Composer: Gustav Mahler
Performer: Quinn Kelsey, Ragnar Bohlin, Yvonne Naef, Laura Claycomb, Katarina Karnéus, Susan McMane, Elza van den Heever, Erin Wall, James Morris, Anthony Dean Griffey, Kevin Fox, San Francisco Girls Chorus, San Francisco Symphony Chorus
Orchestra: San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Michael Tilson Thomas
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: SFS Media
Catalogue: 9029568877
Release: 2009
Size: 989 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: cover
Symphony No. 10 in F sharp major
01. Adagio
Symphony No. 8 in E flat major ‘Symphony of a Thousand’
Part 1
02. Veni, creator spiritus
03. Accende lumen sensibus
04. Infunde amorem cordibus
05. Gloria Patri Domino
Part 2
06. Poco Adagio
07. Waldung, sie schwankt heran
08. Ewiger Wonnebrand
09. Wie Felsenabgrund mir zu Füssen
10 .Gerettet ist das edle Glied
11. Hier ist die Aussicht frei
12. Dir, der Unberührbaren
13. Du schwebst zu Höhen
14. Bei dem Bronn, zu dem schon weiland
15. Komm, hebe dich zu höhen Sphären
16. Blicket auf
17. Alles Vergängliche
In spite of its small flaws, this is undeniably a great performance of Mahler’s Eighth. It has the right balance of line and harmony, the right feel for mass and momentum, the right sense of being in and of the moment, and above all, the sheer audacity to pull off the whole mighty and monumental work. Conductor Michael Tilson Thomas is not quite as precise as he should be at every point in the score. Some entrances are not exact, some sonorities are not properly balanced, and some tempo relationships are not as tight as they could be. But these are small flaws in comparison with the greatness of Tilson Thomas’ conception and the magnificence of his execution. Similarly, the San Francisco Symphony is not quite as together as they could be in every bar of the piece. There are slips in ensemble, as well as the occasional flub that such virtuoso writing orchestral can cause in even the best bands. But again, the tremendous verve and enormous power the San Francisco musicians bring to the music more than make up for their few mistakes.
High praise goes to James Morris for his stentorian bass, and to Erin Wall for her clarion soprano, but another soloist’s diction is on-again, off-again. The San Francisco Symphony Chorus deserves cheers for its strength and agility, as do the children’s choruses for their purity of tone, but both groups have occasional intonation problems. The weaknesses, though, are insignificant in the face of the sweep and grandeur of the total performance, which grabs listeners from the first bar and doesn’t let go until they are left, starry-eyed and laughing, at the last ringing chord of the final Chorus Mysticus.
This great Eighth is paired on the recording with a reading of the opening movement of Mahler’s Tenth that makes its composer sound like a self-pitying, self-absorbed weakling. That such a puny and pusillanimous account comes before the first movement of the Eighth in the program is deeply regrettable.
Played back on a standard stereo system, the performance sounds dim and distant unless turned up to the highest volume, and even then it’s not significantly better. When it’s played on a quadraphonic super-audio system, however, the performers seem to step into your living room, or, put another way, they’re inviting you to step into their concert hall.
Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony reach the culmination of their best-selling series of Mahler Symphonies with the Eighth, “Symphony of a Thousand”, coupled with the Adagio from Symphony No. 10.
Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony reach the 11th instalment of their award-winning Mahler cycle with a live recording of the mighty Eighth Symphony, “Symphony of a Thousand”, coupled with the Adagio from Symphony No. 10. This release marks the culmination of their recordings of the complete Symphonies; future recordings rounding out the series will include Des Knaben Wunderhorn with baritone Thomas Hampson, Rückert Lieder with mezzo-soprano Susan Graham, and Songs of a Wayfarer. One of the most notable recording projects of our time, the series has been a world-wide commercial and artistic success, selling over 100,000 CDs. Every release has entered the top 10 of the Billboard Classical Chart, and the series has garnered four Grammy® Awards, a Gramophone Award, and numerous other international citations. As with previous MTT/SFS Mahler releases, the recording utilises Sony’s Super Audio 5.1 digital surround technology and can be listened to on both traditional CD as well as SACD players. The cover art continues the highly recognizable series concept.