| Review by Luukas March 20, 2015 (1 of 3 found this review helpful)
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Don't waste your money, this is horrible! This is recorded during Valery Gergiev's Mahler project with London Symphony Orchestra and loses its brilliance for poor engineering.
I thought that the performance would be excellent according Maestro Gergiev's previous recordings.
First movement, Funeral March, is very good in its own way. Solo trumpet's famous fanfare isn't very impressive here. Although there are many pretty good things the overall interpretation isn't good.
Second movement is better. Gergiev reaches its violent feeling. In third movement the quiet trios (pizzicato parts) and principal horn's lonely melodies are excellent. Music fades almost to the silence until it goes further. Exciting effect!
And now, the famous Adagietto. Its total time - 9 minutes - is faster than Bernstein's (nearly 13 minutes - the late recording for Deutsche Grammophon) but slower than Haenchen's (8 minutes). I think that this movement is this disc's the greatest pleasure - it proves that even Gergiev is sometimes a good Mahlerian - this is my opinion.
In the finale LSO can show its virtuosity. It is a pity that audience's applause is deleted - by the way I wasn't in the concert.
The multi-channel (5.1) mix is the worst that I've ever heard! It is muddy, distant and unclear. I cannot recommend this disc, then. Stereo mixing is better.
If you want a real good recording of Mahler's Fifth, I recommend Helmut Haenchen's live performances (PentaTone). It is much better than this.
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