Gustav Mahler: Symphonie Nr. 5 cis-moll - Leonard Bernstein, Wiener Philharmoniker
Gustav Mahler: Symphonie Nr. 5 cis-moll - Leonard Bernstein, Wiener Philharmoniker
XLD | FLAC (tracks) | No Log/cue-sheet | Frontcover embedded, High-def JPEG | ~355 MB
Classical | DDD | DGG 423 608-2
The Symphony No. 5 was written in 1901 and 1902 mostly during the summer months at Mahler's cottage at Maiernigg. It is arguably the best known Mahler symphony. Among its most distinctive landmarks are the funereal trumpet solo that opens the work and the frequently performed F major Adagietto. The musical canvas and emotional scope of the work are huge. Herbert von Karajan said once that when you hear Mahler's Fifth, “you forget that time has passed. A great performance of the Fifth is a transforming experience. The fantastic finale almost forces you to hold your breath.” After its premiere, Mahler is reported to have said, “Nobody understood it. I wish I could conduct the first performance fifty years after my death.”
"Mahler's Fifth was one of the pieces Leonard Bernstein owned. This interpretation is broader than the one he recorded with the New York Philharmonic in the early 1960s, but it's little changed in feeling. It is, however, far more polished and a good deal more persuasive. The recording, like all of Bernstein's later Mahler cycle, was made live; here, he and the Vienna Philharmonic give a gripping performance full of telling nuance, intensely expressive yet thoroughly controlled. It's a reading both Dionysiac and "Bachic"–as in J. S. Bach, not Bacchus–one in which the impetuous energy of the score is transmitted to the fullest degree, but not at the expense of the extraordinary (for Mahler) contrapuntal detail. Most remarkable of all, perhaps, is Bernstein's sureness of touch, his ability to realize the many little expressive gestures that no longer merely draw attention to themselves the way they used to, but add up to something miraculous. The Philharmonic players, with him all the way, contribute many wonderful touches, especially the strings. The recording, made not in Vienna but in Frankfurt's Alte Oper, is solid and has remarkable impact. While the bass is a bit diffuse and the sound stage not the clearest, the image is reasonably detailed and well balanced, the atmosphere good."
-Ted Libbey (amazon.com)
Enjoy!
Track listing:
1. Trauermarsch (In gemessenem Schritt. Streng. Wie ein Kondukt - Plötzlich schneller. Leidenschaftlich. Wild - Tempo I)
2. Stürmisch bewegt. Mit größter Vehemenz - Bedeutend langsamer - Tempo I subito
3. Scherzo (Kräftig, nicht zu schnell)
4. Adagietto (Sehr langsam)
5. Rondo-Finale (Allegro)
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