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Mahler - The People's Edition
Release Date: 12/14/2010
Label: Deutsche Grammophon Catalog #: 477 9260 Spars Code: DDD/ADD
Composer: Gustav Mahler
Performer: Christa Ludwig, Ileana Cotrubas, Anna Larsson, Edith Mathis, ...
Conductor: Rafael Kubelik, Zubin Mehta, Claudio Abbado, Herbert von Karajan, ...
Orchestra/Ensemble: Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Vienna State Opera Chorus, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, ...
Number of Discs: 13
Length: 12 Hours 56 Mins.
Works on This Recording
1. Symphony no 1 in D major "Titan" by Gustav Mahler
Conductor: Rafael Kubelik
Orchestra/Ensemble: Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1888/1896
2. Symphony no 2 in C minor "Resurrection" by Gustav Mahler
Performer: Christa Ludwig (Mezzo Soprano), Ileana Cotrubas (Soprano)
Conductor: Zubin Mehta
Orchestra/Ensemble: Vienna State Opera Chorus, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1888/1896; Germany
3. Symphony no 3 in D minor by Gustav Mahler
Performer: Anna Larsson (Alto)
Conductor: Claudio Abbado
Orchestra/Ensemble: Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Chorus, City of Birmingham Symphony Youth Chorus
Period: Romantic
Written: 1893-1896; Hamburg, Germany
4. Symphony no 4 in G major by Gustav Mahler
Performer: Edith Mathis (Soprano)
Conductor: Herbert von Karajan
Orchestra/Ensemble: Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1892-1900; Vienna, Austria
5. Symphony no 5 in C sharp minor by Gustav Mahler
Conductor: Leonard Bernstein
Orchestra/Ensemble: Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1901-1902; Vienna, Austria
6. Symphony no 6 in A minor "Tragic" by Gustav Mahler
Conductor: Leonard Bernstein
Orchestra/Ensemble: Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1904/1906; Austria
7. Symphony no 7 in E minor by Gustav Mahler
Conductor: Claudio Abbado
Orchestra/Ensemble: Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1904-1905; Vienna, Austria
8. Symphony no 8 in E flat major "Symphony of A Thousand" by Gustav Mahler
Performer: René Kollo (Tenor), Yvonne Minton (Mezzo Soprano), Heather Harper (Soprano),
Helen Watts (Alto), John Shirley-Quirk (Baritone), Martti Talvela (Bass),
Lucia Popp (Soprano), Arleen Augér (Soprano)
Conductor: Sir Georg Solti
Orchestra/Ensemble: Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Vienna State Opera Chorus, Vienna Singverein
Period: Romantic
Written: 1906; Vienna, Austria
9. Symphony no 9 in D major by Gustav Mahler
Conductor: Carlo Maria Giulini
Orchestra/Ensemble: Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1908-1909; Austria
10. Symphony no 10 in F sharp minor/major by Gustav Mahler
Conductor: Riccardo Chailly
Orchestra/Ensemble: Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1910; Austria
Notes and Editorial Reviews
Over 5000 votes were cast in DG's Mahler web poll, over 400 customers have submitted their suggestions for a complete Mahler Symphony cycle … and now we know who will appear in the People's Edition.
All great performances, many of them already legendary. These are classic performances from DG's illustrious catalog, and the set has a special resonance, reflecting as it does the opinions and preferences of our customers.
PACKAGING: classic capbox, booklet includes tracklisting, illustrated timeline, photos, complete list of participants in the web poll
Reviews of some of the recordings that make up this set:
Symphony No 2 "Resurrection"
Much of the glory of this new version stems from the quality of the playing, its refinement in every department, the glow of tone encouraged by the acoustic of the Sofiensaal, Decca's regular venue in Vienna, and the flexible, lyrical style which comes naturally to Viennese performers in such a score as this, which so frequently echoes the rhythms and phrases of Austrian popular music. If the Vienna Philharmonic has in fact—on the evidence of the record catalogue—been neglecting its duty to Mahler, then plainly here was an occasion when players and conductor set about righting the balance, and showing what special qualities Viennese players have to give. ... The singing of the Vienna State Opera Chorus is beautifully controlled—particularly impressive in pianissimo, and the two soloists are both characterful and well matched. ... Though the majesty of the music is not underplayed, the gentle moments are what one specially remembers.
– Gramophone [12/1975], reviewing the original release
Symphony No 4
Unaccountably, I hadn't previously heard this Karajan performance of Mahler's Fourth even though it's been available on LP since 1979. Now it comes as the seventh CD version of this symphony, and it has bowled me over. Such playing..., such excellent recording balance and, above all, such conducting, Karajan at his most relaxed and winning, making all the humorous and fantastic points in the score with such affection. Such moments, too, as the coda of the slow movement leave one openmouthed at the sheer beauty of execution and interpretation. Edith Mathis enters perfectly into the spirit of the music and the performance.
– Gramophone [3/1986], reviewing a prior reissue
Symphony No 5
Best of all is Bernstein himself, here at his exciting best, giving daemonic edge to the music where it is appropriate and building the symphony inexorably to its final triumph. Thanks to a very clear and well-balanced recording, every subtlety of scoring, especially some of the lower strings' counterpoint, comes through as the conductor intended. As in the case of Sinopoli's underrated recording of this symphony (also DG), one is made aware of the daring novelty of much of the orchestration, of how advanced it must have sounded in the early years of this century. But whereas with Sinopoli this emphasis was achieved at the expense of some expressive warmth, that is far from the case with Bernstein. We get the structure, the sound and the emotion.
– Gramophone [8/1988], reviewing the original release
Symphony No 8 "Symphony of a Thousand"
Within my experience of Mahler performances, the Eighth Symphony is the most difficult of the ten for a conductor to "bring off" successfully. Like the Second, it is very much a public ceremonial piece, but for every dozen effective performances of No. 2, one would be lucky to encounter one or two of No. 8. The number of soloists is one handicap, for example—they must all be good. And the choir is put under almost as much strain in Part I as in the finale of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. Again, there is the interpretative problem of balancing and reconciling Parts 1 and 2. Solti's Decca recording, made with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Vienna choirs in Vienna in 1971, is one of the most convincing performances of the symphony imaginable. It was a superb recording on LP, and its transfer to CD is a triumph, revealing even more detail and projecting even more powerfully the grandeur and majesty of Solti's conception.
– Gramophone [10/1985], reviewing a prior reissue
Symphony No 10
Chailly's is a noble interpretation, slower in tempo and emotionally more relaxed than Rattle's but imbued with richness and generosity. ... Chailly exposes the thematic connections between movements more clearly than anyone else. Perhaps I should previously have noticed the reminiscence of the first movement on first violins and oboe in the first Scherzo (page 55 of score) but I never have till now. Nor have I been so fully aware of the reversion to Mahler's Wunderhorn style and the echoes of Das Lied von der Erde towards the end of the second Scherzo. This has often been the most problematical movement, but Chailly makes it wholly convincing, with an incisiveness at its start that carries on the mood of the Rondo Burleske from the Ninth.
– Gramophone [3/1988], reviewing the original release
Review by Blair Sanderson [+]
Mahler: The People's Edition is a 13-CD set of Decca and Deutsche Grammophon recordings of the 10 symphonies, chosen in an Internet poll and promoted to be the best performances available. Usually, the problem many listeners encounter when choosing Mahler box sets is the limitation of having only one conductor's cycle, for better or worse: some of the sets on the market are uneven in their interpretations, inconsistent in the playing, or variable in the reproduction, and even the best ones are not uniformly satisfying. The alternative of picking individual symphonies with different conductors is appealing, for getting to the heart of Mahler's music requires hearing multiple readings and appreciating various perspectives. But trying out a lot of recordings can be time-consuming and expensive. This set offers exceptional recordings by some of the 20th century's greatest Mahler conductors, and gives newcomers the chance to explore first-rate performances while sparing them the trouble of digging through numerous recordings of inferior quality. While these may not be everyone's ultimate versions, nor should they be the only ones they ever hear, Mahler: The People's Edition is a superb survey that aficionados and beginners should know. The 2010-2011 release of this set marks the sesquicentennial of Mahler's birth as well as the centennial of his death, though the dates of the recordings range from 1967 to 2002.
