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windhoek said:
I don't know whether I I'd buy another version even if Honeck's in unmanned because with this BD-V release, as well as hearing a great performance, I got to see a great performance. I was tempted to turn off the display, but seeing the conductor and orchestra at work really adds to the experience. I thought it might be distracting, but far from it, I love it!
The other M2 versions I've heard are the recent Benjamin Zander's (on SACD, Linn label), Metha/ Vienna PO (SHM-SACD) and MTT and the Abbado/ Lucerne performance is so much better. The word that springs to mind is vim. Abbado/Lucerne perform with a vim that I've yet to hear in any other performance. I guess in the US, this release might be between $80-$100 new, but if you've got a TV in your setup, it's a bargain and an obligatory buy :)
I am sure you are now ready for the utterly superb Mahler 9th by Abbado and the same forces on BD-V, which was a separate release. I quite agree, the visual plus the performance and sonic experience is unparalleled in releases like this. Although, at my last count, as of over a year ago, there were perhaps only 500 or so classical BD-V releases available, including concerts, opera and ballet. I have most of them.
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Fitzcaraldo215 said:
I am sure you are now ready for the utterly superb Mahler 9th by Abbado and the same forces on BD-V, which was a separate release. I quite agree, the visual plus the performance and sonic experience is unparalleled in releases like this. Although, at my last count, as of over a year ago, there were perhaps only 500 or so classical BD-V releases available, including concerts, opera and ballet. I have most of them.
Yes I've got the M9 in my basket at Amazon and am just waiting on a petit price drop before pulling the trigger. I got the 1-7 boxset for £43 so £20 for just one symphony, even if it's by Abbado/ Lucerne doesn't seem quite as good a deal.
Only 500 classical BD-Vs have been released you say? That's incredible! If the Abbado/ Lucerne performances are the typical standard, then oh boy, what a feast to be had with that many classical BD-Vs! If however, the Abbado/ Lucerne BD-Vs are as good as it gets and many of the other 500 are considerably sub-par, then that's not so incredible.
I'll spend some time searching for some of my classical favourites with blu-ray and see what comes up. No rush though, I've still got a few more Abbado/ Lucerne concerts to watch :)
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windhoek said:
I've got the M9 in my basket at Amazon and am just waiting on a petit price drop before pulling the trigger.
There are two BD-V's of M9 conducted by Abbado--one with the Mahler Jugendorchester in Rome and the other with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra nearly ten years later. There are two things clearly better about the earlier video - the opening is stronger, with more precise entries by the different orchestral groups, and the ending is more dramatic, with the gradual dimming of the lights during the final minutes. Throughout the piece, Abbado is in better form with the young people; perhaps he was in better health and was able to spend more quality time with them in rehearsal. The Italian audience may also have helped; they always seemed to energize Abbado, for his best Beethoven cycle with the Berliners was a video cycle from Rome in 2001.
So, windhoek, I recommend that you pull the trigger for the earlier Abbado video.
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Thanks Joseph, I'll look into it :)
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I just read the reviews of both Abbado recordings of the 9th with the GMJ and LFO and it seems like both are excellent and the main difference being the more forward approach of the GMJ. I haven't heard the 9th at all, so either performance would be a first for me, so I suppose I could buy either and if I don't like it, I can always try the other.
I've actually got M9 on CD by Abbado/ Berlin PO so should probably give it a spin before making a choice because being able to see Mahler's symphonies performed by Abbado/ Lucerne has been a revelation and something I'd like to do with the 9th and hearing the 9th might give me an idea of whether it's a symphony I'd prefer to see performed with strength or subtlety.
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Post by benito May 15, 2015 (36 of 64)
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I've just been enjoying the aforementioned BD-V release of Mahler's 9th with Claudio Abbado and the Lucerne Festival Orchestra and I have to say I agree wholeheartedly with those recommendations in this thread. I find the performance to be utterly mesmerising and, for me, it's the most emotional and spine-tingling rendition of the symphony I've ever heard.
I have listened to the 'other' Abbado Mahler 9th on BD-V (with the Mahler Jugendorchester from Rome) which, though an enjoyable performance, to my ears isn't quite as powerful as the Lucerne performance.
I urge you to pull the trigger, as it were, Derek. You won't be disappointed! If you loved Mahler's 2nd from Lucerne (what a performance that is too by the way!) then I'm confident you'll enjoy his 9th equally.
It's a real shame that this forum doesn't incorporate BD-V releases as there have been some real gems released on that format in recent years. One which I'd recommend above all others from 2015 has to be Bruckner's Symphony 9 with Daniel Barenboim and the Staatskapelle Berlin (his 7th and 8th, released last year, with the same forces are also sublime).
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Post by windhoek May 15, 2015 (37 of 64)
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Thanks for the positve comments regarding the Abbado/Lucerne M9 Ben, I actually ordered it a couple of days ago and am expecting it to arrive today :)
I played M2 last night and again it blew my socks off, so much so that I don't feel any need to hear another modern M2 and the ones I already own will be going on eBay. The Bruno Walter/NYPO M2 is due for re-release in Japan (2nd June I think) and depending on the info that accompanies it, might spring for a vintage performance, but other than that, there can be only one M2!
I watched M1 the other night and loved how the audience just wouldn't let Abbado go home to put his slippers on. Every time he tried to take a final bow, the audience just kept on applauding and again and again, showered him with flowers. An excellent reaction I thought.
I was surprised at the reaction of M6 though, because when the symphony ended, it took a very noticeable time before the audience started to applaud. Surely it can't have been because they were unaware the performance had ended (I mean who attends a Mahler concert not knowing what to expect!?). I can only imagine the audience were in stunned silence and rather belatedly, applauded.
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Post by windhoek May 16, 2015 (38 of 64)
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Yep sure enough, my Abbado/Lucerne M9 BDV arrived and so too did my RBCD reissue of Bruno Walter's Mahler 9 from 1938. I'd already heard M9 and knew I liked it, so thought in addition to Abbado, I'd try a vintage performance to see how it compares. Apparently the Dutton reissue of Walter's 9th sounds a bit like an old record, but makes up for it with a first class performance. I'll play both soon and update accordingly.
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Post by windhoek May 16, 2015 (39 of 64)
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I just played M9 by Abbado/ Lucerne and as expected, it was excellent. I even noticed a few females in the audience were moist with delight i.e. blissfully tearful ;)
I tried to play M9 by Walter earlier and although it seemed like a good performance, it sounded shrill and frankly, like it had been recorded on a 78 record (which it was of course), so aborted the listen a few minutes into the 3rd movement.
This is where I get off the Mahler merry-go-round. I've got a great 1-7 + 9 collection by Abbado/ Lucerne (with a spectacular M2) and a very satisfying M8 by Antoni Wit (BD-A). I think I can be satisfied with my Mahler collection and just enjoy what I have; no more double-dipping Mahler :)
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I quite agree that for me there is no more moving Mahler 9th than the Abbado/Lucerne BD-V. It is in a class by itself.
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