Those curious about the re-re-remastering of Solti's Mahler 8th will be
plesantly surprised.  Many of the distracting tape-joins are now virtually
unrecognizable, and a lot of the mixing room tampering, such as input-level
decreases to accommodate sudden changes in volume, (disastrous for my
enjoyment of the 8th), has been neutralized.  Tape hiss is negligible.
A dramatic improvement and all for $11.99!

The performance?  I have to say that it is so nice to clearly hear the two
against three interplay of the on-stage/off-stage trumpets in the finale of
the 1st mov't.  When Dr.  Marianuss sings, "queen chosen for us, equal to
gods!" over a swelling choir, for once, the musical line is not lost, as is
the case with many other recordings.

Deryk, (so sorry, I've been spelling your name wrong all this time!), once
suggested the Chandos recording with Segerstam.  I have enjoyed this disc
immensely, but I have also been uncomfortable with the some of the tempo
distortions in the finale of the 1st mov't, as well as the overly lyrical
"glorias" of the soprano.  In the orchestral coda of mov't two, Mahler's
false ending, (high chord before fff organ pedal accentuated with gong and
piano), loses steam with the Danish forces.

Much has been written about Solti's Mahler, pro and con, but it's obvious
someone at Decca adores this performance.  The improvement over the older
mix is marked.

John Smyth