Aaron writes:

>I've been auditioning Boulez's Mahler 7 with Cleveland this week.
>Tonally rapturous even though it doesn't soar the way it does under
>Kubelik, Neumann, and even Bernstein (New York).  The first movement
>is anything but fast.

Try, if you dare, the Sinopoli version with the Philharmonia on DG.
Sumptuously recorded, impeccably played, and while the score sounds
freshly minted under you know who, the forward motion isn't lost.

No lovely moments are plowed over; nor are any of the many unorthodox
orchestrations allowed to be buried in the score.  Sinopoli brings out
rhythmic motives shared in the first and fifth mov'ts that help to unify
this unwieldy score.  The central Scherzo has a wonderful Berliozian
flavor.

Any Mahler Seventh nut should check out this recording.  I prefer it over
the Bernsteins, Haitink, Ozawa, Boulez, Abbado, and Levine.

John Smyth