Matrixman's Mahler Mania

[danlo]

Find me!
HELLFIIIIIIIIIRE!
I'm a leper
Don't touch me!

Oh Lena!
Hi Foamy
Hile Troy
really cannot see!

I don't believe it anyway
That is all I have to say...

Beat me Congelio
Let's go to Kokomo
screw Paglioci anyway
I'll kick
his ass anyday!

[duchess of malfi]

LOL!!!!!!!

Well, I snuck in a couple of listens to the First. And yes, the brass section did provide some very nice fireworks.

[Worm of Despite]

The box set came in! Currently listening to the 1st symphony, which also has the adagio of the unfinished 10th. So far, I'm really enjoying it, but I have this feeling that the Titan won't end up being my favorite Mahler symphony.

[duchess of malfi]

I like the First a lot, but I love the Fifth. The Second is also very good. I still have to listen/find most of the others, and find a better version of the Third... I have looked at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra schedule for next year, which is already out. They have no concerts scheduled for the SRD Madison weekend, but they will be playing Mahler's Fifth on the weekend before my birthday in October.

Talk about temptation. I even have a four days off that weekend. And the Lyric Opera will be doing Carmen that weekend, too!

[Worm of Despite]

Titan was great; I'm enjoying the 2nd even more. Are there vocals on the 2nd? I know voices/choral elements are used in other Mahler symphonies. Oh well, I'll find out sooner or later. Great stuff.

[duchess of malfi]

Of the ones I have heard thus far:

First ("Titan") -- no vocals, but the version I have is filled with energy, joy, and truly badass horn playing I can't seem to stop listening to it this week.

Second (""Resurrection") - vocals, very intense work, I love it but I can't listen to it very often due to its intensity

Third -- vocals, and next time I go to the music store I am going to search for (or special order) the Bernstein version

Fifth -- no vocals, but a work with great meaning to me personally -- we see (hear) death, the pain and anger of the loved one left behind, acceptance of what happened, and finally moving back into life and happiness -- plus great harp and horn playing

I have the Sixth but haven't listened to it yet, as I've listened to the First several times in the past few days.

Don't really know anything about the Fourth, Seventh, Eight, Ninth, and Tenth -- you guys will have to fill me in on them.

[duchess of malfi]

An update for Matrixman:

I had to force myself to do it, but finally took the First out of my CD player this afternoon (I've been listening to it rather obsessively -- this recording has more energy and joy in it than any classical recording I have ever heard ) , and gave the Third (the same one I cannot hear the quieter passages for the life of me in the Jeep) a listen.

I put it on the little stereo in my bedroom and lay down (the house was quiet because the kids weren't home from school yet) and you know what -- I could hear all of it, and enjoyed it a lot.

I think the Fifth will remain my favorite, as it hit so close to home with my father dying a little over a year ago, and that music really gets me in the heart -- but the Third is a fine piece of music. Especially when you can actually hear it.

[matrixman]

Wow, I'm happy you're getting a blast out of the First, duchess! Yeah, I think this symphony is about as close to a sunny and "fun" piece of music as Mahler ever got.

That's the version with Boulez and the Chicago Symphony you're listening to, correct? Ooh, you're tempting me now. I'll keep an eye out for it (as well as his recording of the Sixth with the Vienna Philharmonic, that you mentioned earlier).

And I absolutely have no problem with your choice of Symphony No. 5 as your favorite. I love it, too! The 4th Movement (Adagietto) deeply moved me the first time I heard it--it's so beautiful and heartbreaking. In fact it was the first bit of music by Mahler I had ever heard, part of a classical "hits" collection. The Adagietto does stand well by itself, I think. It also became famous as the piece that Leonard Bernstein conducted at John F. Kennedy's funeral.

So, anyway, don't feel like you have to like the Third, heh...

[duchess of malfi]

Yes, that First would be the Boulez with the CSO. Instead of trying to make some sort of grand statement, it just sounds like they got together for the sheer joy and exhiliration of making music together. There is a truly infectious positive energy and happiness about it.

I haven't listened to the Boulez Sixth yet, though it got extremely high customer review marks at Amazon. I've been playing the First rather...obsessively.

[duchess of malfi]

Another of Bernstein's last Mahler performances that had me on edge was that of the 6th Symphony--often said to be Mahler's most "biographical", and most despairing work. Whether it was Mahler, or just Bernstein emoting the hell out of the music, the Sixth frankly scared the crap out of me, and it remains the only piece of classical music to have done that to me. It was the ending that blew the lights out. The symphony ends with three "hammer-blows of fate"--prophetic seeming because Mahler would indeed suffer three blows three years later in his life: the death of his daughter, his forced resignation from the Vienna Opera, and the diagnosis of his ultimately fatal heart condition. So the Sixth is maybe more "biographical" than Mahler's other symphonies because it's here that he comes closest to depicting himself in music as the tragic hero who suffers through doubt and temporary triumphs but is ultimately defeated. The final "hammer-blow" fells the hero. Beyond talk of Mahler's obssession with death, however, it's the power of the music itself in all its naked passion that does the talking. But sheesh, it's one crazy way to spend an evening of music listening. Not exactly relaxing after-dinner material. Jazz is probably better for encouraging digestion...

Duchess, I know that "hiding under the chair" feeling from listening to the Sixth.

I listened to Boulez and the Vienna Philharmonic's recording of the Sixth this morning.

It was like listening to passion's flames somehow magically transmuted into music.

[matrixman]

Hmmm...I don't think of the Sixth as morning music. I'm kinda funny that way. The time of day colors my emotional response to any piece of music. It's a complicated process that I try not to analyze too hard--I just go with the flow. Let's just say I think of Mahler's 1st, 3rd and 4th Symphonies as morning to mid-morning music; the 2nd and 5th as late afternoon to dusk music; the 6th and 8th as evening music; and the 7th as night music. The 9th is the only one that I don't seem to associate with any particular time of day.

What does all this mean? I haven't figured that out yet.

[Worm of Despite]

I've been going it slow with Mahler, so I haven't even gone past the 6th symphony. I'm still absorbing his earlier stuff! I didn't want to rush through all 9 of them.

Well, I think I like the 2nd (Resurrection) best of all the symphonies, and then the 6th, 3rd, 5th, 1st, and 4th, in that order. Of course, listening to 7, 8, and 9 will probably change all that.

I've also got Mahler's "Das Lied von der Erde". I think I like it even more than the symphonies I've heard so far! Breathtaking stuff! The voices of the singers meld perfectly with the music. It really showcases just how much the orchestral Lied matured under Mahler's vision.

[duchess of malfi]

I listened to the Ninth this afternoon, while watching the snow falling outside my window...

This one seemed to the quietest and most thoughtful of the Mahler pieces I have thus far heard. The last bit seemed to a quiet acceptance of the inevitable, and the music slipped peacefully away with with last few notes...

So I have symphonies Four, Seven, Eight, and Ten to go. But Ten is only partial, is that correct?

And someone told me that Seven is perfect Halloween music?

[Worm of Despite]

So I have symphonies Four, Seven, Eight, and Ten to go. But Ten is only partial, is that correct?

And someone told me that Seven is perfect Halloween music?

The 10th's adagio is the only finished/fully orchestrated part, although people have recorded the less finished stuff.

I don't know about Halloween music, but the 7th is called "song of the night" or some such.

Speaking of symphonies: 7th and 8th were great. Not sure I know where I rank them yet, but they're giving the 6th a run for its money. The 9th is up next. Can't wait to hear it!

[Worm of Despite]

Okay, I think I can sufficiently rank them. These are all subjective, of course:

1. No. 2 "Resurrection" (the Urlicht did it for me)
2. No. 9
3. No. 8
4. No. 7
5. No. 3
6. No. 6
7. No. 5
8. No. 4
9. No. 1

I love all of them, so No. 1 isn't much lower in my esteem than No. 2.

[matrixman]

For me, the "perfect" piece of classical music for Halloween is Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique.

Mahler's Seventh will do just fine, though. The heart of this work might be the two inner "Night Music" movements, and some of their otherworldly sounds could make for a decent Halloween soundtrack.

The "concept" of the Seventh is a journey through the night-world, encountering its attendant nightmares, to emerge at the end in the light of a new day. So from that view this symphony can be seen as a "return to life" after the tragedy of the Sixth.

The opening movements of the Seventh, the Third and Ninth are my favorite symphonic movements in all of Mahler. These huge constructs are complete symphonies unto themselves to my ears. I absolutely love them!

Once again, let me pull an excerpt from the liner notes of my Bernstein CD's, written by Prof. Jeremy Noble. The good professor sums up the Seventh Symphony:

There are certainly more perfectly integrated works among Mahler's symphonies, but none has a greater range of expression, from the grandiose to the intimate, from the radiant to the panic-stricken. Nowhere else is Mahler's instrumental imagination more vividly individual, and no where else is his harmonic language more varied, from the easygoing simplicity of the second movement's first trio to the heightened chromaticism, the fourth-chords and even the momentary bitonality of the first. "Daring" is perhaps the key word both for the conception of the work and for its language, and for those of us who love his music Mahler is never more himself than when he is nudging the limitations of technical possibility and conventional good taste.

As far as recommending a recording of the Seventh, er, again I only have my Bernstein version to go on (from his 1980's live concert cycle). But it's regarded by Lenny followers as one of his most thrilling performances, so I'm happy.

Simon Rattle has also made quite a name for himself over the years as a Mahler conductor. His version of the Seventh in 1992 with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra ("the orchestra Simon built") was praised by Gramophone magazine.

Rattle's version of the Tenth Symphony in 2000 with the Berlin Philharmonic was also apparently very convincing, as Gramophone voted it Record of the Year.

And now in this month's issue, Gramophone is positively gushing over Rattle's recording of the Eighth, in which he is reunited with the Birmingham orchestra. I intend to get it come next payday.

[duchess of malfi]

Well, I managed to pick up Symphonies Four, Seven, and Eight -- the Bernstein versions. I'll let you know what I think as I go.

[Worm of Despite]

Currently, my favorite symphony is Mahler's 9th. It has a certain frailty, a longing to it. It feels like my thoughts made manifest.

All his symphonies are wonderful, though; couldn't live without 'em! Same goes for Das Lied von der Erde--perhaps his most mature and intensely personal work. Transcendent stuff.

And a bit off topic, but here’s where I stand these days:

1) Missa Solemnis, by Ludwig van Beethoven
2) Musical Offering, by J.S. Bach
3) Symphony No. 9 in D major, by Gustav Mahler
4) Grosse Fugue Op. 133, by Ludwig van Beethoven
5) Piano Sonata No. 21 in B flat major, by Franz Schubert

[Usivius]

What?! No Mozart?
... my fave...

[Worm of Despite]

I love Mozart, don't get me wrong, but I'm just not a huge fan of the classical style (1730-1820). Baroque/Romantic/20th century is where I get my kicks. Of course, some might claim that Beethoven is a classical composer (which I tend to agree with), but, then again, Beethoven was freaking Beethoven.

Mozart would definitely find a spot in my top 10, though--along with Brahms and Bartok. I heart them much.