Mahler: Symphony, No. 2

Review From the Chicago Symphony's own label, a live recording of Mahler's "Resurrection" Symphony from a conductor who certainly knows his way around this symphony - having performed or recorded it numerous times in his long career. This is the fourth in a series of Mahler recordings with Haitink and the Chicago Symphony on CSO Resound. -- http://wsclblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/whats-new-on-just-opened-may-14-2010.html Haitink Replay: Bernard Haitink has been under fire from certain quarters for re-recording his core-repertory on orchestra-based labels. But Haitink's Indian summer in front of the microphones has captured some marvelous performances for posterity. One thinks of the brilliant Beethoven symphony cycle with the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO Live), resolute Bruckner in Amsterdam (RCO Live) and Dresden (Hänssler) and his recording accomplishments as principal conductor of the CSO. The symphonies of Gustav Mahler figured prominently in the latter and accounts of Nos 1, 3 and 6 have proven irresistible to demanding collectors of a particularly stoic disposition. This recording of the 'Resurrection' more than amply justifies the conductor's preference for doing what he knows best. It is his finest interpretation of the score and as fine as any on record. Traditions: The tradition of objective Mahler performance was established in the Concertgebouw by Eduard van Beinem by the 1950s. As his successor, Haitink maintained this luminescent objectivity and passed it on intact to Riccardo Chailly in due course. Bernard Haitink made two studio recordings of Mahler's Second with the RCO (1968) and the BPO (1993) for Philips. Yet his previous best performance can be found only on a Netherlands domestic product in the Philips Dutch Master series. The broadcast relay tape revealed that Haitink could be a very different conductor in concert than in the studio. The account of December 25, 1984 was revelatory. And the present recording from November 2008 is even better with the added advantage of the latest advances in engineering. Haitink also made a decisive contribution to the restoration of another important tradition: the dark and deep-rooted Central European tone of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. CSO Resound conveys in full the sonorities which made the orchestra famous under Reiner and Solti. The CSO is back in form and once again audibly unique among American orchestras. May Bernard Haitink long continue to record what he wants, when he wants ...and aren't we lucky? -- Classical Music Sentinel, Stephen Habington, February 2010 Local recordings also mixed foresight with hindsight. Sixty-five-year-old Evanston violinist Vincent P. Skowronski resurfaced with Dichotomy, a searing set of breathtakingly intense Ernest Bloch sonatas. Chicago's classical staple Cedille Records celebrated its 20th anniversary and released The Billy Collins Suite: Songs Inspired by His Poetry, a lovely album that captures the details and playful spirit of the former U.S. poet laureate with a sundry of original compositions, including doozies by Music in the Loft vets Lita Grier and Vivian Fung. Elsewhere, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra did a smashing job of recording Mahler's Symphony No. 2 under the direction of conductor Bernard Haitink (released on the CSO's own Resound imprint), while International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) flutist Claire Chase took her instrument on a brave, animated adventure with Aliento. -- Time Out Chicago, Mia Clarke, December 2009 Rating: 5 stars I started out not liking this much. But--this is usually the case when I hear this symphony in a new recording for the first time. Mahler has the curse of suffering a great largesse of interpretative nuance, and this, his most popular work, is the one that gets the most critical scrutiny. It was his first great success, even though it was written piecemeal over a five year period. There are so many warning signs in this for me, so many things that have to be just right, that if they are not I get disappointed. As a result, there are very few recordings of this work that truly satisfy me. The greatest I have ever heard is Bernstein's radio broadcast from the Blossom Music Festival with the Cleveland Orchestra in the summer of 1970, the one and only time he ever conducted that orchestra. It is a sensational performance, and should be released by the Clevelanders immediately (I haven't heard it on the radio for about 15 years or so). The same conductor's New York recording from 1963 still sets somewhat of a standard, though the sound was long ago passed. It's not bad--I haven't heard the newly-remastered version of that great and historical series (though what I have heard makes me shy away--apparently there is a great deal more treble. I have the box from 2001 that also includes the Kindertotenlieder with Janet Baker, something the new set does not) so I can't compare with the new one, but even here the sound is good enough to present Mahler in his full-blow
ASIN: B002QEXC44
VSKU: DBV.B002QEXC44.G
Condition: Good
Author/Artist:Chicago Symphony Orchestra|Gustav Mahler|Bernard Haitink|Chicago Symphony Chorus|Duain Wolfe|Miah Persson|Christianne Stotijn
Binding: Audio cd
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Condition Notes: Individually inspected: Guaranteed to play perfectly or your money back. Case may show wear and may be in library packaging. Ships Fast!