David Harbin wrote:

>Dear All, Did anyone else hear the Rattle Mahler 8 live from the Proms
>last week? If you live in the UK and missed it don't worry too much as
>it will be on TV BBC1 on September 1st.

I heard it, I heard it.

>It make me think of the Horenstein - another Mahler 8 from the Proms.

No, the Horenstein performance/recording was NOT a Proms performance even
though it was the Royal Albert Hall.  It was recorded in March 1959, way
out of Proms season..

>However Rattle's conducting was quicker and did not have the epic build-up
>of Horenstein.  Also it was obvious that, unlike the Horenstein, this was
>being mult-miked.  To me the 1959 sound was therefore better than 1992.
>The volume at the end was impressive under Rattle though and his soloists,
>choirs and orchestra were excellent.

Different sound, as you say.  Like you, I prefer the less "fussy"
Horenstein sound.  I also prefer the lack of "limiting" that the BBC now
uses.  But different eras, of course.  The Horensteinn was recoreded with
just a single stereo microphone suspended from the dome.

Rattle's was performance of contrasts of tempi but fundamentally Rattle's
approach was an urgent one.  The double fugue in the middle of Part I
(Accende Lumen etc) was tremendously driven, not overdriven, but relentless
in the right way.  The choruses were indeed superb, too, with every word
clear even on the radio.  I thought the build-up to the reprise of "Veni
Creator" just prior to the coda viscerally exciting, with each huge step
carefully marked.  In the hall it must have been overwhelming.  I do prefer
the closing pages of Part I to be a bit more measured.  I thought Rattle
made a bit too much of a dash for the exit but he did broaden just before
the end.

The poco adagio passage at the start of Part II was kept moving and in
the passionate passages really challengingly quick, I thought.  It came
off but I don't really like it like this.  All the episodes in Part II
flowed past seamlessly even though there were some really expressive
ranges given to the soloists - who were all good under the circumstances
of a "live" performance before nearly 7000 people, a radio audience and TV
cameras.  I thought the Chorus Mysticus was also pressed forward a bit much
but, as with Part I, Rattle broadened for the peroration at the end.  In
his interview Rattle had talked of "uplift and joy" in Mahler 8 and also,
crucially, his view of the work as "so joyful, so jubilant and with so few
shadows".  I certainly felt he achieved all of that by the end.  But maybe
there is more to the work than that.

However however however, I will willingly put aside all personal
preferences for any work in the face of the EXPERIENCE of hearing a
performance as good as this.  It was a splendid occasion.  One where
passing questions about "do I like this bit done like this or not" really
cease to have meaning.  A truly inspired and inspiring performance.  A bit
rushed in parts, yes, but one caught on the wing like this has its own
special quality.  I loved it.

But, yes, very different from Horenstein.

Tony Duggan, England.
Mahler CD recordings survey is at:
http://www.musicweb.uk.net/Mahler/index.html