MTT's Mahler Project

I had to send for this boxed set. I already have (I think) 3 whole sets of the Mahler symphoniesconducted by Leonard Bernstein, and others. Michael Tilson Thomas's versions are all thrilling and ultimately moving, to interpret this great modern master. Thomas was, of course, a protege of Bernstein and descended from one of the two greatest families of Yiddish theater actors, the Thomashevskys. Wow!

Of the Mahler sets I've listened to which includes Bertini and Bernstein, this is the best one. The high quality of the playing and interpretation is consistent throughout all the pieces and the sound quality is great. I highly recommend it. Of course it's the most expensive set, but if quality is important to you it's the best.

One of the best sets of the Mahler symphonies available, and a must-have for any classical music lover...

Turns out the MTT Mahler Project is amazing! I have played the 2nd many times. The detail is at least good on all of them, great to stellar on some! The sound stage is great and the playing is first-rate.I have a fairly good sound system: GoldenEar Triton Ones, and GE all around in a Auro-3d config, Bryston Amps, Oppo 105, Velodyne HGS 18 x2, Audioquest cabling throughout, Bryston pre for 2ch music, Marantz 8802a for 2-3ch or surround music/movies. Was in the AV world for many years; not ultrahigh end but great sound!

I basically agree with Barry Guerero's 3 star review (But I can't recommend the Bertini recording -- see my 2 star review). I'm also a local SF concert goer and had a chance to hear MTT conduct the 9th. I was hoping that I'd like his conducting more in person than on recording, but I did not. MTT has this habit which seems self indulgent to bring things to a crescendo and hold it way too long. This dissipates the energy of the piece and halts its forward motion. It is as if you went into a garden and stopped to smell the roses but stayed there all day. Eventually you smell nothing.

... the big one. If you are at all seriously looking at this selection, it means that you are a fan of some combination of the composer and the conductor, a passionate enough fan that the price tag is not immediately daunting. The price is obviously no bargain, and if you are making a decision in terms of value, then this is not the Mahler box for you: for the view of a single conductor, the Bertini set  Mahler: Symphonies 1-10; Das Lied von der Erde [Box Set ]is excellent, and for a complete edition, the EMI box  Mahler: The Complete Works - 150th Anniversary Box is the first choice. If you want the very best Mahler cycle, not only from one point of view but simply the best in terms of consistency, playing, understanding of an insight into the composer, then crack open the wallet. This is the one. And if you have a SACD player, then this is a must have.Starting with the most superficial feature, the sound is absolutely incredibly, the finest engineered recordings of any type of music I have ever heard in 40+ years of listening to music. From the very start of this project, the Symphony and the engineers took great care with the recordings, building a mic rig that hangs over the orchestra on stage (these are all live recordings, each edited together from a series of three of four performances of each piece). The result is a field that places the listener pretty much where MTT is at the podium, the orchestra coming across with physical power, wide and deep range and the kind of clarity that I had previously only experienced in the concert hall.This superior sound reveals the kind of details that show the music-making to be even greater. MTT is a great musician with a great understanding of Mahler's technical means and emotional aims. He is an interpreter, guiding the music to a particular general area of meaning, hardly ever willfully, though, almost always with the context of what Mahler provides in the score (the one exception is noteworthy, however, and worthwhile). While the interpretations fall into an idiomatic context, there is tremendous freshness, even new thinking. The Symphony No. 9 is a great example of this: it's accepted that the music moves towards a dissipation that has a direct connection to the contemplation of death, but with this conductor the music takes on a larger, more mysterious concept, that of the universality and inevitability of entropy, on essentially a cosmic scale. MTT adds a richer intellectual dimension to the piece than almost anyone else, rivaling and, depending on your inclination, exceeding the political-historical context of Bruno Walter's live Vienna recording. This recording of the symphony is one of the greatest.There is no set, even the complete compilations, that is OMIGODFIVESTARSULTRA! in every moment, throughout. This box is no exception, but the overall level of the music means that the performances range from excellent to the very finest musical and intellectual explorations of Mahler put on disc. A brief run down would be:- Symphony No. 1; arguably the finest, with great pace, exceptional phrasing throughout, it sings all the way through- Symphony No. 2: beautiful and powerful, though oddly lacking the intensity that I experienced live in the hall- Symphony No. 3: The best, cogent, coherent, a sustained line throughout. MTT is able to build tension, lyricism and release in the long, ungainly first movement- Symphony No. 4: The best, and one of the finest Mahler recordings ever made, incredibly beautiful- Symphony No. 5: Excellent, going from searing wildness to great beauty, tranquility and joy- Symphony No. 6: The best, and very special. The first in the project, this was recording the week of 9/11, and the music-making has a dark, deep intensity to it, saved from hysteria and brought to humanity by an understandably wrenching Adagio take on the third movement- Symphony No. 7: The best, again MTT makes something gripping and coherent out of this mystery of a piece- Symphony No. 8: Arguably the best, completely magnificent and dramatic- Symphony No. 9: See above- Das Lied von der Erde: For tenor and baritone, a combination that rarely works but does here, magnificentlyThe box inclues his earlier recording of Das Klagende Lied, one of the best of its kind, as well as the remaining orchestral songs. The care put into all the music is obvious, every note in the orchestra is directed towards conveying meaning, every phrase, accompaniment and transition has been thought through, every line is not just played but shaped from beginning to end, the musical constantly flows along Mahler's path of fecund expression and craft. Some things are worth spending money on, and while again this is no bargain, it is absolutely worth it. The very best.

As a retired orchestra conductor and recording director I find the project to be a unique achievement in both orchestral performance, recording artistry and musical interpretation. A conductor's knowledge, philosophy and personality are present in his/her interpretations. The new insights MTT brings to the performances are refreshing and justified, and the orchestra's sophistication is inspiring.

I ordered this item for Christmas so the article is still unopened but I am sure it will be a marvellous present .

おそらく，マーラー全集としては最も高価なセットだろうが，少し値段が下がったので思い切って購入した。結果としては大満足である。MTTは都会的でクールな指揮者というイメージがあるが，その反面，ロマンティックで「歌心」を非常に大切にする指揮者でもある。この全集では，そのようなMTTの「歌う」資質がよく表れている。例えば「復活」の第２楽章。ここまでじっくりつと歌わせている演奏は他にないのではないか。結末の部分でぐっとテンポを落とすのも大変に効果的だ。テンポは大きく動き，全体として見るとテンポは遅めだが，決して濃厚さはなく，むしろスッキリとした後味が残るのが，MTTの魅力だろう。とても「アメリカン」なロマンティシズムと言えようか（それは彼のアイヴィズの演奏などにもよく表れているが）。それが聞きやすさにつながっている。多分私にとって，今後最も頻繁に聞くマーラーのディスクになろうだろう。

正直、そんなに良いかな？固っ苦しい響きに感じる。思い切って買ってみて後悔した。