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The longest recording review I have ever written, I think: 4,000 words

108.34.204.30
Posted on February 21, 2024 at 16:02:04
John Marks



Gustav Mahler wanted his Third Symphony to encompass the whole of creation. His working scores had these descriptive titles for each of his six movements:

I. "Pan (the Greek god) Awakes"
II. "What the Flowers in the Meadow Tell Me"
III. "What the Animals in the Forest Tell Me"
IV. "What Man Tells Me"
V. "What the Angels Tell Me"
VI. "What Love Tells Me"

A complete performance runs between 90 and 110 minutes.

Little wonder than, that my article runs a little past 4,000 words.

At the bottom of my article is a link to HDTT's product page, and at the bottom of the HDTT product page, there is a free 24/96 download (circa 5 minutes), but the opening couple of minutes should make the sale.

amb,

john

 

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RE: The longest recording review I have ever written, I think: 4,000 words, posted on February 21, 2024 at 17:38:06
Analog Scott
Audiophile

Posts: 9933
Joined: January 8, 2002
 Awesome review. One question though. Is the 2CD set from the same transfer as the hi res files you reviewed.

4,000 words, zero fat. That was one of the most informative reviews I have ever read and beautifully written.

 

RE: The longest recording review I have ever written, I think: 4,000 words, posted on February 22, 2024 at 00:38:25
semuta
Audiophile

Posts: 2142
Location: northern california
Joined: December 4, 2002
 As a review of the technical side my hat is off to you. More than a sentence confirming your agreement with Alex Ross as to the performance would have been welcomed. The reader wants your opinions and a more developed explanation as to why this performance is truly legendary and not simply an artifact of its time and place. Let's not forget the British critical tendency to inflate its local product.

 

It's one of those recordings that resists objective analysis, posted on February 22, 2024 at 06:09:37
John Marks
 The three conductors I revere most are Tennstedt, Celibidache, and Carlos Kleiber.

Circa 1990, Tennstedt conducted a Mahler 1st. Unusually, with the Chicago Symphony. There was, post his death, a CD release I think was sourced from TV audio. I listened and listened, and then I asked John Atkinson to listen. JA and I agreed that we could not put into words what made that recording so special. And, I am going to bring this to JA's attention, and perhaps he will comment (although he does not usually).

BTW, Alex Ross is American. I think I did more than second what he said. Later on, I pointed out the irony that Unicorn's engineer was sweating over precise details, but the conductor he was recording was trying to convey the spiritual message of the music.

People who either watched Horenstein in rehearsals or in recording sessions, or who have listened to raw unedited recording-session tapes, tell me that it was surprising how little Horenstein used words to explain what he wanted. What seemed to happen was the Horenstein slightly modified his beat and his conducting gestures the next time through, and that is how he communicated what he wanted to the orchestra.

But if Jascha Horenstein HIMSELF could not put into words what made his performance different, how could I?

all my best,

john

PS: Brian Zolner of Bricasti told me that he had listened to the Bruck Horenstein Mahler 3 (he had never heard the Unicorn or Urania versions) three times, and he was still "trying to wrap his head around" in what ways it was or was not from the other Mahler 3s in his collection. Brian regularly attends the Boston Symphony, btw, and knows a boatload of classical music. One of the very few people in high-end audio who already knew about Elgar's "Dream of Gerontius" before I mentioned it.

 

Thanks... and, this is, posted on February 22, 2024 at 06:17:14
John Marks
 Thanks... I literally put more than 40 hours into research, writing, and editing.

Why? Because this is one of the few ways that I can today thank my teachers and mentors in music and in engineering.

Jerry Bruck recorded Nathaniel Rosen's Bach solo cello Suites for John Marks Records. Stereophile Recording of the Month, etc. In due course, I received an engraved invitation from NARAS to pay $535 per seat and sit there at the Grammy Awards and watch somebody else get the Grammy. I stayed home. But it was nice of them!

Oh, BTW, one of Dr. Rosen's Suites was in-flight music on United States Presidential aircraft "Air Force One." You can't ask for that; they have expert consultants make those selections.

So, eternal thanks, Jerry and Louise.

john

PS: I will get the CD details for you.

john

 

RE: It's one of those recordings that resists objective analysis, posted on February 22, 2024 at 08:44:46
semuta
Audiophile

Posts: 2142
Location: northern california
Joined: December 4, 2002
 Thanks for the response John,

Considering your well deserved standing as a top music and technical critic, and that this is "Critics Corner," we should be able to do better than it's the "greatest" without the need for objective analysis. I've listened to this performance several times and there is ample room for objective analysis, including, in the words of Alex Ross, Horenstein's tolerance for "sloppy playing." The question for me is whether the spiritual experience will finally come through with the new version, or whether the difficulty I have with the performance will be highlighted in technicolor sonics.

 

RE: It's one of those recordings that resists objective analysis, posted on February 25, 2024 at 07:33:06
pbarach
Audiophile

Posts: 3506
Location: Ohio
Joined: June 22, 2008
 I listened to the stereo 24/192 HDTT files of this performance. The sound was markedly better than the rips I had done of my Nonesuch LPs years ago.

But after not listening to this performance for over a decade, I now find that other recordings "speak" more to me than Horenstein, including Ozawa/BSO, Fischer/Budapest, Bernstein's NY on Sony, and Honeck.

I have Chailly/Concertgebouw on SACD, but in MCh playback, imaging is a bloody mess.

 

RE: The longest recording review I have ever written, I think: 4,000 words, posted on February 26, 2024 at 04:16:36
fantja
Audiophile

Posts: 16020
Location: Alabama
Joined: September 11, 2010
 Nice piece- JM.
I am looking forward in reading more about the CD details.

 

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