Hello all I've been listening to the new MTT Mahler 7th on RCA.  (Thank
Tony Duggan, for the review).  My humble thoughts follow.

I found myself reveling in the coherence of the performance.  In the first
and fifth mov'ts, which I have usually enjoyed as a collection of favorite
individual moments, are now tucked away, without compromise for the most
part, into the symphonic whole.  The orchestral execution is a marvel,
enough to make me shout out "Wow," towards the end of the fifth mov't.
Humor abounds, both Mahler's and MTT's, in the finale

I've watched MTT conduct from the Davies Hall choir loft, and I remember
mentioning to a friend that, although his musicianship is consumate, I
would have to say that his communicative gifts are more weighted more
towards the charismatic then to the sublime.  My favorite section of all
occurs about 3/4's through the first mov't, (the section introduced with
harp glissandi and billowing strings), and I wish MTT had slackened the
pace *just* a little.  The gods had no time to talk to me!

Oh well,

John Smyth