Vintage Mahler2 , Haitink conducting
Thu, Jun 28 2012, 7:25PM
Prompted by tonight's BBC broadcast concert, 28/6/12, I venture to offer a relevant recording. Admirers of Bernard Haitink's conducting may already have enjoyed
Mahler's Symphony No.9 with the Concertgebouw from a Prom which is to
be found on my website, and I have recently added two more Prom selections : Tchaikovsky's Symphony No.6 with the same orchestra and Mahler's
Symphony No.2 ,"The Resurrection" from the London Philharmonic Orchestra
with the BBC Men's Chorus, BBC Choral Society, London Philharmonic Choir
and soloists: Margaret Price (soprano) and Norma Procter (contralto).
The Tchaikovsky was the last item in the concert and is followed by an
encore to general merriment. I did not know Mahler2 so I have no point
of comparison as to quality but it seems pretty good to me. There is
more harmonic invention than I find in the symphonies I know better
1,4,5 and 9. You will find these three selections and much, much more at
http://www.cliveheathmusic.co.uk/tapes.php
Sun, Jul 1 2012, 1:11AM
#2
RE: Vintage Mahler2 , Haitink conducting
....and a superb 3rd w/ RCO & Forrester (1966) and a very good 7th w/BPO from the early 90's.
Sun, Jul 1 2012, 1:53PM
#3
RE: Vintage Mahler2 , Haitink conducting
...and a brand new live 9th from Munich, on BR klassik. (I haven't got it yet).
A conductor of ages and ages, not perfect, but consistent and with some very solid performances.
Parla
Sun, Jul 1 2012, 9:21PM
#4
RE: Vintage Mahler2 , Haitink conducting
And a sad omission from Gramophone's recent top 50 or whatever it was. A master conductor of Mahler, Bruckner (and much else) with a whole succession of top orchestras, who tend to understand his value. Gramophone reviewers have tended to prefer the flashier conductors in the Bernstein mould, and as a result he's not been sufficiently appreciated in its pages.
Mon, Jul 2 2012, 3:39AM
#5
RE: Vintage Mahler2 , Haitink conducting
Some time go I was talking to a friend and at certain point he asked me if we weren't too romantic regarding conductors of the past, always ready to revere the likes of Dorati, Furtwangler, Monteux, Reiner, Fricsay, Beecham, Ancerl.....but extremely picky about living conductors such as Chailly, Rattle, Barenboim, Pletnev, Gergiev, Tilson Thomas.....
Yes, we can be a tad yielding regarding them, but my answer is no, I replied, they were that good indeed. So, assuming they weren't an accident in the cm history, then which living conductors will stay for future generations?
Well, I don't have a list yet, I retorted, but for orchestral music I will certainly start it with Bernard Haitink. He who can read so well works from different composers like Brahms and Mahler, Vaughan Williams and Bruckner and recorded one of the best Shostakovich's cycle of symphonies available should know a thing or two about his job. The only problem with the Dutch conductor, imo, is that he has seen mikes above his head too often.
Mon, Jul 2 2012, 10:15AM
#6
RE: The List
.....then which living conductors will stay for future generations?
Well, I don't have a list yet, I retorted, but for orchestral music I will certainly start it with Bernard Haitink. He who can read so well works from different composers like Brahms and Mahler, Vaughan Williams and Bruckner and recorded one of the best Shostakovich's cycle of symphonies available should know a thing or two about his job.
Haitink, Abbado ...............
Mon, Jul 2 2012, 12:11PM
#7
RE: Vintage Mahler2 , Haitink conducting
...Haitink, Abbado...They sound very old by now.
I've seen them live both in Berlin, with BPO. They sounded as some kind of "golden mediocrities". However, BPO, under Rattle, is no more the dream-orchestra we might have thought they will always be. They are a superb "flat", "homogenised" group of musicians, who play whatever it is, no matter what it is. So, no wonder that even old masters cannot make a big difference out of them.
However, even from their recordings, I couldn't easily find plenty. Maybe, for Abbado's Schubert and Mendelssohn, on DG (despite they're not the "reference" recordings). For Haitink, Shostakovich is a very happy surprise (but not one of the top of the choice) and his long deleted cycle of Brahms with Boston Symphony, on Philips. Vaugn Williams is very competitive too.
However, I can understand you very well, 78RPM. All these "big" names of the past were prime musicians and, regardless their most of the time poor or so recordings, were capable of showing their musicianship and artistry. Before the high-end years, I grew up with the likes of Szell, Ormandy, Reiner, Monteux, Ansermet, Solti, Svetlanov and many more.
Parla
Haitink conducting Mahler - Understated and underrated. A great 9th on Philips and a great 6th on naive.