Dave's Faves No. 340 (Mahler's 7th Symphony)

Mahler: Symphony No. 7. New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein (cond.) Sony Classical

[hendriphile]

Turning on WQXR while driving to an amusement park in NY, I came across the finale of this piece. Recognized the composer from the style, but it was so wacky, extroverted, and FUN that it was one of those times that I just had to sit in the parking lot at my destination until the piece was over & I could find out what it was & who was doing it. The recording had just come out. Have loved it ever since.

[leestamm]

I first heard M7 as a college student in 1970, and thought it was really cool. I think it's even cooler now. The first Nachtmusik in particular is a real favorite. I find myself happily whistling it quite often.

[tangosaitekraft]

I really like Abbado and Lucerne Festival Orchestra (DVD) too - not only bc I played in that concert but I really think he got the understanding of the structure of M7 together with all musicians playing.

[maximisaev]

I wish I had your enthusiastic verbal command Dave, because you managed to sum up exactly why I love this work, and in particular this version of the work. Even my most unapologetic Mahler fan-friends can't seem to relate to this piece. Whenever I speak my love of the work I can see their eyes glaze over with polite boredom. Who cares?! It's a great work, loads of fun to listen to, and nobody handled the work better than Lenny did. Thanks Dave!

[jeffrobinson]

This is my favorite Mahler symphony. Mahler seems to be enjoying music making and a recovery from the darkness of the sixth. I agree that Bernstein’s is the best and I’ve listened to many.

[whistlerfred]

Love both this symphony and this performance! Is it just me, or does anyone else hear a bit of Shostakovitch towards the end of the 1st movement?

[manolopresas]

Couldn't agree more, I still have the tape we used to listen to with my Dad, on a Uher R2R and countless other versions but Lenny's first remains unsurpassed!

[petejilka]

I really like the Bernstein and Vienna Philharmonic performance on DVD. That is a Roland Berger classic performance on solo horn.

[eddihaskell]

I have never really liked Mahler, but I was listened to Mahler 7 on Sirius FM driving today and I really enjoyed it. I have two versions to listen to -- Thomas / SF Symphoy) and Abbado / Chicago from 1984. I am going to give listening to them a whirl. I hope my versions are passable.

[neiltheblaze]

Mahler 7 was a tough nut for me when I first heard it - I just didn't get the structure of it - it seemed a little all over the place and I couldn't figure out what he was going for - but I was impressed by the scope of it and felt not getting it was a "me" problem. I felt unequal to understanding it. But repeated listens eventually got my ears used to it, and I grew to love it a lot. Six and Seven are the ones new listeners have the hardest time "getting". That was true of me, at least.

[rebeckyc]

Hello Dave…I’m here for the Mahler 7 Fav Club❤

[davidecarlassara]

For sure my favorite Mahler symphony, the first movement is really a cathedral of composition! Also we have the same favourite recording and for me no other has this "straight to the point" quality.

[kodalycat]

Another gem...thank you David. Just like the symphony. Gielen for me, if only for the most spectral, spooky middle panel in the recorded realm. From the opening, diving portamento (old school trite treatment from the most hard boiled modernist conductor Wow!) to the last note.

[Kyle-urmr]

Going to see Petrenko/Berlin play it in Ann Arbor next weekend!

7 is one of my favorites… to me it has a clear narrative that goes kind of like the 3rd symphony. But instead of progressing vertically up the orders of life, the 7th progresses chronologically from dusk to dawn.

1: Lament of fading daylight and night gallops in
2: after dusk
3: midnight
4: early morning before dawn
5: day is here!

The parodies of the 5th movement are so wonderful because it creates this feeling that the joy and celebration are a little shallow and that something is off. Of course because the cycle is doomed to repeat itself

But that’s just me 😊

[willcwhite]

Actually laughed out loud at “Michael Gielen is the Dirt King of conductors”

[jgesselberty]

Fell in love with the 7th, the first time I heard it. Bernstein's Columbia Recording was what I heard, and nothing matches it. Would love to hear your take on how he handles those final notes. I don't have a score, but he seems to do this differently than any others I have heard.

[LouiePlaysDrums]

I agree. The first Bernstein Mahler Seventh is my favorite too.

[james.t.herman]

That’s very interesting. I’ve noted that rough around the edges quality in the St Louis Symphony under Slatkin, in their performances of American repertoire with march or dance sections, and thought you wouldn’t want a polished, Old World orchestra in that music. But it hasn’t occurred to me to think that for Mahler.

[stevemcclue]

Mahler 7th has long been a favourite of mine because, as you say, it's a bit weird, and once I stopped thinking of the finale as Die Meistersinger in disguise I really came to love it. The recent performance by Kirill Petrenko and the BRSO is a good alternative to the Bernstein and Haitinks mentioned here, IMHO.

[christopherwilliams]

I would be curious to hear your opinion of Kirill Petrenko's Munich recording. I agree with your assessments generally, particularly your positive view of Gielen. To me, this work is Mahler's clearest laboratory of musical modernism (the quartal harmonies of the 1st movement and their clear foreshadowing of Schoenberg's op.9, the fragmented fabric of the 4th, the collage of the finale).