Mahler: Symphony No. 6
Chicago Symphony Orchestra / Bernard Haitink
CSO Resound
***
Here's a CD to remind you that Chicago is home to one of the world's truly great orchestras. And this pairing of Bernard Haitink and the CSO seems inspired, especially in this grand repertoire like Mahler or Bruckner or Vaughan Williams.
I was particularly happy with their earlier release of Mahler's Third, and this present CD will likely bubble to the top as my favorite Sixth. Chicago have long been famous for having one of the best brass sections of any orchestra, and this release shows that feather still firmly in their cap. Certain passages here will part your hair, assuming your audio setup is willing. But every section of the orchestra carries their weight and the result is a marvelous thing.
The recording itself is spectacular. There is a distinct soundstage and the recording is quiet enough to hear the corners of the room.
1 comment:
I quite like Haitink's Mahler. I heard him do this piece in Carnegie Hall with the Berlin Philharmonic. And also heard him conduct the Concertgebouw in Carnegie, doing Rite of Spring, among other pieces.
There was serious muscularity in his Mahler 6th with Berlin (it's a serious orchestra, after all!). The place was packed to the rafters, not a few people paying many times the price on their ticket stub, gotten from scalpers.
Have you heard Boulez's Mahler Seventh with Cleveland, on DG?
I think it is spectacular!
David Dunkle
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