2/5 Bernstein may have loved Mahler, but Mahler wouldn't love him!
  by Jonathan R. Dittert (Washington DC)
I often wonder why Bernstein is so highly praised by the masses who know of Mahler, as being a great Mahler conductor. He is not.

I am constantly digging up various recordings of Mahler's symphonies from around the world, comparing, critiquing, noting, comparing them again with Mahler's notes in the original scores, and so forth. True, sounds crazy, but it is a side hobby, so don't worry. The fact remains, Mahler, amongst many relevant things, also said this: "All that is not perfect down to the last detail, is doomed to perish."

Bernstein's style is anything but that, and the New York Philharmonic; not so hot. Overall, if you can get past (which if you are trying to experience Mahler, or any full orchestral work at home, you really shouldn't be able to) the poor quality which fails to convey the very essence of what is going on in the orchestra (yes, all the olf "greats" suffer from this, except for Mahler himself on the piano roll), Bernstein still wallows his way about the Mahler score.

Let's be frank. The "greats," such as Walter, Klemperer, Von Karajan, Bernstein, etc., were great in their day, because it was a marked step in things moving in a positive direction, as orchestras grew to fit the more and more complex, lengthy, long-winded, and romantic compositions, never before heard. They were hot in their day, and that hype has been passed on down, but while it might have been great in person, with what we have available today, not just in technology, but performance, there is no more need for Bernstein other than to compare in an historical study.

So if you want to buy a set of Mahler to delve into the work and truly experience it as much as one can do not in the concert hall, DO NOT BUY BERNSTEIN.

If you are looking for a series done by one set of performers, I recommend warmly Michael Tilson Thomas. If you are looking for the best of each symphony, well there it varies, but you can't go wrong with the SFO and Tilson Thomas, as not a single performance has anything wrong or bad, but some nuances (some of which may be simple happenstance of the recording setup) are better in other performances. It really varies.

But I can promise you that you can purchase a modern high quality recording of any Mahler symphony equal to or superior to a Bernstein performance. Period. Just look for these names:

Mahler 1: Yoel Levi (Telarc)
Mahler 2: Mehta, Israel Philharmonic (Teldec) - Levi (Telarc)
Mahler 3: Lopez-Cobos, Cincinatti (Telarc) - Kent Nagano, Berlin (Elatus)
Mahler 4: Levi, (Telarc)
Mahler 5: Levi, (Telarc), Barenboim (Teldec), Zander (Telarc)
Mahler 6: Levi (Telarc) Hands down best Symphony 6 EVER recorded.
Mahler 7: Barenboim (Teldec), Levi (Telarc)
Mahler 8: Nagano (Harmonia Mundi)
Mahler 9: Lopez-Cobos, or Zander (both Telarc)

As for a milestone, Bernstein might be, but I don't think so, he was just popular in his day in general, as he was "progressive". (And a sacrilegious weirdo.) Maurice Abravanel of the Utah Symphony Orchestra recorded the first complete Mahler Symphony cycle ever, in the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City. (I purchased this years ago because I thought it was neat. But if you want to EnjoY Mahler, it is not neat. Not to mention the fact the recording is lost in the vertical vastness of the Mormon Church, and I'm not cool with it being recorded in a church anyway; it's bizarre.)

LET"S FACE IT. MOST PERFORMERS WERE NOT UP TO THE COMPLEXITIES AND SKILL WHICH PLAYING MAHLER REQUIRED. And many still are not. (Which is why, despite his ludicrous and almost irreverent interpretation, Gustavo Dudamel's accurately performed recording of Mahler Symphony No. 5 with a YOUTH orchestra, no less, propelled him to rapid fame. Sadly, my Mahler 5 experience with a college symphony in person went horribly awry.) Precision in the brass section, the most difficult thing to achieve in a Mahler symphony, is TRULY relatively RARE. There are numerous mistakes every time the National Symphony Orchestra performs Mahler even today. (I never miss Mahler in DC). You certainly won't find it in Bernstein, but you will find it in the recordings I've recommended, or I will pay for your CD! (Most of the Telarc's are Studio recordings, far superior to the hall or live recordings you generally find, which are merely a product of low budgets most of the time anyway, it's not really a plus, unless it was a concert you attended, but they usually mix and match from a couple of live performances when making a CD anyway. I'm sorry, Sergiu Celibidache's ghost, I know you don't agree with me, but then you thought music shouldn't be recorded at all.)

Now you may say, well maybe you don't like Bernstein's interpretation, and it's not his fault if his performers fowled up notes and tempos here and there. Fair point I'd say, at first glance. But we're talking about Gustav Mahler's work; and a supposed amazing Mahlerian. Mahler himself was first and foremost a conductor, and when he took on the Vienna Opera Orchestra, as far as Mahler was concerned, they were lazy, and they sucked. He drove them day in and day out to practice practice practice, and this was in a time when the more romantic, long-winded, complex works that we are so familiar with today had only begun to be written, namely at that time, Wagner. The more complex and more difficult works of Mahler himself, Shostakovich, Prokofiev, R. Strauss et al were yet to come. After narrowly avoiding an orchestra revolt by playing a piano madly but amazingly well for four hours straight at one rehearsal, Mahler was finally able to whip Vienna into shape, so they would not make those mistakes, but play all the notes correctly as written, and with proper feelings, dynamics, precision, etc.

Bernstein did not get this done. Even a conductor of less noted feeling is at least known for exacting precise mechanics from his orchestra, which must be the base upon which the world of life and emotion that is a symphonic work is built; Wolfgang Sawallisch.

Moreover, Bernstein is sometimes said to have felt a special kinship to Mahler, "a fellow Jew." That's just silly, and ridiculous, if you know anything about either of these fellows. Mahler never felt nor practiced any connection to his Hebrew heritage. In fact, he was a convert to Catholicism. Some argue he did this as a political gesture, and while it may have been that in part, it was silly to think it was that in whole, as Jews were not oppressed in the Austrian empire, as his father's standing in his hometown can attest. Mahler's dad was proud of and touted his heritage and upstandingness in the community, and helped build their Synagogue. Mahler simply was never interested, nor mentioned it. And as for Leonard Bernstein.... I won't even go there.

But I will stop ragging on Bernstein now. Simply put, despite the market for these recordings, don't waste your money unless you are out to explore and compare recordings from an historical viewpoint.

5/5 Good Times with Mahler
  by Bob Cariboo (Chilliwack, BC, Canada)
As a conductor, Leonard Bernstein is so well suited to the Vienna Philharmonic. He gets every last ounce of feeling from the orchestra. The filming in just right. It is as much fun to watch the orchestra as to hear it.

5/5 Indispenable
  by C. C. Black (Princeton, NJ USA)
The complete Mahler, conducted by the twentieth century's most ardent exponent and lover of his works. The bonus features are gems. Expensive, yes, but excellent value for money.

4/5 Leonard Bernstein conducts Mahler
  by Michael J. Cook (Skokie, IL)
It was such a pleasure to view these and to have included rehearsals. I only wish that the other song cycles were included in the set. America and the world owe a debt to Bernstein for helping audiences appreciate Mahler's music. In terms of performace, I have a partiality to the Chicago Symphony recordings done by Solti, Guilini and Levine in the 1970's. As insightful as Bernstein's interpretations were (he had a difficult time with the Vienna Philharmonic getting to play them right), the CSO, I believe has better instruments in percussion and brass. The Chicago sound has always been colorful, sparkly and opulent--perfect for Mahler--while being just as tonally and rhythmically precise as the best European orchestras.

5/5 Mahler unsurpassed
  by Gary Nilsson (Sweden)
Some of these recordings go back 30 years. Not flawless in (video, audio)quality but I wonder who or what and when someone is going to be able to surpass these long awaited treaures. Thanks to all producers in charge, thanks for colours corrected and courage in releasing this monument.