Mahler: Symphony #3/Bach: Suite (arr. Mahler) Chailly/Concertgebouw/Lang Decca SACD $18.99 USD I've found Chailly's previous Mahler installments to be a little frustrating: He's got the Concertgebouw, a great acoustic, a great recording team; he's got a great sense of line and a keen enough ear to make the most of Mahler's innumerable orchestral felicities. What's the problem? Chailly's product is just a little too polite, well-heeled and plush for my tastes. Sheer beauty of the playing aside, his performances can be just plain boring at times. In the case of the new 3rd I'm happy to report that, with a few exceptions, there's an added vibrancy, earthiness, and frission, that sets this performance apart from the rest of the cycle in a very satisfying way. A few observations follow regarding the symphonic movements that appeal to me the most. I will leave it to Mahlerians to dissect the symphony in whole and we'll have to see if white smoke comes out the chimney. Chailly, being a colorist, finds much to unearth in the first mov't. Mahler's pre-nature rumblings and grumblings are especially interesting and multi-hued; even the quiet percussion interjections are invested with an unusual amount of character. As nature awakens the Concertgebouw woodwinds and strings play gorgeously, but are adequately rustic as well. It is in the great midway march that I feel that Chailly loses a touch of momentum, (did Mahler request such a measured pace here?), and when that first great climactic outburst comes, it's huge, expansive, and well-balanced, but it doesn't make the lights dim, so to speak, as I think it should. (Though it's so well accommodated by the surround recording.maybe I'm just used to having my teeth set on edge at such moments.) No complaints from this point on: the pacing, the playing, and the holding together of Mahler's extraordinary kaliedoscopy of events is spellbinding. (In surround, you will be treated to a snare drum that retreats into the back of the hall at one point! Another Mahler directive?) The 3rd mov't is a favorite of mine. Chailly and the Concertgebouw respond well to Mahler's wind-dominated writing and the dreamy posthorn solo-in surround at least-finally sounds as if it's coming from far o'er the hills. The coda--a shriek, horns and arpeggiated harps suggesting grand and mysterious vistas, and then the gargantuan, strangely indifferent caprice of an ending--never fails to amaze me. While the moment is BIG, Chailly keeps it all in line, quite literally. Just like my minor complaint with the outburst in the first mov't, here too I wouldn't have minded a more dramatic punctuation-a hitting of the reset button; Chailly seems more concerned with keeping the finish-line in view through the spectacle. Architecture-first listeners may well prefer Chailly's approach; I like a little more indulgence. The Bim-bam 5th mov't is a lot of fun. In surround the Children's choir arcs around each side of the listener, with Ms. Lang in the center. Lang's voice is dark and rich, much like the overall sound of this recording. I've never heard the chromatically-sliding brass material sound so menacing, though the bass-drum and gong are presented--here and elsewhere--hyper-realistically. (I happen to like it that way.) The opening strings of the 6th mov't play with an unusual amount of intensity, and the light and shade with which they invest the music makes the first half especially interesting. When the brass takes over this chorale-like melody towards the end of the mov't, I found myself marveling over the sheer lyricism of their playing, esp. the lead trumpet. Gorgeous. The final grand iteration of this material is just right: every quarter note is leaned upon just enough to keep things clearly delineated, but not so much so that the music sounds plodding. In surround the final drum and cymbal crash before the coda electrifies the air in the room! One last special moment: the quiet string tremolo that ushers in the coda has a rustic quality that clearly harkens back to the 1st mov't, bringing everything full-circle. Wait 'till you hear the last luminous chord that closes the piece.... This is a performance I'll keep, and it's a must-hear in surround. The rear-channel levels are well-nigh perfect-I can't hear anything, (unless there are specific antiphonal effects), yet the front-to-back and left-to-right stage width is increased dramatically. Maybe Decca will have another golden age of recording with SACD surround. (Yes, Mahler prefers SACD to DVD-A. After all, he said that visuals of the mountains which inspired this symphony aren't necessary, the music alone says it all..) A technical note: This is the first surround recording in which a center channel, or at least a re-direction of the center channel material, may be necessary. I've been going without a center channel, with no problems so far; however with this recording, I could sense an ever-so-slight "hole" in the middle of the soundstage which disappeared after re-directing the center material to the left and right speakers. John Smyth Sac, CA