John Smyth wrote: >My first exposure to Mahler was Solti's Decca recording of the 2nd. I >was blown away; I felt as though I experienced an ideal moment. There's >no need to tell you that in the presence of an ideal our heart leaps and >we feel that we're in the presence of something that makes our humanity >more valuable. Mahlerians were quick to point out--more often than not >indelicately--that there are vastly superior performances. True perhaps, >but as a human, the incidental bulldozing over the blazing enthusiasm of >*my* novice experience with Solti was much more memorable in its sting, >than the consoling recommendations of alternative performances! John's experience mirrors my own first exposure to Mahler 2; not in a recording, but in a live free concert, given by my undergraduate institution's symphony orchestra and chorus--all students, including the soloists, back in 1978. Did it matter that the performance wasn't technically perfect, or that the string section was a bit undernourished compared to a full symphony orchestra? Hell, no. At the end of the Funeral March that is the 1st movement, the director stopped for a few moments just as one is supposed to, and I sat there stunned by what I had heard. I suppose I wasn't the only one who was similarly affected that day. In the theme of Music & Vision Daily, surely a Captivating Moment.... >While loving or own ideals, we can be blinded to the loveability of >what someone else currently desires. Shouldn't the Mahlerian, first and >foremost, be thrilled above all else that one more person has become >hooked? One would hope that this isn't forgotten in all the minutiae within the postings that make up MCML's Mahler-Bruckner Thread of the Week....:-) Bill H.