Mahler: Symphony No. 8

Mahler: Symphony No. 8

Mahler: Symphony No. 8
List Price: $16.98
Our Price: $7.44
You Save: $9.54 (56%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $4.95 (click here)
Category: Music CD
See more CD details
Listen soundtracks from this album


(Click here)
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store

CD Details

Composer: Gustav Mahler
Conductor: Simon Rattle
Orchestra: City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Performer: Christine Brewer
Performer: Soile Isokoski
Performer: Juliane Banse
Performer: Birgit Remmert
Performer: Jane Henschel
Performer: John Relyea
Performer: David Wilson-Johnson
Performer: Jon Villars
Edition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2005-04-12
Music Label: EMI Classics
Soundtracks:
  1. Veni, Creator Spiritus
  2. Imple Superna Gratia
  3. Infirma Nostri Corporis
  4. Tempo I (Allegro, Etwas Hastig)
  5. Infirma Nostri Corporis
  6. Accende Lumen Diceris
  7. Qui Paraclitus Diceris
  8. Gloria Patri Domino
  9. Poco Adagio
  10. Piu Mosso (Allegro Moderato)
  11. Waldung, Sie Schwankt Heran
  12. Ewiger Wonnebrand
  13. Wie Felsenabgrund Mir Zu Fussen
  14. Gerettet Ist Das Edle Glied
  15. Uns Bleibt Ein Erdenrest
  16. Ich Spur Soeben
  17. Hochste Herrscherin Der Welt
  18. Dir, Der Unberuhrbaren
  19. Bei Der Liebe, Die Den Fussen
  20. Neige, Neige, Du Ohnegleiche
  21. Er Uberwachst Uns Schon
  22. Komm! Hebe Dich Zu Hohern Sparen!
  23. Blicket Auf Zum Retterblick
  24. Alles Vergangliche
  25. Alles Vergangliche

Music reviews of Mahler: Symphony No. 8

Music Review: LET DOWN BY THE SOUND
Rating: 4 Stars

This disc seems to have elicited fairly extreme responses, judging by the reviews below. And I'm afraid I have to count myself among the disappointed, particularly with respect to the recorded sound. I can't believe it's my set-up that puts me at odds with some of the glowing responses this recording has elicited - the EMI engineers in this series usually produce stunning sounds on my system (e.g. Symphonies 2,3 & 7). Certainly there is an impressively wide dynamic range here from the barely audible tremolo basses in Part 1 to the vast organ-supported sound at the end. But too often, when there's a lot going on, the sound becomes muddy and congested. This becomes lethal to important contrapuntal sections like the big double-fugue in the development section of Part 1. I'm loath to blame Rattle since he's normally so precise with his orchestral balance throughout his Mahler cycle. I get the feeling that the engineers just didn't cope too well with the scope of the piece, recorded in live conditions. Most of the time (but not always) the soloists are right in your face, masking the detail of the orchestra and choruses. Yet a purely orchestral passage like the opening of Part 2 works well enough in sound terms (easier to record?). The offstage brass at the ends of both Parts are just buried away in the orchestra somewhere, indistinguishable from the rest of the brass in acoustic terms - I remember Bernstein in the Albert Hall had them placed to stunning effect in the top gallery at the back of the hall (so he seemed to be conducting the entire space of the Albert Hall at the end: very Lennie!) and his CBS engineers at Walthamstow straight after that show gave a pretty good 2-D stereo impression of the same.

Rattle always maintained that his Mahler cycle wouldn't necessarily be complete. And the Eighth was the problem-child that he couldn't quite get to grips with. Now the cycle is complete and maybe those problems still show through despite, I'm sure, a lot of homework on his part. Certainly he applies all his skill and knowledge of Mahler to good effect here - but not to great effect! The pacing is good throughout, the orchestral balance allows woodwinds, harmonium, mandolin, etc. a chance to be heard, the various elements of Part 2 are held together admirably, the final pages grow impressively from extreme piano to extreme fortissimo with fine, largely well-tuned choral singing. It's a very sound performance. But I want something more than 'sound' in the Symphony of a Thousand. I want thrills, spills, excitement, ravishment and knockout punches. Take the very opening: Rattle's allegro is a good sensible speed. But it lacks the sheer energy of a Bernstein or a Solti or the grandeur of Stokowski. Veni Creator spiritus - Come, spirit of creation. The huge build-up and release as we get to the restatement of that theme at the start of the recapitulation knocks you for six under Bernstein or Horenstein - here it just feels like the beginning of the recapitulation.

Part 2 fares better, particularly the slow introduction (where, as I've said, the engineers don't get in the way). The scherzo-like sections, too, show Rattle's familiar light, rhythmic hand. The soloists, as in all Mahler Eights, are a mixed bunch from the good (Isokoski & Wilson-Johnson, for example) to the somewhat strained and trying Villars - a shame since Doctor Marianus is such an important part towards the end of the Goethe.

No, for a great performance, go historical to Stokowski or Horenstein (the latter in the vastnesses of the Albert Hall, whose tricky acoustics always seem to me to add to this work). If you need modern sound (and the Eighth does undeniably benefit), probably Tennstedt or Chailly. And, for a mixture of both, don't ignore Solti (one of the best in his series) or the irrepressible Bernstein.
More Mahler: Symphony No. 8 free music reviews:
1 2 3

Description of Mahler: Symphony No. 8

All products are BRAND NEW and factory sealed. Fast shipping and 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed.

Classical CDs
Music Genres
Bestsellers in Classical CDs
Winterscapes ImageWinterscapes
by London Philharmonic
Prophetic Voice; Published: 2000-07; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $2.75
Price in other shops: $6.99
The Queen, the Bear, & the Bumblebee ImageThe Queen, the Bear, & the Bumblebee
by Dini Petty
Children's Group; Published: 2001-03; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $13.38
Price in other shops: $13.98
Beethoven Lives Upstairs Cdr ImageClassical Kids - Beethoven Lives Upstairs Cdr
Release date: 2000-04-05; Music CD
Best price: $24.98
Tchaikovsky (Life and Works (Naxos)) ImageTchaikovsky (Life and Works (Naxos))
by Malcolm Sinclair, Jeremy Siepmann
Naxos; Published: 2003-11; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $35.99
Jose Carreras - Jubileum Concert [VHS] ImageJose Carreras - Jose Carreras - Jubileum Concert [VHS]
Sling Shot; Release date: 2000-04-18; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $5.86
Price in other shops: $9.99
Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker / Nureyev, Park, Royal Ballet [VHS] ImageTchaikovsky - The Nutcracker / Nureyev, Park, Royal Ballet [VHS]
Kultur Video; Release date: 1997-09-09; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $29.89
Price in other shops: $29.95
Lonely Town Lonley Street / Sergeant's Early Dream [VHS] ImageRambert Dance Company - Lonely Town Lonley Street / Sergeant's Early Dream [VHS]
Kultur Video; Release date: 1997-10-28; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $14.99
Price in other shops: $29.95
Winter Music: Composing the North ImageWinter Music: Composing the North
by John Luther Adams
Wesleyan; Published: 2004-11-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $21.91
Price in other shops: $25.95
Puccini - La Fanciulla del West / Santi, Domingo, Neblett, Royal Opera Covent Garden [VHS] ImagePuccini - La Fanciulla del West / Santi, Domingo, Neblett, Royal Opera Covent Garden [VHS]
Kultur Video; Release date: 1999-05-25; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $6.38
Price in other shops: $29.95
Verdi - Falstaff / Giulini, Bruson, Ricciarelli, Nucci, Royal Opera Covent Garden [VHS] ImageVerdi - Falstaff / Giulini, Bruson, Ricciarelli, Nucci, Royal Opera Covent Garden [VHS]
Kultur Video; Release date: 1999-05-25; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $12.95
Price in other shops: $29.95
Similar CDs
Mahler: Symphony No. 10 ImageMahler: Symphony No. 10
Release date: 2000-06-06; Music CD
Best price: $7.06
Price in other shops: $16.98
Symphony No. 8 In Full Score (Dover Music Scores) ImageSymphony No. 8 In Full Score (Dover Music Scores)
by Gustav Mahler, Music Scores
Alfred Publishing; Dover Publications; Published: 1989-08-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.50
Price in other shops: $21.95
Simon Rattle - Mahler: Symphony No.2 (2CDS) [Japan LTD SACD Hybrid] TOGE-11077 ImageSimon Rattle - Simon Rattle - Mahler: Symphony No.2 (2CDS) [Japan LTD SACD Hybrid] TOGE-11077
Music CD
Best price: $73.00
Mahler: Symphony No. 4 ImageReri Grist - Mahler: Symphony No. 4
Release date: 1999-03-16; Music CD
Best price: $4.51
Price in other shops: $7.99
Mahler: The Complete Works - 150th Anniversary Box ImageLondon Philharmonic Orchestra - Mahler: The Complete Works - 150th Anniversary Box
Release date: 2010-06-29; Music CD
Best price: $39.30
Price in other shops: $77.98
James Levine Conducts Mahler: Symphonies Nos. 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9 & 10 ImageJames Levine Conducts Mahler: Symphonies Nos. 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9 & 10
Release date: 2010-10-11; Music CD
Best price: $17.48
Price in other shops: $31.98
Mahler: Symphony No. 5 ~ Rattle ImageMahler: Symphony No. 5 ~ Rattle
Release date: 2002-11-05; Music CD
Best price: $59.99
Mahler: Symphony No. 9 ImageMahler: Symphony No. 9
Release date: 2008-03-11; Music CD
Best price: $8.93
Price in other shops: $16.98
Mahler: Symphony No. 8 ~ Boulez ImageTwyla Robinson - Mahler: Symphony No. 8 ~ Boulez
Release date: 2008-01-08; Music CD
Best price: $9.90
Price in other shops: $17.99
Mahler: Symphony No. 8 "Symphony of a Thousand" ImageMahler: Symphony No. 8 "Symphony of a Thousand"
Release date: 1991-10-15; Music CD
Best price: $4.81
Price in other shops: $9.98
Books | DVD Video | VHS Video | Health and Personal Care | Digital Cameras and Photo | Kitchen and Housewares | Tools and Hardware | Sports Equipment | Dresses shirts shoes apparel pants
Copyright © 2004-2007 music-hills.com
Google
 
Web music-hills.com
Compare prices and find music notes for more than one million Music CD titles