This is an excellent Mahler Ninth. It does not feature the tortured anguish of Bernstein (Sony & DG), the elegant pain of Giulini (DG), or the stately gloom of Walter (Sony), but, like Libor Pesek (Virgin Classics), it successfully straddles more than a few fences. But "straddling fences" does not imply it's middle-of-the-road--it is, in fact, more middle-of-the-night. Dohnányi often makes inner voices turn disruptive, yet coaxes the strings to sound both sweet and eerie in their heavy use of portamento; and he is ...
Read More
This is an excellent Mahler Ninth. It does not feature the tortured anguish of Bernstein (Sony & DG), the elegant pain of Giulini (DG), or the stately gloom of Walter (Sony), but, like Libor Pesek (Virgin Classics), it successfully straddles more than a few fences. But "straddling fences" does not imply it's middle-of-the-road--it is, in fact, more middle-of-the-night. Dohnányi often makes inner voices turn disruptive, yet coaxes the strings to sound both sweet and eerie in their heavy use of portamento; and he is scrupulous in extracting just about every last meaningful detail in this monumental work.From the utterly hushed and ominous opening (perhaps the quietest ever recorded) to the tragic closing pages, this reading is kaleidoscopic in capturing the dark and sardonic emotional range. The finale comes across with the requisite feeling of desperate struggle and finally peaceful resignation; and in the first movement, following the crushing climax, when the main theme returns at 20:57, you know it's...
Read Less
Add this copy of Mahler: Symphony No. 9 / Hartmann: Symphony No. 2 to cart. $38.98, very good condition, Sold by BMC1701 rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Norwalk, IA, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by Decca.
