Mahler – Symphonie Nr.9 - Carlo Maria Giulini, Chicago Symphony Orchestra (2LP)
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Gustav Mahler - Symphonie Nr.9 D-dur
Orchestra - Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Conductor - Carlo Maria Giulini
2 LPs, Gatefold jacket
Original analog Master tape : YES
Heavy Press : 180g
Record color : black
Speed : 33 RPM
Size : 12'’
Stereo
Studio
Record Press : Pallas
Label : Speakers Corner
Original Label : Deutsche Grammophon
Recorded at Medinah Temple, Chicago, April 1976
Engineered by Klaus Scheibe
Produced by Günther Breest
Design by Werner Koberstein
Photography by Christian Steiner & Anthony Altaffer
Originally released in 1977
Reissued in 2009
Tracks :
Side A : I Andante Comodo
Side B : II Im Tempo Eines Gemächlichen Ländlers - Etwas Täppisch Und Sehr Derb
Side C : III Rondo Burleske - Allegro Assai. Sehr Trotzig
Side D : IV Adagio - Sehr Langsam Und Noch Zurückhaltend
Reviews:
"Giulini’s Mahler 9 is very sober. The first movement is 32 minutes long – there is virtually no expressive underlining and Giulini seems content to let the music speak for itself. Which is all highly laudable, but in the process something has been lost. In the opening movement the aching, nostalgic, world-weariness that Barbirolli and the Berlin Philharmonic found in what might be called the main theme is absent, in the central section (there is no conventional development) there are occasions when the performance seems to just plod along, the soft horn statement of two of the movement’s thematic motifs that begins the coda lacks magic, and the incredible softness and sense of dying away to nothing that Barbirolli so memorably evokes in the final bars is only hinted at.
The scherzo has three main dance themes, and here Giulini is very slow, which doesn’t leave him much leeway for observing the clearly marked tempo changes, but unlike the first movement he just about gets away with it, such is his power of concentration and the playing of the Chicago woodwinds is brilliant. In the ‘Rondo-Burlesque’ he takes virtually the same tempo as Barbirolli, but it is the Englishman who points the rhythms and conveys the movement’s rustic irony; in the second section Giulini does not convey any sense of quiet melancholy, and the intensely beautiful foretaste of the last movement is emotionally detached. Much the same can be said of the great Adagio itself. The tempo is spacious, there is a sense of nobility and stoic resignation (the Chicago strings are glorious) to the main theme, the first violins solo is laden with vibrato. But, as the movement progresses, Giulini seems intent on building a magnificent cathedral of sound rather than eliciting the meaning behind the notes, and not for the first time the music-making becomes narcissistic, as though Giulini is admiring his own creation. Barbirolli is faster, yet he brings terrifying emotional intensity to every bar, and one does not breathe during the final ppp-falling-to-pppp page. Nevertheless, Giulini does have a certain rugged grandeur and it is not a reading I would want to be without.
In terms of the sound, all three issues are different to the original pressings. On the Maazel the brass moves forward in climaxes to thrilling, but totally unrealistic, effect. With the Speakers Corner re-pressing the recording level is lower and the brass more recessed. The original has slightly greater treble extension and more defined timpani, but the image is more stable on the re-mastering. Much the same can be said of the Giulini. Here the Speakers Corner LPs have greater weight, the mid-range is marginally more congested than on the originals, but the wonderful tone of the Chicago strings is better captured on the remastering. The Beaux Arts discs have far more presence than the originals, part of which is down to the overall balance being more forward, unlike some Speakers Corner Philips pressings the treble has not been overly filtered, and here the SC discs are superior.
With regard to availability and price, a red label (the word Stereo is in a red box under the yellow DGG plaque) German pressing of SLPM 138684 will fetch – on a good day – about £35, but slightly later tulips pressings (which sound just as good) turn-up for less than £10, always assuming you can find them in good condition. The Mahler box turns up on a fairly regular basis and rarely costs more than £10,; however Phonogram (who owned both Deutsche Grammophon and Philips) introduced inferior lightweight (i.e. 90 or 100 as opposed to 120gm) vinyl long before most other companies, and the heavier pressings are not easy to find. First plum label discs of the Schubert are very rare, but because chamber groups are not collectible, they do not fetch high prices, however the red label re-issues on the Chamber-Music Series are still pretty good if again hard to find." Classical Source Review by Rob Pennock
Ratings :
Discogs : 4.83 /5