame Janet Baker's thoughtful approach is a wonderful match for Haitink and she was almost at the height of her career at the time. James King is arguably not the equal of Fritz Wunderlich in the Klemperer recording but he sings with intelligence. The orchestral playing is beautiful and the textures and instrumentation have almost a shimmering effect. This is quite a magical performance, especially in the Abschied, where Baker's control of pianissimo is quite remarkable.
The documentation and overall presentation is excellent too. At medium price, this is a very generous and satisfying experience. For some listeners, this account of Das Lied will be a first choice regardless of cost. Enthusiastically recommended.
21 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Magnificent, clear "classical" approach
20 April 2001
Format:Audio CD
... this is the interpretation for the ages, with the Concertgebouw playing their hearts out and Haitink holding rock-solid concentration and focus throughout. Rarely if ever have I heard the 9th played with this degree of intelligence and clarity. Haitink makes sense of every phrase, every dynamic, and the complete effect is stunning and exhilerating. If the work, particulaly the first movement, has ever seemed a bit too "top heavy" and bombastic, especially in the orchestration, he shows in how every element contributes to the whole of the work. Inner detail emerges from the first movement like I've never heard before, showing how the orchestration is a web of intricate sonorities that contribute to an epic picture. The contrast in the different sections makes it all apparent for the first time that this work, despite the modernism, actually has a 19th century Romantic sensibility when it comes to structure. True we don't have Bernstein's magnificent sadness and longing at the end of his great Concertgebouw recording--which I miss--but this is an impressive movement nonetheless. The second movement builds and builds in excitement while never losing its bucolic roots. The scherzo is a swirl of demon energy, surpassed only by Bernstein (who is truly unsurpassable in this movement), and the finale manages a miracle: it isn't aloof and distant a la Bruno Walter, nor is it drenches in maudlin sentimentality that undermines the tragic nature, as so many finales are. My yardsticks for comparision are all the Bernstein recordings, Rattle, both Walters, Karajan live, Barbirolli, and even the legendary 1966 Horenstein. This one tops them all, and as I said is the only one that makes "complete sense" of the work from beginning to end. The Das Lied is also excellent, though maybe not in the same stellar class. I understand when this 9th was released in 1969, it was regarded by many critics as the ultimate 9th on record. More than thirty years later, it probably still is for my money. Easily a Desert Island disc.
(Post script: In the spring of 2004 I had the pleasure of hearing Haitink conduct this symphony live with the Vienna Philharmonic at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. His conception has not changed much in 30+ years. Rather, there were refinements and even greater clarity of texture. A very memorable performance and the Concertgebouw has terrific acoustics. Haitink, 75 at the time, bounded up and down the stairs to the podium like a young man.)
(Post script: In the spring of 2004 I had the pleasure of hearing Haitink conduct this symphony live with the Vienna Philharmonic at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. His conception has not changed much in 30+ years. Rather, there were refinements and even greater clarity of texture. A very memorable performance and the Concertgebouw has terrific acoustics. Haitink, 75 at the time, bounded up and down the stairs to the podium like a young man.)
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Among the best versions of both works, a true bargain!
27 Dec 2002
Format:Audio CD
This recording of Mahler's 9th stood among the best when it was first released, and time ha not changed that fact. Here, to paraphrase what the Mahler afficionado Deryck Cooke said when he first reviewed it in Gramophone, is not Klemperer, Barbirolli, Horenstein, or anyone else's version of the 9th. This feels like MAHLER's version of Mahler's 9th. This is because all Haitink does is scrupulouly (but not pedantically) follow the directions of Mahler, and the Concertgebouw Orchestra play their pants off. Not until Karajan's second effort (live, not studio) did another version of the 9th equal this one. But still, this has never really been surpassed, but maybe equalled a few times. (If it has, I would like to hear that one!)
The accompanying performance of Das Lied von Erde is considered by some to be the difinitive account, and, while I love and respect this recording, I feel that there are a few others (Berstein on Decca, Klemperer for EMI, and Kubelik for Audite) that are as good, and I might even say just slightly better. But really, you can't go wrong with this recording. So there you have it. Two of the best recording of two of Mahler's best pieces. At and a two-for-one price. This really is a GREAT bargain. If you haven't heard either of these works, these really are two of the best introductions to these works you can get. If you already have a few versions of each, they're still worth getting for the insights into the score which they show you that you may have previously missed. I envy those of you who will be hearing this performances for the first time. Happy listening!
The accompanying performance of Das Lied von Erde is considered by some to be the difinitive account, and, while I love and respect this recording, I feel that there are a few others (Berstein on Decca, Klemperer for EMI, and Kubelik for Audite) that are as good, and I might even say just slightly better. But really, you can't go wrong with this recording. So there you have it. Two of the best recording of two of Mahler's best pieces. At and a two-for-one price. This really is a GREAT bargain. If you haven't heard either of these works, these really are two of the best introductions to these works you can get. If you already have a few versions of each, they're still worth getting for the insights into the score which they show you that you may have previously missed. I envy those of you who will be hearing this performances for the first time. Happy listening!
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