Mahler: Symphony No. 8 / Tennstedt

• Audio Samples
• Album Summary
• Notes & Reviews
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• Works Details

Audio Samples

Mahler, Gustav : Symphony no 8 in E flat major

Album Summary

Mahler, Gustav : Symphony no 8 in E flat major

• Susan Bullock (Soprano)
• Eike Schulte (Baritone)
• Hans Sotin (Bass)
• Kenneth Riegel (Tenor)
• Jane Eaglen (Soprano)
• Julia Varády

• Tennstedt, Klaus

• London Philharmonic Orchestra

• Gustav Mahler (Composer) (1860 - 1911)

Notes & Reviews:

Nicknamed the "Symphony of a Thousand," this live recording of Mahler's eighth symphony unites over 500 singers and musicians in a vibrant, life-affirming performance, led by the great Mahler interpreter Klaus Tennstedt. Soloists include some of the most celebrated operatic singers of the 20th century, including sopranos Julia Varady and Susan Bullock and tenor Kenneth Riegel. This 2-CD set features the combined choral forces of the London Philharmonic Choir and the London Symphony Chorus, as well as 50 members of the Eton College Boys' Choir. "It was an inspired a Mahler performance as Tennstedt has ever conducted, with an inevitability, a sense of spiritual grandeur and adventure, that renewed all one's youthful faith in a work which one feared might have lost its power, thrill and surprise." - Daily Telegraph

"There have been more refined, and more shapely accounts of this gargantuan work put on disc, but few with the sense of excitement and physicality that this one generates. From the first moments of the opening Veni Creator Spiritus hymn, to the final orchestral outburst...Tennstedt maintains the performance on a knife-edge of excitement" -The Guardian

"Even in the hour-long second movement, Tennstedt sustains such a high level of concentration and intensity that the attention is riveted throughout, culminating in a ecstatic peroration that overwhelms the senses...[His] probing energy and profound wisdom prove a winning combination in this epic trailblazer." -Classic FM Magazine

"As always, Tennstedt gives an impression of living by the skin of his teeth, but with a flexibility and freedom of expression that consistently draw sustenance from roots of the music...The whole opening hymn blazes with urgency...every performer's possession by the music is never in doubt...the exhilaration and spiritual reach of the performance are immense." -International Record Review

"One can easily imagine that the audience for this concert was ecstatic, because the excitement of the musicians is almost palpable, and the experience of hearing this great performance live must have been overwhelming, since that's almost what it's like on CD. Fortunately, the BBC recorded it with remarkably clear and detailed audio, and the ambient sound is virtually as clean as if it had been a studio recording. There are recordings of Mahler's Eighth that may be superior on the technical grounds of execution or reproduction, but this is certainly unbeatable for its capacity to move and inspire. Highly recommended, and required listening for Tennstedt fans." -All Music Guide

Recording information: Southbank Centre's Royal Festival Hall, London (01/27/1991).

Reviews

Heeere's Klaus!

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Works Details

• Performers: Susan Bullock (Soprano); Eike Schulte (Baritone); Hans Sotin (Bass); Kenneth Riegel (Tenor); Jane Eaglen (Soprano); Julia Varády
• Conductor: Klaus Tennstedt
• Ensemble: London Philharmonic Orchestra
• Running Time: 1 min. 30 sec.
• Period Time: Post Romantic
• Form: Orchestral
• Written: 1906-1907
• Studio/Live: Live