# SS 23.11.13 - Mahler #4



## realdealblues (Mar 3, 2010)

Welcome to Week 20! 

A continuation of the Saturday Symphonies Tradition:

*Gustav Mahler (1860 - 1911)*

Symphony #4 in G Major 

1. Bedächtig, nicht eilen
2. In gemächlicher Bewegung, ohne Hast
3. Ruhevoll, poco adagio
4. Sehr behaglich
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Post what recording you are going to listen to giving details of Orchestra / Conductor / Chorus / Soloists etc - Enjoy!


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## realdealblues (Mar 3, 2010)

This Saturday I'm going to listen to my new favorite recording of this work:

View attachment 28938


Paul Kletzki & The Philharmonia Orchestra
Soloist: Emmy Loose


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## Mahlerian (Nov 27, 2012)

Tennstedt/London Philharmonic/Lucia Popp is my go-to, and I will thus go to it!


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## Guest (Nov 22, 2013)

I just listened to this one recently. I have two recordings:

Michael Tilson Thomas with the San Francisco Symphony, which is a wonderful recording, and I think the best of this cycle of his.

My new favorite, Ivan Fischer with the Budapest Festival Orchestra, on Channel Classics. Superbly played and with superb sound.


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## techniquest (Aug 3, 2012)

I shall listen to Bernstein with the Concertgebouw on DG which has Helmut Wittek as the soprano/treble. I shall then compare it with Anton Nanut's recording which has Max Emanuel Cencic as the soprano/treble. These are the only two recordings I know of which use a boys voice rather than a female voice in the last movement. It makes for a very different feel to the symphony.


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## techniquest (Aug 3, 2012)

So here I am listening to the Bernstein recording as suggested above. A measured, slightly plodding opening that speeds up as the woodwinds get more excited with the strings to the first climax. This is Mahler at his gentlest so the climaxes are brief and very restrained, althought there are some bigger bits later on (in the 3rd movement). It's the last of his 'Wunderhorn' symphonies and there are various nods back to the 3rd (of which the 4th was originally planned as a movement - can you believe!). In the first movement I love the flute & piccolo section about 7 minutes in which is soon joined by bassoon - it's an unusual sound in all of Mahler. At the movement's central climax we look forward to the opening of the 5th symphony with the ta-ta-ta-daaa trumpet figure before the opening theme returns back on the strings. 
The second movement feels very much like the 2nd & 3rd movements of the 3rd symphony and occasionally there are very brief references to both. The often sparse instrumentation in this movement is very clearly recorded, including sharp (not #) pizzicatos and harp.
The third movement is a 20-minute slow movement that opens beautifully and is the very essense of what slow, quiet Mahler ought to be: the strings sing and the cor anglais has enough but not too much vibrato, and there is a delicateness to many of these quieter sections that are simply wonderful. The big climax towards the end recalls the 2nd symphony 'Auferstehen' theme and the movement trails off with more beautiful, delicate chords over harp.
The final movement starts with a bouncing clarinet theme and very soon the voice enters. Helmut Wittek copes with this difficult part very well but for me makes too big a breath-gap at the end of each 'verse' (the bit that is the same as the 3rd symphony 5th movement). The orchestra is again superb with quirky rasping solo horn in one part. The change in theme and motion near the end with very low rocking harp and the re-entry of the voice is so nicely done - the big vocal glissando sounds as though it was very much enjoyed  The orchestra fades away way as if to sleep - you almost expect a very low rasping tuba over a menacingly hushed tam-tam at the very end, but no; this is a much gentler, soothing finish.


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## techniquest (Aug 3, 2012)

I am now listening to the last movement of the Ljubljana SO / Anton Nunut recording, which is also a delight. The solo part is again a boy soloist, this time Max Emanuel Cencic who is recorded further forward than Helmut Wittek. His voice is very different; smoother, with less pronounced vibrato and for me this works really well. Although both trebles were at the time professional singers, Cencic has far more 'innocence' to his performance in this symphony which is how I want to hear it, and the orchestra accompaniment sparkles delicately. The final rocking harp / strings section is (for me) perfect, the final very low note being held longer than Bernstein.


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## AClockworkOrange (May 24, 2012)

I'm a little late getting on board with this one but I am going to go with Tennstedt and the London Philharmonic again. It has been a while since I have listened to this piece so I will be listening to it twice but in this case it is anything but a chore.

View attachment 29016


Tennstedt has come to be my yardstick when it comes to Mahler. I treasure Bernstein, Abbado and Klemperer but Tennstedt is definitely my favourite.

I am loading the Klemperer onto my iPod for work tomorrow so this will end up being a Sunday Symphony too. 13 hours on a one man site equates to a very musical shift and since it is either BBC Radio 1, Silence or my iPod, the choice is clear. Having said that, silence would be preferable to BBC Radio 1.

View attachment 29018


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## leepee (Nov 23, 2013)

Hey Hey Lovers of Mahler's 4th

There are 5 versions I love that weren't mentioned so far:
1. George Szell and the Cleveland/ Judith Raskin
2. Fritz Reiner and the Chicago/ Lisa Della Casa
3. Peter Oundjian Toronto Symphony Orchestra
4. Kathleen Battle, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Lorin Maazel 
5. Herbert von Karajan, Berliner Philharmoniker and Edith Mathis 

These are all outstanding and I am surprised there were NO mentions.

Enjoy, Hugs Leepee


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## Guest (Nov 24, 2013)

leepee said:


> Hey Hey Lovers of Mahler's 4th
> 
> There are 5 versions I love that weren't mentioned so far:
> 1. George Szell and the Cleveland/ Judith Raskin
> ...


No intention to make light of these - this thread, though, is about listening, so people list which ones they will listen to. It isn't a "best of" compilation. I have the Reiner/Chicago recording as well, but at this moment my favorite is the Fischer, and so that is the one I chose for listening.


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## leepee (Nov 23, 2013)

Hey DrMike

Thanks for the the heads up on the thread. You did mention 2 recordings in your
post. Ha Ha!

I do have both those recordings you mentioned but if I had to choose just one, it
would be the Reiner at the moment.

Hugs Leepee

PS I joined yesterday so I'm new at this but not new to collecting and listening
and I'm looking forward to lots of good posts etc.


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## senza sordino (Oct 20, 2013)

I have the Kathleen Battle with Lorin Maazal and Vienna Phil recording on CD

Mahler's Fourth was the first symphony I bought. About 25 years ago I bought a cassette tape, no idea what to expect. I threw out all my tapes a couple of years ago. Since it's my first Mahler, I know this one best.

I saw the Vancouver Symphony perform this last spring. The concertmaster had two violins, the second movement has that differently tuned violin. It was a nice performance, until the last few bars of the last movement, the very ending didn't sound quite right. I can't remember exactly. 

On one of my trips to Europe I set my photos to music upon my return. I used the fourth movement as the soundtrack to my trip through Switzerland. It seemed to fit for my taste in music and scenery, a pastoral mountain scene, and considering what locations came before and after. 

Another fabulous Mahler Symphony, perhaps not my favorite but very nice.


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## Avey (Mar 5, 2013)

Boy, I just love this work. Say what you will about the First Symphony, or the tidbits within the Third -- I find the Mahler's Fourth to be his most obviously joyous symphony. Sure, the story is sad, but it's a melancholic sort of sad. A bit of a fable, if you will.

And may I just say, of all Mahler's symphonies and large scale choral works, I find the Adagio here -- _Ruhevoll_ -- to be a stand alone masterpiece. There's far too much going on here for me to even be able to put into words, let alone fully comprehend. So powerful, yet meditative.


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## arpeggio (Oct 4, 2012)

*Performing Mahler is Awesome*

This is the only Mahler Symphony I have ever performed. It was awesome!!!!

The one quality of Mahler's music, and I have heard others who have performed Mahler say this as well, is no matter what part you are playing, even is it is the fourth flute part, you feel it is an important line that must be played. In poorly orchestrated music, for a bassoon player, your part is frequently doubled with everything from cellos and tuba to B-52 Bombers. It really does not matter whether or not you play your part. Not so with Mahler.


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## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

This symphony is the most religious music ever for me!

I'll play Klemperer's EMI recording with the Philharmonia and Liz Blackhead from 1961.

/ptr


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## realdealblues (Mar 3, 2010)

I listened to Kletzki & Philharmonia Orchestra Saturday and followed it up with Klemperer & The Philharmonia Orchestra on Sunday while I was trying some new oil painting techniques.

I love the Kletzki recording. I love what he brings out of the music. The singing is wonderful. I just love it. I love Klemperer's recording too, but Kletzki just edges him out for me. The Philharmonia Orchestra plays wonderfully for them both.

I always enjoy this Symphony. It's another one that never gets old.


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