Some, if not all, of these recordings are reissues and re-couplings.
This is why there is an odd, and unremarkable, Prokofiev Piano
Concerto in the box, plus a reference to René Fleming as a soloist
when she doesn't appear anywhere here. The final two symphonies
have yet to be performed at Lucerne, No.9 is the 2011 offering
I believe, so this is not the final word on Abbado's Mahler.
As video recordings there is nothing better on the market at
this time. A single moan: the menus have those irritating musical
snippets that inevitably repeat as one struggles to set the
sound-track and any subtitle languages. Silent menus please
Euroarts, this is music, not some Hollywood film! The music
starts when the performance starts and not before. Moan
over.
The camera work manages to be unobtrusive and yet informative,
both of Abbado's conducting style and of this remarkable orchestra's
personalities and musicianship - the post-performance embracing
speaks volumes about the friendship and mutual respect of this
band. There is no time-filling commentary to disturb the viewer:
a major disadvantage of, for example, BBC Proms broadcasts.
The concerts are greeted by regular standing ovations and we
are allowed to enjoy them to the full because the films do not
cut away to irrelevant chatter, again as above. The sound is
little short of magnificent. Doubtless the day will come when
still better sound is available in the domestic environment
but until that happens these DTS Master Audio 5.1 tracks rule
the roost. No one will imagine they are actually present but
one can easily suspend disbelief. As a substitute for spending
up to £260 per seat per symphony this will do; thank you Euroarts.
As for Abbado's approach to Mahler, it is accepted by most that
with his Lucerne Festival Orchestra he has achieved both technical
and emotional insight something done by very few, if any, other
current conductors. Bernstein was perhaps the first recording
artist to stand astride the Mahler Symphonies back in the 1960s
and 1970s and to exhibit the same insight into the kaleidoscopic
emotional world of Mahler. Hearing his many recorded performances
is still a very worthwhile experience now. Plenty of others
deserve mention, Haitink, Klemperer, Walter all in that period
and I am sure readers will add their own favourites. The current
competition at this level of recording excellence is Michael
Tilson-Thomas whose San Francisco recordings are equally good
in sound. Fortunately we do not need to choose, we can have
all these recordings. Abbado's Lucerne set is not yet complete
and he too will probably not do any of the performing versions
of number 10. For me Abbado offers a remarkable subtlety, these
are not the loudest performances, indeed they are often the
quietest where that is required, but they do encompass the whole
gamut of effects demanded by the composer. Only in No.6 did
I feel he was not fully engaged throughout but that is merely
to give him 9 out of 10 instead of 10 and should not put off
potential purchasers. No.7 is a difficult work to bring off
because even by Mahler's standards it is an eccentric patchwork.
Bernstein managed it well and Abbado achieves a still more convincing
result. This set is as good as it gets. It is worth asking why
this is so and I would offer two reasons, first these are live
performances, I would add 'warts and all' but the LFO doesn't
do warts! Second I suspect that the engineers have completely
'got' this hall and have felt no need to do much by way of post-concert
rebalancing for Blu-ray. The HD pictures show remarkably few
microphones and that must help because there seems to be an
inverse relationship between number of microphones and sound
quality.
Finally some details.
Symphony No.1: the sound here bleeds a little from the rear
speakers, which should not happen. The performance has a huge
sweep to it and a great deal of rhythmic subtlety. The first
movement feels like a vast creation myth - all the lines are
perfectly delineated - phenomenal playing. In the second movement
dance elements sweep all before with playing of breathtaking
unanimity. The 3rd movement is slower than usual and that makes
for darker and sadder music and huge tension. The Klezmer rhythms
come over startlingly well and enrich the emotional soundscape.
The threads of dance, song and of funeral march are melded into
a perfect whole. The huge opening climax of the finale has the
volume and transparency that Abbado and the LFO have made their
calling card. The violins can be seen watching the rest of the
string section closely during their rests such is the involvement
they show. Abbado never allows the percussion to overwhelm the
orchestra but terraces the sound to provide perfect clarity.
The return to the opening of the work comes as a reminder of
innocence lost before the finale outburst.
Symphony No.2: the first movement has lower tension than the
rest, though by 10 minutes in the electricity is returning and
all is well. The second movement is totally involving with the
many melodies providing solo opportunities for this elite band.
It is often said that the sign of a great orchestra is how quietly
they can play, in this respect the LFO have no match. The third
movement is of course just the start of a huge continuous build
up, its mixture of the bucolic and the tense perfectly brought
out by extremely flexible tempi. Anna Larsson is a magnificent
soloist in Urlicht and her final pianissimo pulls one in, making
the perfectly unanimous string crescendo of the 5th movement
startlingly dramatic. Mahler invented the music of 'epic' that
has fascinated film composers ever since and as a result of
calm and steady development this performance is as impressive
as any I have heard. The quiet choral entry is wonderful. This
chorus sing without music, just as Abbado conducts. The closing
brings tears to the eyes just as it should.
Symphony No.3: the huge but coherent opening movement is very
convincing and gains greatly from Abbado's marvellously balanced
orchestral forces. The Lucerne musicians demonstrate just how
good Mahler's creation can be. Their solos in the centre of
this vast canvas remind one just how delicate a lot of this
music is. The trombone is particularly fine. The second movement
has a fleetness of foot that reminds one of Mendelssohn's fairy
music. Abbado smiles his way through much of the second and
third movements and they do sound miraculously right in his
hands. Anna Larsson's glorious voice and the equally beautiful
oboe and cor anglais solos bring a great calmness to the song.
It seems that no detail goes overlooked. The boys voices in
the fifth movement are very strong and thus express a darker
side to the movement. The Lucerne cellos give the opening of
the finale a different feel to the norm but as always with this
conductor it sounds absolutely right. This of all movements
brings out the magnificence of the strings and particularly
the unusual strength of the violas and cellos. It comes as no
surprise that the end is greeted with utter silence for a remarkable
length of time. The tumultuous applause and standing ovation
when it does start is fully deserved. The shocked and tear-stained
faces in the audience tell of a genuinely great performance.
Ruckert Lieder: I am sorry to say that Magdalena Kozena,
a favourite singer of mine, comes over as rather uninvolved
here. I am tempted to suggest this is irrelevant in a box of
such wonderful performances of the symphonies.
Symphony No.4: I did wonder about the sound in this symphony,
a little less presence than in other performances. The interpretation
is very fine throughout with Abbado's meticulous attention to
detail really paying dividends. The third movement storms the
heavens just as it should. Ms Kozena is excellent in the finale.
Symphony No.5: I can only refer readers to my earlier
review where I noted that "performances of this quality
do not come along very often". Superb!
Symphony No.6: This being referred to as Mahler's 'Tragic' symphony
it is perhaps surprising to report that it is the delicacy that
stays in the mind. The chamber-music textures of the Andante
Moderato are a source of great pleasure especially when
pitted against the gorgeous string tone. Abbado is at his best
in these quieter passages. The Scherzo too has much delicate
and rhythmic interplay and it is obvious from the pictures that
the orchestra relishes the subtleties, whilst the conductor
beams at them with satisfaction. There are lots of smiles of
recognition and approbation. It is good to report satisfyingly
loud hammer-blows in the Finale, achieved as Mahler wishes
by hitting a piece of raised platform. After the grim final
moments the audience sit in stunned silence before the now inevitable
ovation.
Symphony No.7 is the last in the box and is the most difficult
symphony to bring off. Abbado achieves as fine a performance
as I can remember hearing with perfectly judged tempi and balances.
The coda is as loud as it can possibly be and the audience erupts
into wild applause. After fifty years of listening to this music
I still have no idea what Mahler is doing but the LFO/Abbado
forces somehow achieve coherence.
This is a superb box for those who have resisted the separate
issues. Unmissable!
Dave Billinge
Reviews of individual releases of these recordings
Symphony 1: Bluray
--- DVD
Symphony 4: DVD
Symphony 5: Bluray
--- DVD
Symphony 6: DVD
Symphony 7: Bluray
--- DVD
Lucerne Festival Orchestra/Claudio Abbado 
2058574 [4 discs: 610:00] 
