Mahler: Symphony No. 9

Mahler: Symphony No. 9

Mahler: Symphony No. 9
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Composer: Gustav Mahler
Conductor: Pierre Boulez
Orchestra: Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Edition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 1998-03-17
Music Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Soundtracks:
  1. Symphonie No.9: 1. Andante comodo
  2. Symphonie No.9: 2. Im Tempo eines gemachlichen Landlers. Etwas tappisch und sehr derb
  3. Symphonie No.9: 3. Rondo - Burleske. Allegro assai. Sehr trotzig
  4. Symphonie No.9: 4. Adagio. Sehr langsam und noch zuruckhaltend

Free Music Notes for Mahler: Symphony No. 9

Free Music Review: Comparative Review v. Lopez-Cobos
Hit: 5 Stars

Less than a year after López-Cobos's Telarc Mahler 9th, the Boulez/Chicago recording was released on DG. I was so excited to hear it that I could barely wait to get home and slap it into my CD player! On hearing it for the first time, my thoughts were along the lines of, "Man, what a great piece of music, and what a great performance and recording--right up there with the Telarc. Which one will I actually wind up liking better?" Now here it is, time to write out my considered thoughts on these two recordings, and this time I am going to beat around the bush, at least for a little while.

One problem I encountered in preparing my comments was that I found it more difficult than usual to take notes while listening during those sessions where I tried to capture some of my thoughts on paper while switching back and forth between the two recordings. The music was so engrossing, the sound quality so captivating, and the performances so magnificent in both versions that all I could do was sit and listen in a glorious reverie of pure musical enjoyment. As a result, even though the Mahler 9th is a long and complex work, and even though I probably spent more time than ever before listening carefully to both recordings, I wound up with a much shorter set of notes than I usually do, and will accordingly wind up comparing the two recordings in more general terms than usual.

Listening to the first few minutes of both versions, in fact, gives the listener a sense of what the overall differences are going to be. The Boulez sounds a bit brighter, with individual parts, particularly in the woodwinds, seeming to stand out a bit more prominently in the mix. Control and clarity are paramount, but the interpretation never strikes the listener as fussy or overly analytic. The López-Cobos version seems warm, tender, but never overly romantic. The recorded sound is slightly more distant, a bit warmer, and utterly breathtaking in its evocation of the concert hall, even in a mere two channels. One thing that really surprised me was that the Boulez performance seems perceptibly faster in the first movement than the López-Cobos performance, but when I checked the timings, the Boulez performance actually is slower (29:17 versus 28:24).

As the two recordings unfold, the differences I have described above pretty well characterize them throughout. The Telarc sound is slightly warmer, more "homogenized," and more like a real concert hall than the DG sound. But the DG sound is in its own way truly excellent -- clear, lively, and with especially good articulation in the lower strings. The timings in the second movement are within three seconds of each other, but to listen to the two performances, you would think that Boulez is faster. And so in the third movement, the lively Rondo-Burleske that is probably the most formally disciplined movement that Mahler ever wrote, but which still seems infused with wild abandon just awaiting to erupt. Both performances are tight and disciplined in their playing, yet both crackle with power and expression.

In the final Adagio, López-Cobos truly does slow things down in comparison, taking nearly 28 minutes compared to the 21:25 spent by Boulez. Because of this longer timing, the Telarc recording had to be spread over two disks, which sell for the price of one, with the first two movements on disk 1 and the remaining two movements on disk.

It is time, I guess, to stop beating around the bush. Let me summarize my thoughts and recommendations on these two recordings. First, let me say that both are magnificent, simply magnificent. The performances are incredible, and the sound quality is glorious. The DG disk is a sparkling example of clarity and precision in terms of both sound and performance. It lets you here every little detail of the score, but never sounds exaggeratedly analytical. It sounds like the world's greatest "studio recording" of the Mahler 9th, and is certainly the best Mahler 9th I have ever heard on one disk. I cherish this recording and will play it often in future years.

The Telarc, on the other hand, has a warmer sound that sounds more like a live performance. Although I may regret being so bold in my statement, I find it the greatest combination of performance and sound that I have ever heard on any orchestral CD, and the fortuitous circumstance that such a combination would come in service of as great a work as the Mahler 9th makes this disk even more wonderful. It is the greatest orchestral recording I have ever heard, and I recommend it with fervent, heartfelt enthusiasm.
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