Mahler: Symphony No 1

Advantages: Embodies some of Mahlers most notable music qualities.
Disadvantages: Unfinished.

...by various orchestra's and in different decades to choose from, the most recent notable one has been Simon Rattle's Berlin orchestra's performance. Overall if you like Mahler this is a definite buy, if you are new to Mahler get this as part of a compliation package, if new to classical music perhaps sample it before you purchase. --- AVAILABILITY --- There are many labels and different recordings of this that is hard to suggest which one to go for. You can buy it stand alone or as a compilation of Mahlers other music. If you are new to Mahler buy a complilation of his other scores too as he has so many other offerings (Symphony No. 1 is one of my favourites). If you have some Mahler music already then I would suggest the Naxos label which has Symphony No. 10 all on its own for around £5.... Read review

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Advantages: Varied movements, esp. 1st and 4th. One of Mahler's most popular works.
Disadvantages: 2nd movement a little weak.

...to complete it. --- MUSIC --- Mahler himself thought of this work as transparent, relatively brief, and non-aggressive. Comprising of 4 movements, it is fairly short compared to his other symphony's and certainly more upbeat, using only a small section of the orchestra compared to his other works. The first movement would almost look like a pyramid if drawn. The start and end are very gradually built up/down (the same melody used at the start and finish) with the climax of the piece about 10mins in with bells and horns making an appearance. The second movement relies far too much on strings for my liking and lacks the distinctiveness of the 1st movement. The 3rd draws a more subtle manner which makes you believe it is the same as the 2nd at first, but then provides differences to illustrate its superiority; it also leads magnificently onto... Read review

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Disadvantages:

...Mahler's Symphony No5 came to the general public through the fil "Death in Venice". It is a large scale work which needs to show the full range of emotional feeling that Mahler put into it. To my mind, there are only two recordings that do it justice. The benchmark performance is that done by Barbirolli on EMI with the Philharmonia Orchestra. The sound is warm and rich, particularly in the brass section and you have the feel of a live performance. If you want a current digital performance, then the Bernstein recording on DGG takes some beating. He brings out the shmaltz underlying the score without making it banal. The recording is bright, full and glorious. No other recordings need be considered.... Read review

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