Review by threerandot March 13, 2008 (6 of 7 found this review helpful)
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MIchael Tilson Thomas and The San Francisco Symphony give an unforgettable and what could be for many, a definitive performance of Mahler's Fourth Symphony.
I don't believe I have ever heard a more moving and deeply penetrating performance of this Mahler Symphony before. Thomas is not simply content to read the score. I sense that he has spent a great deal of time probing the depths of this music to get to the "essense" of this symphony.
Deeply felt, committed and profound are words that can easily be used to describe Thomas's approach. Most profound of all, is the reading of the third movement. There is a spiritual and transcendental quality and Thomas is never afraid to punctuate the climaxes. He pushes the San Fransisco players and your system!
The San Francisco Symphony prove to be an extemely gifted group of musicians who know this music technically and spiritually. Listen for the woodwinds throughout this recording, exquisitely played. And those oboes in third movement are outstanding! Laura Claycomb is a moving soloist with a wonderfully lyric voice in the finale.
The recording team are to be commended as well. The recording has a big, wide dynamic range and the instrument placement is excellent. The audience is nowhere to be heard, so there are no coughs or gasps to disrupt your enjoyment of this rapturous reading.
After hearing this recording, I am going to collect all of the recordings of Thomas and the SFS in this cycle. I listen to all of my SA-CDs in Multichannel and this is an amazing experience! This is simply a disc not to be missed. Fantastic!
I would also like to mention the impressive packaging of this disc. It contains an outer cardboard box which holds a traditional compact disc Jewel Case, (no rounded corners) and an impressive and lavish inner booklet with notes on the music, as well the SFS and the text to the fourth movement of the Symphony. Strangely, there are no notes on the soloist, Laura Claycomb. An impressive package which adds to the overall presentation.
(This review refers to the Multichannel portion of this disc.)
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