Review by mwgfrg October 27, 2011 (6 of 8 found this review helpful)
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This is another of the new EMI Japan SACD reissues of material which has previously been released on RBCD and, on this one, also on DVD-A. Direct comparison with the regular CD release again demonstrates the superiority in every respect of the SACD as to dynamics, depth, and recreation of the sound of the hall. I let the DVD-A go when I sold my universal player, so while it is my gut sense that the two high rez foremats were about equivalent, aural memory is pretty poor, and that player couldn't compare to what I have now.
As to the performance: it is, I believe, Rattle's first Berlin recording, and impeccable in orchestral playing without quite matching the later Mahler 2nd and 9th in sheer beauty of execution. As an interpretation it is very sound, very idiomatic, middle of the road in many respects, even exciting at times, but it doesn't hold my attention as some other performances do. Rattle's later 2nd and 9th can be wayward and sometimes even annoying, but somehow they grip my attention more. I have listened to the SACDs twice, and the CD and DVD-A versions at least a half dozen times, and while the performance is excellent, somehow (to me) it isn't memorable. I prefer Abbado, Tilson Thomas and Zander on SACD, but I can easily see how others would disagree.
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