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Mahler: Symphony No. 3

Recorded Live Concertgebouw Amsterdam on 3-5 February 2010

Bernarda Fink (mezzo soprano)

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Choir, Boys of the Breda Sacrament Choir & Rijnmond Boys’ Choir, Mariss Jansons

there's much to admire about the sophisticated Concertgebouw colouration, and how well it words in the fabulous hall as recorded here. You know you're in good company as the eight horns bellow... — BBC Music Magazine, August 2011, 4 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 25th Apr 2011
Catalogue No: RCO10004
Label: RCO Live
Series: Mariss Jansons Mahler Symphonies
Length: 98 minutes

Usually despatched in 4 - 6 working days

Mahler: Symphony No. 3

Work length1:38:34

Album only

Bernarda Fink (mezzo-soprano)
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Boys of the Breda Sacrament Choir, Netherlands Radio Choir, Rijnmond Boys' Choir
Mariss Jansons
Recorded: 3-5 February 2010
Recording Venue: Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands

I. Kräftig, Entschieden (Live)

Track length34:16

Album only

II. Tempo di Menuetto - Sehr mässig (Live)

Track length9:53

$1.30

$1.70

$1.95

III. Comodo - Scherzando (Live)

Track length17:41

Album only

IV. Sehr Langsam - Misterioso (Live)

Track length9:00

$1.30

$1.70

$1.95

V. Lustig im Tempo und keck im Ausdruck (Live)

Track length4:19

$1.30

$1.70

$1.95

VI. Langsam - Ruhevoll - Empfunden (Live)

Track length23:25

Album only

About
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About

The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra is steadfastly progressing with its Mahler cycle under the direction of its chief conductor Mariss Jansons. Following the releases of the First, Second, Fifth and Sixth Symphonies, the orchestra now turns its attention to the Third Symphony. Jansons and his Amsterdam-based orchestra performed the Symphonies Nos. 2, 3 and 8 in the 2009–11 seasons as part of the full, chronological series of performances given by the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Gustav Mahler’s symphonies to commemorate his 150th birthday and the 100th anniversary of his death. The series is being performed under the direction of various conductors. Jansons stands out in these performances with an astonishing ear for the minutest of details. Jansons possesses the ability to integrate all into the virtually infinite overarching climaxes that can make listening to Mahler’s symphonies such an exciting experience.

“Everything about the shape, pacing and grandeur of Mr. Jansons’s account suggested that he and his players took Mahler’s grand design to heart. While individual details may seem beside the point, it was hard not to be awed by the solidity of the horn playing in the expansive, exposed line that introduces the work. And the shapely offstage posthorn solos in the third movement, to say nothing of the solo string and woodwind lines that emerge throughout the score, provided an appealing counterweight to the high-impact full ensemble playing. The strings, particularly in Mr. Jansons’s plangent reading of the finale, were rich-toned and supple, qualities matched by the remarkably focused woodwind and brass sections. And given Mahler’s penchant for explosive climactic writing (as often in midmovement as in his endings), the ensemble’s percussionists were in their element.” New York Times

Reviews

August 2011

there's much to admire about the sophisticated Concertgebouw colouration, and how well it words in the fabulous hall as recorded here. You know you're in good company as the eight horns bellow into resonant space at the start. Muted trumpets cut like a knife.

September 2011

the RCO brass and string majesty remains a thing of wonder. Bernarda Fink brings real gravitas and weight to the Nietzsche text and, with the finale on the horizon, Jansons keeps it simple: let the music do the work; clear contours, deftly articulated.

August 2011

Quiet dynamic marking are scrupulously heeded, lending a Humperdinckian charm to its revels and linking the symphony to the German Wald, the lost world of magic and unreality...The Wunderhorn allusions in the third movement (to donkeys and asses of all species) are deliciously pointed, gracefully eliding their sardonic textual commentary.

July/August 2011

Jansons is a fine guide to this elemental score and this is an account to stand alongside previous Concertgebouw readings: a richly rewarding listen.

29th May 2011

for sheer magic of recording technique this RCO issue takes some beating. Jansons demands a pianissimo that’s almost inaudible but such is the quality of the recording that every note is clear. The ferocity of parts of the first movement is complemented by the hushed rapture of the Adagio. The mezzo soloist is the marvellous Bernarda Fink, and the three choirs help make this an outstanding interpretatation.

4th August 2011

No orchestra has a greater Mahler pedigree than the Concertgebouw...In terms of sound and playing, this version of the Third Symphony, from concerts last year under the orchestra's current chief, Mariss Jansons, is as good as any...With Jansons, everything is just a bit too well manicured: every phrase perfectly weighted, every texture polished until it gleams.

2nd June 2011

The opening movement is an epic in itself, and Jansons leads a magnificent performance of it; spacious and mysterious and yet taut...Bernarda Fink is tremendous

Classical Review May 2011

Tuning and ensemble are close to ideal throughout, the brass playing, particularly from the horns, is a continuous joy, the strings are lush and opulent, and the woodwind solos are all distinctive...What makes Jansons' reading distinctive is the rubato he introduces into the second and third movements...The orchestra are on top form, and the superior audio works to everybody's benefit.

Mahler: Symphony No. 3

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