Symphony No. 6

Christoph von Dohnányi’s lean and athletic Dvorák Symphony No. 6 is at the opposite pole from the warm, romantic style typified by Karel Ancerl (type Q6828 in Search Reviews). However, both approaches are valid, as Dvorák’s great symphony is at once a heartfelt work with strong classical underpinnings. The combination of Dohnányi’s energetic direction and the Cleveland Orchestra’s exactingly precise playing makes for a crisp and vibrant rendition, highlighted by the sharp-pointed timpani (well captured by Decca’s engineers).

The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra was founded in 1948 and has always played a key role in the development of the classical music scene in South Korea. The appointment of the respected Myung-Whun Chung as music director and principal conductor in 2005 heralded an artistic renaissance for the orchestra. And now that the famous German yellow label has, by way of maestro Chung, taken the Seoul Philharmonic under its wings, the ensemble also seems destined for brilliant horizons outside of the Korean border.

This recording presents two symphonies "on the theme of nature." Valid though this expression is, it nevertheless calls for quotation marks. Far from being a prefiguration of Beethoven's famous Pastoral, Justin Heinrich Knechts' Symphonie 'Portrait musical de la nature' represented a highly convincing attempt by it's composer to extricate himself from program music. It is exciting to hear these two works recorded together for the first time by the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin directed by it's concertmaster, Bernhard Forck.

This is a taut, dense Mahler 6, missing all the angst that one finds in the recordings of Bernstein or Tennstedt. But this "tragic" symphony is much less frantic than his others, and Dohnanyi's interpretation, so similar to Szell's with the Cleveland Orchestra, is the way I feel the symphony ought to be played. This ranks in my top three or four Mahler 6, along with Abbado Berlin, Karajan, and Szell.

Ludwig van Beethoven - Symphony No. 6 "Pastorale" & Symphony No. 2
The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen · Paavo Järvi
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 290 MB | Full Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: RCA Red Seal # 88697006552 | Country/Year: Europe 2006 | Genre: Classical

…Without doubt this is a most memorable Pastoral, to be placed with the best, including Gardiner's terrific period version from his OAE cycle on RBCD. Vänskä's Pastoral (also using the new Urtext) is splendid too, and put beside Järvi he is several degrees more romantic and softer-edged (musically - the recording is superb, although somewhat more distant), as if Nature was visited in reminiscence more than reality. Listeners can make their choice…

The Classical Hall of Fame contains recordings that we critics have judged to be worthy of perpetual enshrinement, and thus it would seem an odd place to air one’s purely personal preferences. That being said, however, it is also true that we first receive sensory experience, and it is through this personal portal that we then extrapolate and objectify, so I begin this induction with some personal observations.

Gustav Mahler - Symphony No.6 "The Tragic"
Valery Gergiev / London Symphony Orchestra
SACD ISO (2.0/MCH): 3,89 GB | 24B/88,2kHz Stereo FLAC: 1,21 GB | Full Artwork
Label/Cat#: LSO Live # LSO0661 | Country/Year: UK 2008 | 5% Recovery Info
Genre: Classical | Style: Romantic, Symphonic

"…It would be impossible for any single recording of this towering masterpiece ever to be considered definitive, or appeal to all tastes, but this searing performance, with the LSO in phenomenal form, should be heard by all who love Mahler’s’ music." ~SA-CD.net