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.