BUDAPEST FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA / FISCHER, IVAN - 22905 Mahler symphony nr. 6

Mahler symphony nr. 6

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Mahler symphony nr. 6 - 22905

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After the dress rehearsal, Mahler paced back and forth in the greenroom, wringing his hands and sobbing. He was beside himself. In the last movement he had let his 'hero' be killed by three violent blows of fate, a sort of Old Testament prophecy of the destruction of humanity by a higher power. In the score he symbolically notated three dull thuds made by a hammer on a wooden box which he had had especially built. But after the premiere he removed the third blow in measure 783. And as a symbol of the last remains of earthly existence he brought in the characteristic sound of cowbells, the last sounds which echo from the valleys and meadows on the highest summits of the world. They were meant to sum up the whole of human experience, from childlike innocence and wonder to fury, despair, and destruction. His Sixth Symphony is the most merciless and uncompromising portrayal of this vision....

Additional Information

Artist

Budapest Festival Orchestra Ivan Fischer, conductor

Inlay

 Gustav Mahler 1860-1911 Symfonie nr.6 in a minor 'Tragische' (1904)

 

Biography

The aim of founding conductor Ivn Fischer was to bring enthusiastic, young musicians together who shared his passion to play orchestral music with the involvement and intensity of soloists or chamber musicians. Ivn Fischer believed in working closely with every individual musician to release his or her artistic creativity. He introduced many reforms: intense chamber music activity, extended rehearsal periods with sectional rehearsals, solistic activity for all members of the orchestra. Ivn Fischer has been the music director throughout the orchestras twenty year history, but some important personalities have had close contact with this ensemble as guest conductors. Sir George Solti returned to his native Hungary to conduct this orchestra on tour and on records, close relationship has been developed with Yehudi Menuhin, Sandor Vegh, and some other excellent guest conductors. The Budapest Festival Orchestra is a foundation, now subsidized by the Hungarian state, the Budapest municipality, sponsors and an enthusiastic circle of friends of music lovers in Hungary and abroad.

Awards

Awards:New Yorker top CD of 2005

Quotes

() Fischer heeft hoorbaar aan de klank gewerkt () () Een integere en overtuigende uitvoering van Mahler 6e!! Luister Topflight surround recording is the first to be made in the new Budapest concert hall Audiophile Audition
(...) Fischer laat de klanken een verhaal vertellen met tragische episoden, eufore verzuchtingen en in weelderige tonen geschilderde boerentafereeltjes. De actuele kwestie van de volgorde van het tweede en derde deel heeft Fischer overtuigend opgelost. Na talloze experimenten in de concertzaal bleek dat eerst het andante en vervolgens het scherzo het meest evenwichtig werken, concludeerde hij. Daarmee keert het pulserende begin van de symfonie na een rustige episode terug zodat er een fraaie samenhang in de vertelling ontstaat. Telegraaf Fischer does a good job with this long and intensely personal work that seems to vacillate between hope and despair. Sometimes dubbed The Tragic, the symphony contains typical elements of Mahlerian nostalgia, such as the use of cowbells. While Fischer is sympathetic to such nostalgia, he never allows his reading to become sentimental. A clear sense of architecture is maintained throughout and the listener knows from the opening march that Fischer and his players mean business. The ensemble of the Budapest orchestra is exemplary and the engineering maintains Channel's first-rate standards. In particular, the finale is superbly handled by all concerned. Well worth hearing, even if you have an older, more mellow version. The Age one remembers the Fischer as an earth-shaking "event." This is Fischer's first Mahler recording with the orchestra he has been preening and prepping since 1983. In his note included in the SACD booklet, he declares the orchestra now ready to record Mahler, and he is right. In fact, it sounds like this enthusiastic, virtuoso ensemble is ready to tackle anything. Fischer's Mahler is fleet, lyrical, and very dramatic -- exactly what this grim composition needs Fischer's Channel disc is the first recording to come from Budapest's new Palace of Arts, with its adjustable acoustic canopy. Channel's sound is rich, warm, and clear, with awesome presence, yet no distortion. It is a must-have disc, especially if you have SACD multichannel playback capability The New Yorker
(...) Het orkest klink fenominaal, vooral de koper- en houtblazers zijn schitterend. (...) De competitie van grote orkesten en dirigenten in de Mahler symfonien is gigantisch. Dat maakt het extra knap om met een originele visie te komen die ook nog eens dwingend overkomt, oftewel als de enig juiste manier waarop het werk gespeeld dient te worden. Een prestatie, en vooral een fantastische (SA)CD. HIFI.nl
(...) Standout exceptions are the superbly made Ivan Fischer recordings of the Budapest Festival Orchestra, notably, their recent release of Mahler's Sixth Symphony with Channel Classics, recorded in the newly opened Palace of Arts in Budapest. (...) Sydney Morning Herald
(...) het is een opname van de bovenste plank geworden (...) (...) Wat een stevige, zware Mahler kan worden, verandert onder Fischers directie in een heel subtiele, charmerende symfonie, waar de kracht minder in het overweldigende zit, maar meer in de melodische rijkdom. (...) Kwadratuur
() vritable chant funbre et d'anantissement. Classica However, in contrast to Abbado's boring Berliners, Fischer's orchestra plays better, and he's much better recorded. Just listen to the characterful brass in the coda of the first movement, with a particularly fine first trumpet, or the splendid woodwinds in the trios of the scherzo. () () Fischer also has a keen ear for Mahler's special effects: the cowbells tinkle evocatively, and the offstage chimes are perfectly balanced at the start of the finale. () Best of all, the finale is terrific, as it must be in any performance of this work. It has the necessary weight, with imposing brass playing and aptly dark, heavy, but potent hammer blows. Fischer also times each return to the movement's introduction especially well, knitting together the movement's various episodes with unerring skill. The entire recapitulation and coda are masterfully paced, with excellent contributions from all sections. () () for a legitimate alternative viewpoint you will find it difficult to do better than this. Classics Today.com
(...) Ivan Fischer n'vite pas la grandiloquence et parat mme peu habit, malgr la clart d'un nonce orchestral qui ne verse pas dans la saturation sonore. Le Monde de la Musique
() Les phrass sont dessins avec lgance, sans urgence, presque ritenuto: menaant sa faon. Les decrescendos, impressionnants de contrle, dvoilent des parenthses plus lgiaque, moins meurtries qu'a l'accoutume et quels solos!! La furia des marches expose la suractivit polyphonique la plus tendue, la plus excessive que Mahler ait mis en uvre. Premire station d'une nouvelle intgrale? Ivan Fischer doit y songer, () Diapason
(...) Mit seinem hochkultivierten, exzellent eingestellten und noch immer jungen Budapest Festival Orchestra besteht Fischer die Prfung souvern, weil er neben minutiser Detailarbeit seinen Musiker gengend Raum lsst fr individuelle, polyphone Klangrede . (...) Fono Forum
(...) Das Weltklassenniveau der ungarischen Musiker wird durch die Mehrkanalprofis hinter den Reglern in bestes akustisches Licht gerckt: Wir erleben Sinnigkeit und Przision, Homogenitt und Vielstimmigkeit - kurz: eine herausragende Interpretation im perfekten Klandesign. Stereoplay
A good Mahler 6th is never a walk on the beach. When done well, and the Fischer/Channel Classics, is among the very best, if not the best recording I have heard (...) Five stars out of five - Universe
Une absolue russite sonore de la version SACD donnerait sans doute l'ensemble un relief qui en augmenterait l'importance discographique. Classics today.France
Ansonsten wohl eine der fnf besten Einspielungen der sechsten Sinfonie berhaupt. Klassik Heute
() Fischer combines a probing intellect with an acute awareness of every emotional shift in any given score. This creates performances with transcendental energy, in which feeling and formal logic are held in perfect balance () () The playing throughout was beyond criticism. The Budapest Festival Orchestra, which Fischer founded in 1983, ranks among the most formidable ensembles in the world. This is the most impressive disc I've heard in a long, long time () Hi-Rez Highway
() The sound quality is also superb, certainly the best that has been accorded Fischer and his orchestra (and that's saying a lot!) - warm, spacious, smooth and edge-free on top, and with a beautiful spread and depth. The Guardian (...) Verfrissend, te meer omdat het uitstekend musicerende orkest een bijzonder overtuigende en toegankelijke lezing neerzet van deze toch vaak wat als moeilijk bekend staande symfonie. (...) Klassieke Zaken
Schwer und dramatisch ist Mahlers Sechste. Aber das Budapest Festival Orchestra trifft den schmerzlich schnen Ton so genau, dass selbst die Trauer Freude macht. Klassik Tipps: Fono Forum
Fischer emphasizes the dramatic and passionate aspects without a trace of sentiment. His orchestras virtuosity and precision are manifest in the capricious and lively pizzicato 3rd movement as well as in the whirlwind 4th. Fischer follows the footsteps of his erstwhile compatriots, the immortal Szell and Solti, with a stunning performance of the incredibly demanding and complex Mahler 6th. This recording with its superlative sound is now a clear first choice. Wholenote
() The Budapest strings play to the fore assertively. The winds are perfect, the drifting cowbell achieving a marvellously distant spatial effect. (...) La Folia
() Its rather coolly performed. Fischers finale is one of the best on discs; unlike most performances, the listener is aware of the movements structure throughout, which in turn seals the structure of the entire symphony. Fine sound. Turoks Choice () I am something of a Hungarian chauvinist and the recently built National Concert Hall in the Palace of the Arts in Budapest is a remarkable achievement for a small country. Among other things, the hall's reverberation time is tunable from 1 second to 4 seconds, an amazingly wide range. () () the CD sounds merely like a wonderful recording () () Fischer's performance is right up there with the best Mahler Sixths, and both the stereo and multichannel layers of the SACD are flawless. The Audio Critic
(...) niemand mag het vanaf nu nog anders doen!!! Parool There is a real sense of a false dawn following the first hammer blow, a feeling of hope ferociously dashed after the second, and a coda that expresses the depths of resignation. The playing is marvellously characterised throughout and caught in the acoustics of the new hall with a rare vibrancy and impact. Arts, Telegraph, CD of the week
(...) lithe and alert, without necessary sounding (...) (...) While the excitable finale lacks the weight and import of big-name rivals, the transparent sound allows even idiosyncratic balances to register with naturalness. Gramophone
() Always impressive, though, is the expressive balance of the tense orchestral lines etched so clearly by Fischers marvellous Budapest players, from trenchant bass lines up to shrieking woodwind, and much assisted by the perfect acoustics of the citys new Palace of Arts. And the best comes last, as it always should in this work: Fischer knits together the strands of the apocalyptic finale with a clear head before going for a final adrenalin charge towards disaster as overwhelming as any on disc. () BBC Music Magazine
(...) It sounds like this enthusiastic, virtuoso ensemble is ready to tackle anything. Fischers Mahler is fleet lyrical, and very dramatic exactly what this grim composition needs. Soundstage.com The first few bars of this performance give a good idea of what is to follow (...) (...) overwhelming, despite warm recorded sound and decent documentation. International Record Review Klang Tipp!! Audio
(...) Das Ergebnis ist ausgesprochen berzeugend und setzt sich wohltuend von einigen Interpretationstrends ab. (...) Schwbische Zeitung () virtuos auftrumpende Orchester () Sddeutsche Zeitung
() on a ici un disque original, superbement enregistr, qui semble tre le premier volume dune intgrale qui pourrait se poursuivre avec la Symphonie n2. ResMusica

Format SACD stereo multichannel - hybrid disc
Composer MAHLER, Gustav
Type Orchestral
Total Length 78:49:00
Year of release 2005
Number of cd's 1
Artist BUDAPEST FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA / FISCHER, IVAN
 

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2010-06-18:  Alfredo Marcucci, Bandoneón - dies age 81

MASTER OF THE TANGO

Bandoneón player Alfredo Marcucci has died June 12, 2010 in Landen, Belgium at age 81.

Alfredo Marcucci was taught the profession by his uncle, the great Bandoneón player Carlos Marcucci. Since 1947 Alfredo played in the big orchestras of the time: Raúl Kaplún, Carlos di Sarli, Julio de Caro. At the end of the 1950's, when the Tango got less popular he toured the world with the folklore group Los Paraguayos for 15 years. After meeting his Dutch wife he chose to stop playing professionally and starts working in a factory to be able to support his family. In 1986 he was able to retire and starts Orquesta Típica. He taught Leo Vervelde and Carel Kraayenhof, Sexteto Canyengue the art of the Bandoneón. A "second youth" starts and with Channel Classics he played in 6 projects like: ‘Timeless Tango’, ‘Touched by Tango’ and in 2004 - in honor of his 75th birthday, - ‘a life of Tango’.

It was a wonderful experience to work with Alfredo these last 13 years.  Put his bandoneon in his hands was like seeing a small boy with his favorite toy.  His music and musical timing was extraordinary.  For all the musicians that have worked with him, I can speak for them that Alfredo will be sorely missed.
Jared Sacks

 

DUTCH:

Grootmeester van de Tango

Bandoneón speler Alfredo Marcucci is op 12 juni 2010 in zijn woonplaats Landen in België op 81-jarige leeftijd overleden. 

Alfredo Mrcucci leerde het vak op 7-jarige leeftijd van zijn oom, de grote Argentijnse bandoneónist Carlos Marcucci. Vanaf 1947 speelde hij in de grote orkesten van die jaren: Raúl Kaplún, Carlos di Sarli, Julio de Caro. Het was de tijd van de dansfeesten, tango-salons, radio-optredens en 78-toerenplaten. Als eind jaren vijftig de tango in het slop raakt en Marcucci de op dat moment wereldberoemde folkloregroep Los Paraguayos ontmoet reist hij met hen vijftien jaar lang de wereld over.  Nadat hij zijn Nederlandse vrouw ontmoette besloot hij een punt te zetten achter het artiesten bestaan  en ging in een fabriek werken om zijn gezin te kunnen onderhouden. In '86 mocht Marcucci met vervroegd pensioen en richtte Orquesta Típica op. Onder meer Leo Vervelde en Carel Kraayenhof van Sexteto Canyengue gingen bij hem in de leer. Een ‘tweede jeugd’ brak aan en bij Channel Classics verschenen ‘Timeless Tango’, ‘Touched by Tango’ en in 2004 - ter ere van zijn 75ste verjaardag- ‘a life of Tango’. 

 
2010-06-09:  New Videos on Dejan - Brahms

Dejan was on "Vrije Geluiden", a Dutch TV program last sunday June 6th.

We added two video's of the broadcast to the release page

2010-06-08:  New Audio Sample Player

We have installed a new Audio player on the product pages that should improve stabilty and site speed.

If you experience problems please feel free to contact us to let us know.

Our e-mail address is: info@channel.nl.

 

We appreciate your visit.

Reviews

2010-07-09:  29410 Absolute Sound

 

 
 

 

THE ABSOLUTE SOUND

 


August 2010
Brahms Piano Concerto no. 3
Dejan Lazic; Atlanta Symphony
Robert Spano. Channel Classics

Brahms was famously casual about performance instructions for his own compositions. And, following Bach and Beethoven before him, both of whom recast their violin concertos using keyboard protagonists - he wasn't at all averse to arrangements of his music in other - than- original instrumentations, and indeed reworked his late clarinet sonatas for repertoire - starved violists.
If the notion of replacing the violin with the piano in his magisterial Opus 77 concerto probably wouldn't have bothered old Johannes, it's still likely to startle today's concert audiences. Fortunately Dejan Lazic's 2008 rendering of the work as a piano concerto (here in its first recording) is amazingly effective. It leaves the orchestration untouched and transforms the solo violin part into idiomatic Brahmsian piano figurations with appropriately rich chordal sonorities, sparkling arpeggios, and a fully elaborated first-movement cadenza. Lazic plays with flair, eloquence, and, in the lovely central adagio songful poetry.
Recorded 'live in concert' the hybrid SACD conveys full throated weight and a judicious balance between soloist and orchestra, with the multichannel encoding offering extra ambience and presence.
Mark Lehman
 

2010-06-24:  29410 brahms Stereoplay (german

Brahms / Lazic, Klavierkonzert Nr. 3
Lazic, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Spano (2009)
 
Ein neues Klavierkonzert von Brahms?
 
Kann man (und darf man) ein solch populäres Meisterwerk wie Brahms’ Violinkonzert 130 Jahre nach seiner Niederschrift einfach in ein Klavierkonzert verwandeln? Oder haben nicht auch musikalische Werke eine unantastbare Identität? Das waren meine ersten Gedanken, als ich Dejan Lazics neue SACD mit der Aufschrift „Piano Concerto No.3“ in der Hand hielt. Schon nach dem ersten Satz waren meine Zweifel schnell verflogen, denn hier hat sich ein junger, hochbegabter Pianist mit ernsthaften kompositorischen Ambitionen und großem Geschick der schier unlösbaren Herausforderung gestellt und in einem fünf Jahre (!) währenden Arbeitsprozess das unbequeme Violinmonstrum in ein ähnlich symphonisch geprägtes Klavierkonzert umgeschrieben. Als „Inspirationsquellen“ nennt Lazic Beethoven und Bach, die hätten ja Ähnliches mit ihren Violinkonzerten angestellt. Wer beispielsweise die Klavierversion von Beethovens Violinkonzert kennt, wird überrascht sein, wie einfühlsam, stilsicher, pianistisch phantasievoll und dabei hochgradig skrupulös der 32-jährige Kroate den zumeist einstimmig-melodiösen Violinpart für die Hände des Pianisten erweitert hat – nämlich so behutsam, dass man nur an wenigen Stellen über die schwächere Ausdruckskraft des Klaviers irritiert ist. Doch der Grundcharakter des Werks bleibt gewahrt, so sehr gewahrt, als sei es eine Eigenbearbeitung von Brahms.
Natürlich versucht Lazic auch als Interpret, durch expressive Agogik und abgetöntes Spiel zu kompensieren, dass die Kantabilität des Violinklangs für einen Pianisten unerreichbar ist; und es gelingt ihm, mit seiner wunderbaren eigenen Kadenz den großen lyrischen Bogen zu spannen. Das Atlanta Symphony Orchestra unter Robert Spano steuert den originalen Orchesterpart zu diesem gelungenen Experiment mit eher amerikanisch anmutender Klangsinnlichkeit bei und gibt sich dabei so abgeklärt und professionell, dass man den Livemitschnitt für ein Studioprodukt halten könnte.
Auf alle Fälle hat Lazics „drittes“ Brahms-Konzert ein Weiterleben in europäischen Konzertsälen verdient, und es könnte auch für andere Pianisten interessant sein. Brahms hätte es bestimmt gefallen.
Attila Csampai   19.05.10 08:07
 

2010-06-22:  28809 Katona Twins/De Falla


Manuel de FALLA (1876–1946)
Spanish Dance (from La vida breve) (1905) [3:23]
El amor brujo (1916 version) [23:04]
Excerpts from El sombrero de tres picos (1919): Danza del molinero; Danza de los vecinos; Danza de la molinera [9:35]
Siete canciones populares españolas (1914): El paño moruno; Seguidilla murciana; Asturiana; Jota; Nana; Canción; Polo [12:16]
Homenaje (from Le tombeau de Claude Debussy, 1920) [3:07]
Tus ojillos negros (1903) [3:50]
Peter and Zoltán Katona (guitars); Juanita Lascarro (soprano); David Garcia Mir (percussion)
rec. Doopsgezinde Kerk, The Netherlands 2008
CHANNEL CLASSICS CCS SA 28809 [57:00]

Imagine well-dressed gentlemen and old ladies in furs and jewels, coming to listen in concert to some respectable Mass – Cherubini’s, for example. Suddenly they hear about a change in the program, and are presented with the Misa flamenca! A similar shock is in store for you on this disc.

Dedicated to the music of Manuel de Falla, this disc contains the entire El amor brujo (in its later, more “civilized” ballet form), the irresistible Seven Popular Spanish Songs, and a few other pieces, including three dances from The Three-Cornered Hat and the ubiquitous Spanish Dance from La vida breve. In brief, the most Spanish of all the Spanish music. So, the program is quite standard – but the arrangements aren’t! In addition to the two guitars played by Peter and Zoltán Katona, and the mezzo-soprano (in the songs and the vocal numbers of El amor brujo), there is a lot of diverse percussion. Moreover, in several parts of El amor brujo we hear electric guitars! Did I like it? Yes and no. I loved the added percussion – very colorful and inventive. But the electric guitars seem a bit out of place sometimes – and I do not feel musical unity in the cycle, since the electric guitars grab the stage in some numbers and disappear in others. The style jumps hither and yon and back again.

Manuel de Falla’s music appears born to be played on guitar. The short and frequent notes, the clear articulation, the stomping chords, the tremolos – it is hard to believe that it was not initially written for the instrument. This is especially noticeable in the Seven Songs, where the original piano arrangement imitates the guitar. These arrangements liberate the hidden spirit of the music.

The introduction to El amor brujo immediately shows the two strong points of this disc: the sonorous, strong guitar sound (the tadimm-tudamm tadimm-tudamm motif has orchestral power), and the constant presence of the percussion. The following Night in the Cave introduces the electric guitars and is all recyclable plastic, after which we go to flamenco singing in Cancion del amor dolido. All this creates a feeling of a big mix, which continues throughout the entire cycle. It’s a bit uncomfortable. I liked the arrangement solutions in the classical-guitar parts: very rhythmic, propelled by the percussion. In the vocal numbers, Juanita Lascarro does a very good job. She does not descend to the depths of the throat like an authentic flamenco cantaora, but also does not have the superficial opulence of some opera-house singers. Her voice has a natural beauty and roundness. She is recorded a bit remotely, which creates a feeling of stage action. Escena (track 10) is another dubious electric experiment, but the surrounding Danza ritual del fuego and Pantomima are well done, the former with good contrast, the latter sensitive and letting the music breathe.

Out of El Sombrero de tres picos we have three dances. The Miller’s Dance has a virile, rather arrogant, character. Some percussion effects give it a more sinister hue than usual. The Dance of the Neighbors is sunny and good-humored, relaxed, very well arranged and played. The Dance of the Miller’s Wife is, regrettably, too hard-driven and loses its voluptuous, Carmen-like appeal. The percussion try to substitute depth with quantity but lack subtlety. Instead of a dance, the Miller’s Wife seems to be enjoying an exciting horse ride. The same can be said of the opening track of the disc, the Spanish Dance from La vida breve. The guitars and percussion do not always blend well. However, the percussion effects definitely make the music more interesting, although probably less emotional.

But I can say without reservation that in the Seven Popular Songs the arrangers’ approach bears wonderful unique fruit. In the main this is due to the beautiful singing of Juanita Lascarro, her voice strong and velvety, like a clarinet. The accompaniment is well-planned and well-measured. The percussion never dominate, yet they add illuminating detail. The entire construction is open and colorful: an Eiffel Tower of music!

The two last pieces on the disc dispense with the percussion. First comes the purely instrumental Homenaje – the only piece de Falla actually wrote for guitar! It is soft and delicate, like the music of Debussy to whose memory it was dedicated. Last, Juanita Lascarro grants us a radiant performance of the beautiful song Tus ojillos negros. It has one of de Falla’s unforgettable tunes. The two guitars are like two additional singers - a perfect close for the album.

The sound of the guitars is orotund and resonant, well articulated yet not dry, without any extraneous noises, powerful when required and delicate when needed. The recording is clear, though I would prefer the percussion to have been a little more recessed: at some moments it eclipses the guitars. The insert notes speak sufficiently about the performers, but not enough about the works. And no texts of the songs, either.

The bottom line: I would not recommend this disc as the only recording of El amor brujo, but it offers a very interesting and indeed unique alternative view. The songs are first class, with some great singing and sensitive playing. I am very happy that discs like this continue to appear – giving new perspectives on ‘old’ music. This cannot be called a crossover: it’s just a fresh approach. With efforts like this, classical music will never fossilize.

Oleg Ledeniov

Read more: http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2010/June10/falla_ccs_sa_28809.htm#ixzz0rZIY9KcM

 

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