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recapitulation · 2 years

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hello! do you have a favourite conductor for mahler? or recommendations of conductors you enjoy? thank you!!!

hiiiiiiiii omg okay. going to frame this within the context of mahler 2 bc then I can give lists of specific examples and it's by far the mahler symphony I'm most familiar with. teehee

here are some things I listen for when I'm deciding whether or not I'm liking what a conductor is doing with the piece! (some footnotes w sheet music under the cut!)

the breath marks in mvmt I!! [1] there is little actual guidance on the page about how to treat the unison breath mark, but I like it when conductors take a huge pause there and really make it dramatic!

- an example of it drawn out (mariss jansons)

- an example of the opposite of that (bernstein 1964, at about 14:45)

are the horn solos brought to the foreground adequately? ("wow this is a biased list" yes it is i need to hear them.) If a horn solo is rushed though or hidden behind some other section I’ll genuinely feel pissed off. it’s a MAHLER SYMPHONY it is literally ABOUT the horn

- an example of one I find is really well done (gilbert kaplan)

- I am once again using bernstein 1964 as a not-fav example sorry dude. the solo at 3:00 has me chewing on furniture

FINALE. genuinely I think a slow mahler 2 finale (and specifically the last bit of the finale when the organ comes in) is one of the most powerful musical things a person can experience I’m not being hyperbolic here.

- the main reason I love the bernstein 1987 recording is because of the seriously fucking deliciously slow finale (slowest one I’ve found)

- for some contrast, here’s jonathan nott, which moves more quickly (32:24 if you want the last bit only)

the “descending into hell” section in mvmt I needs to a) be slow enough that it doesn’t rip right by without letting you savor the tension there and b) really bring FORWARD the added notes/sections to the chord every time it steps forward! [2] I really dislike it when they don’t

- not my fav: solti’s feels rushed imo

- twirling my hair and giggling etc: girlbert kaplan

I really like it when they push for STARK dynamic contrast, for example, movement I in the "I am about to blow away in the wind" section [3]

- the bernstein 1964 (4:58) is intense but I like the contrast of something like gilbert kaplan (0:49) is better imo

pov you are a large mcdonald’s sprite section (col legno in mvmt I): I like to hear it! in the post I’ve linked a recording where it’s really brought out (jansons) but in the score recording I linked earlier (solti) it’s barely audible

other things I look for that have nothing to do with the conductor:

solo vocalists' voices! the first time I listened to mvmt 4, I very much did not vibe with the vocalists and only after I gave it another chance with a different recording did I realize it was one of the most angelic things a human being can experience

tone of the horn section ^_^ for a "do I like the brass section" litmus test, the brass chorale in movement 4 is also a good litmus test

so basically it’s not really as cut and dry as “I like this guy always for everything they did with it” but it’s more like piecewise favorites! my go-to recordings recently are:

bernstein 1987 because the finale is literally just.....that good. my favorite recording of mvmt 5 definitely.

I’m fond of the rattle / berlin phil recording mostly because of those last two reasons (vocalist voices/brass tone). looooove what the vocalist does w the slow parts. I’ve linked their mvmt 4 bc its my favorite recording of that movement I think!!

the gilbert kaplan one is a good one, for reasons I’ve already linked, and I often settle down w a score recording on youtube (not really a fan of solti, but there’s also a claudio abbado one out there that I like better)

sheet music footnotes under the cut!

[1] Unison breath marks in Movement I

[ID: screenshot from the sheet music to Mahler 2 movement I beginning with measure number 289. Two breath marks are seen down the whole page for almost every part in two locations; they are highlighted in yellow. At the top of the page, a note in German reads: “Note for the conductor: ‘caesura’ and then suddenly forwards!” /end ID]

[2] “Descending into hell” section movement I

[ID: an excerpt from the score of Mahler 2. A full orchestra is shown. Three sections are highlighted in color. The first two bars, in yellow, show low brass, trumpet, and percussion in rhythmic unison. Then, in teal, strings, horns, clarinet, and oboe joins in. The next bar, in red, almost every section is either trilling or in a descending or static triplet pattern at fortissimo. /end ID]

[3] “I am about to blow away in the wind” section movement I

(note the dramatic dynamic markings in just the first bar alone!)

[id: an excerpt of the score from Mahler’s 2nd symphony. It shows a full orchestra with the rhythm in oboe, clarinet, horn, trumpet, and 2nd violin highlighted. /end id]

#tears of joy streaming down my face when i received this thanks for asking <3 #me to myself: so i guess i have to listen to 102938123 mahler 2 recordings to find examples for each of these points!#music #mahler #lexi speaks #you would not believe how long this was before i cut it down alskdfjasdf #conductor anon

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