{"product_id":"walter-conducts-mahlers-second-symphony-1957-8-pasc385","title":"WALTER conducts Mahler's Second Symphony (1957-8) - PASC385","description":"overviewfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp class=\"bodysmallarial\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eMAHLER \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eSymphony No. 2, Op. 47 \"Resurrection\"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12px;\"\u003eRecorded in 1957\/58 in stereo\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12px;\"\u003e Total duration: 79:40\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"bodysmallarial\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eEmilia Cundari \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003esoprano\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eMaureen Forrester \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003econtralto\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eWestminster Choir\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eNew York Philharmonic Orchestra\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eBruno Walter \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003econductor\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_titlefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fMusicWeb International Review578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_quotefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fThis is an essential interpretation578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_bodyfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp\u003ePristine has chosen a striking cover design for\nthis issue to reflect the cosmic nature of the \u003ci\u003eResurrection Symphony\u003c\/i\u003e:\nartwork based on photos from the Hubble Space Telescope is used as the\nbackdrop to the image of Bruno Walter, baton poised. This is a recording\nthat was almost never completed: the sessions were delayed by a year\nfollowing Walter’s heart attack in March 1957, just after he had\nrecorded the fourth and fifth movements. \u003cbr\u003e\n  \u003cbr\u003e\nWalter’s way with this mighty work has been revered since it first\nappeared; regarding its musical content, I have nothing much to contribute\nbeyond reiterating the many virtues already commented upon by previous\nreviewers. This is a recording which belongs in every serious Mahlerian’s\ncollection; the question is whether a newcomer or an established collector\nshould contemplate forking out for this XR re-mastering by Andrew Rose.\n\u003cbr\u003e\n  \u003cbr\u003e\nI have long been a fan of Pristine’s engineering and just recently\nextolled the extraordinary clarity and depth which Mr Rose has breathed\ninto the Furtwängler La Scala \u003ci\u003eRing\u003c\/i\u003e. I am invariably impressed\nby what he can do for venerable recordings and I can certainly hear\nhow he has reduced hiss, enhanced lower frequencies and revealed the\nbrass and chorus in greater glory. However, after repeated close comparison\nwith the CBS issue - originally very well recorded by Philips - I cannot\nin all conscience claim that anyone who already owns it need rush to\nreplace it with this Pristine single disc, especially as the CBS double\nCD set, offering the First Symphony too, is available at bargain prices.\nIndeed, occasionally I even felt that that the CBS engineering retained\nmore bite and body than the Pristine version. \u003cbr\u003e\n  \u003cbr\u003e\nWalter’s vision for this work is one of quiet mastery and concentration;\nthere is nothing showy or interventionist about his conducting but under\nhis direction the music seems always to be doing just what it should.\nHe never lingers or indulges and those looking for the equally masterly\nbut very different, slower approaches of Tennstedt or Levine or Klemperer’s\nmore granitic assault, will be surprised. Walter’s version fits\nneatly onto one disc but he never seems to be rushing. He storms heaven\nwith an orchestra - here correctly credited as the New York Philharmonic,\nwhich was originally billed as the “Columbia Symphony Orchestra”\nfor the usual contractual reasons - which plays out of its skin. \u003cbr\u003e\n  \u003cbr\u003e\nThe key to the first movement lies in the instruction “maestoso”;\nWalter maintains a steady, majestic and inexorable stride in this funeral\nmarch, but also permits the pastoral interludes to unfold gently, uniting\nthe two moods with a firm sense of purpose. His control is absolute;\nhe knows how to meld the contrasting and conflicting moods into a coherent\nnarrative. When the menacing opening theme returns on the insistent\nbrass, the discords build and build to a thrilling climax at 14:54 before\nthe tantalising offer of consolation subsides into a wholly ambiguous\nconclusion, reflecting Mahler’s ambivalence about his search for\nGod; Walter displays a wholly convincing understanding of the spiritual\ndimension of this symphony. \u003cbr\u003e\n  \u003cbr\u003e\nThe Andante unfolds with lilt and charm; Walter’s subtle rubato\nand the singing cello tone effortlessly convey the recollection of happy\nmemories in a past life. This restrained style perhaps carries over\ntoo much into the “St Anthony preaching to the fishes” movement,\neliciting a criticism from some quarters which has some validity, that\nhe is a tad too blithe and relaxed to capture fully the grim and bitter\nirony of the saint’s efforts; the music here should sound like\na metaphor for the circularity and pointlessness of life’s frustrations,\nbut yet again Walter secures a powerful close to the movement. \u003cbr\u003e\n  \u003cbr\u003e\n“Urlicht” is tender and prayerful, as it should be. Maureen\nForrester’s smoky, rich-toned contralto, with its appealing, flickering\nvibrato, is amongst the very best in this music; only Janet Baker in\nher many versions and perhaps Jessye Norman for Maazel surpass her.\nThe monstrous finale is simply glorious: Emilia Cundari - a singer with\nwhom, I confess, I am entirely unfamiliar - is silvery and soaring,\nwhile Forrester intones her text like the Cumaean Sibyl. The Westminster\nCollege Choir is wonderfully expressive, first mysterious, then impassioned\nand ecstatic. The otherworldly off-stage effects in the “Grosse\nAppel” are highly effective and in the last ten minutes are amongst\nthe most serene and ethereal of any recording. Consistent with his strategy\nin directing the whole symphony, Walter makes a slow-burn progress towards\nan overwhelmingly powerful climax. \u003cbr\u003e\n  \u003cbr\u003e\nWhether you buy it on Pristine or CBS, this is an essential interpretation.\n\u003cbr\u003e\n  \u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eRalph Moore \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9main_samplefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fsamples\/PASC385.mp3578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fProducer's Note578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcontent578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp class=\"bodybig\" align=\"center\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 24px;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eBruno Walter, \"whose reading may be accepted as authentic\", conducts Mahler's 2nd\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"bodymid\" align=\"center\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eFabulously improved sound quality for \"this admirable issue\" in this 32-bit XR remastering\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAs with other issues in this series of Bruno Walter's Mahler recordings, Pristine's 32-bit XR remastering system has succeeded in delving deep into the original recording to reveal new depths and new heights. Where previously the brass sounded perhaps a little veiled, now they can be heard in all their blazing glory. Meanwhile the choir opens out wonderfully, making previous issues sound perhaps a little strangled by comparison. Finally the full rumbling majesty of the lowest organ stops can be felt as well as heard to marvellous effect. The Gramophone's reviewer talks about an \"apocalyptic\" performance - now we can hear it in sound to match that artistic vision.\n\u003cp class=\"body\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eAndrew Rose\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_cover_thumbnail1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fFull Track Listing578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5ftrack_listing578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"bodybigblue\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMAHLER\u003c\/strong\u003e Symphony No. 2, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"bodybigblue\"\u003eOp. 47 \"Resurrection\"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cspan class=\"body\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEmilia Cundari \u003c\/strong\u003esoprano\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Maureen Forrester \u003c\/strong\u003econtralto\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Westminster Choir\u003cbr\u003e John Finlay Williamson \u003c\/strong\u003echorus master\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e New York Philharmonic Orchestra\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cspan class=\"body\"\u003eBruno Walter \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"body\"\u003econductor\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"bodymidarial\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e 1st mvt. recorded 17 February 1958\u003cbr\u003e 2nd \u0026amp; 3rd mvts. recorded 21 February 1958\u003cbr\u003e 4th \u0026amp; 5th mvts. recorded 18 February 1957\u003cbr\u003e Carnegie Hall, New York\u003cbr\u003e First issued as Columbia M2L 256\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e XR remastering by Andrew Rose at Pristine Audio, April 2013\u003cbr\u003e Cover artwork based on a photograph of Bruno Walter\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Total duration: 79:40\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"bodymidarial\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_cover_thumbnail1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fCover Art578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcover_art578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_cover_thumbnail1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcovers\/thumbs\/PASC385.jpg578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcovers\/PASC385.pdf578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fHistoric Review578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcontent578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eREVIEW 1959 UK LP issue\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn good time for next year’s Mahler centenary comes a recording which is certain to make a strong appeal to all real Mahler enthusiasts, all the more since it is conducted by the composer’s distinguished disciple, Bruno Walter, whose reading may be accepted as authentic and who clearly loves this music. The Second Symphony, provided by Mahler with a weighty “programme” about life and death, the Last Trump and the resurrection of the dead, and the assurance of a life hereafter (“Sterben werd* ich, um zu leben”), is nevertheless a work which takes a good deal of stomaching. Faced with concepts of such magnitude, Mahler becomes merely grandiloquent: the enormous apparatus he demands—a huge orchestra, with large reserves of extra brass and percussion, organ, chorus and soloists—ends jby becoming unwieldy; the suspicion increases, as the symphony’s vast length unfolds, that it would have been the better for more matter and less art; and it cannot be denied that at the very point where nobility of thought is needed, Mahler (like Strauss in a similar context) falls dangerously near bathos. For all that, beneath all the pomp there lie some characteristically striking and beautiful ideas, and when Mahler, for contrast, reverts to the vein of childhood innocence and naivete—as in the Landler movement - (based on one of the Knaben Wunder horn songs)—he is at his most charming. Indeed, there may be more of heaven here, as seen through the eyes of a child, than in all the alarums and excursions later.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Klemperer recording which has been the only one available until now was not particularly satisfactory, owing to the general sense of constriction, the restricted dynamic range and the string quality, which tended to sound starved just when it should have been most opulent. The present issue, except for a short patch in the finale where the engineers, not altogether surprisingly, seem to have feared for the safety of their equipment and have brought their fader down a notch or so, is remarkably well recorded, with particularly good balance and excellent quality. Adequately to contain Mahler’s vision of the heavens opening, with trumpets disposed to right and left, near and far, stereo at least is called for (and, in fact, the stereo version exists in America); but even in mono this does not overload. It is Walter’s interpretation, however, which is the real joy of this issue: not only is he more apocalyptic than Klemperer, but in the lyrical passages he brings far more grace to the music. The second subject of the opening movement, for example, has more Viennese charro, without, as in the previous recording, turning into mere goo at the recapitulation; the Landler flows more easily (what lovely singing tone from the ’cellos, incidentally!); and the Scherzo, which before seemed unduly protracted, is taken at a better speed and is more pointed rhythmically. Though one should not forget the wonderfully steady singing of Hilde Rössl-Majdan in the earlier set, the soloists and chorus here are very good, and complete the attraction of this admirable issue.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eL.S., The Gramophone, June 1959\u003c\/p\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_cover_thumbnail1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f","brand":"Pristine Classical","offers":[{"title":"Stereo 24-bit FLAC","offer_id":55010048311662,"sku":"tjs1789305527948","price":11.88,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Stereo 16-bit FLAC","offer_id":55010048344430,"sku":"mup1789305527949","price":9.19,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"320kbps Stereo MP3","offer_id":55010048377198,"sku":"wda1789305527950","price":6.37,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0915\/3986\/5966\/files\/walter-conducts-mahlers-second-symphony-1957-8---pasc385_1.jpg?v=1789305534","url":"https:\/\/www.harborviewgoods.shop\/products\/walter-conducts-mahlers-second-symphony-1957-8-pasc385","provider":"My Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}