Hi. You simply forgot sir Colin Davis version, recorded in 1996 with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and more. Live recording with an excellent sound.
This is very good too. In this, Ben Heppner sings glorious, much better than with Chailly (1 year ago) and is a very good version indeed. I don't know if is better than this, but you must hear it too.
Greetings.Not to be argumentative in the slightest, but no, I didn't forget it. I simply don't have it. I heard the Davis recording and elected not to get it because it has too many issues. Ben Heppner does sing a very fine 8th as you say, but there are seven other soloists, and the women are simply not up to the job, particularly in Part 2, where they are much too loud in the pianissimo passages, plus they are miked so unnaturally close that you can literally hear them inhaling between phrases.
The worst part, however, is Davis himself and the way he paces the symphony. He clearly does not have a clear vision of the overall arc of this symphony, making transitions sound as if they are suddenly coming out of nowhere, with no discernible tempo relationship to what immediately preceded the transition or what follows it. The tempo changes are quite disconcerting and highly distracting in the music of a composer who had a brilliant command of large forms, and whose music can, in the right hands, flow effortlessly for well over an hour, with each new section's emergence seeming as natural and inevitable as could be. This was tragically not the case with Davis.
Davis was far more successful with the music of Berlioz, whose music is every bit as "big" as Mahler's, of course, in more than one example - but I think what makes Davis more successful at it is that Berlioz tended to be a more episodic composer than Mahler. (And I mean this with no criticism intended whatsoever of Berlioz.) With Berlioz, to a certain extent, you can get away with simply making each individual section in the music sound great, and the performance will be successful. With Mahler, however, that is not enough. You have to make each individual section sound great, as well as showing each section's relationship to the surrounding material. This is where Davis has his biggest weakness as a Mahler conductor. This was also a major problem for him in the 1st/4th Symphonies, as well as in Das Lied von der Erde.
So after hearing his 8th in a copy that was owned by an acquaintance, I chose not to spend my money on it.
Hi, could I get the Surround Sound FLAC please? I am interested in hearing the "Ultimate 8th." :)I am certainly more than happy to send you this recording, but for the "Ultimate"(?) Mahler 8th, you might want to take a look at this (
Thread 212887).
In the meantime, however, no problem, your wish is my command........
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Ta daaaah! Link(s) sent, happy listening.
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