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BIS-2496
Originally recorded in 2023
Classical
Orchestral & Concertos
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About
For its final concert of the 2021–22 season and Osmo Vänskä’s last as artistic director, the Minnesota Orchestra chose to present Mahler’s mammoth Eighth Symphony, which calls for one of the largest complement of performers in the history of music, a symbol of the communitarian spirit of collective cultural, social and religious-philosophical endeavour in what has been referred to as a ‘Mass for the Masses’. Mahler’s Eighth Symphony, unlike his others, reveals no contrary despairing voice. It is instead a monumentally affirmative expression of human spiritual achievement achieved through the union of two seemingly incompatible texts: the Latin hymn Veni Creator Spiritus and the conclusion of the second part of Goethe’s Faust. Its première in Munich in September 1910 gave rise to the greatest triumph of Mahler’s career, and a rollcall of European royalty and the artistic elite attended the final public rehearsal and the performances. The Minnesota Orchestra and Osmo Vänskä are here joined by Carolyn Sampson, Jacquelyn Wagner, Sasha Cooke, Jess Dandy, Barry Banks, Julian Orlishausen, Christian Immler as well as the Minnesota Chorale, the National Lutheran Choir, the Minnesota Boychoir and the Angelica Cantanti Youth Choir.
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Reviews
Performance ****½ Sonics ****
“…a marvellous production.”
Recommended
“This quite simply magnificent recording is a triumph all around. The orchestra are on top form; the soloists are uniformly excellent; and the four choirs, superbly balanced, sing out with impressive effect, whether quietly or in full-throated abandon. The organ part is highly effective all along. The final seconds of the Chorus Mysticus are overwhelming, as the repeated crashing of the large tam-tam adds its unique tones to the glorious ensemble…”
“A grand, maybe overwhelming, way for Osmo Vänskä to conclude his Minnesota Mahler cycle as the so-called ‘Symphony of a Thousand’ bursts in like powerful light, immediately arresting, with an energy that propels the music forward, sporting superb recorded sound at once scrupulous regarding balance and depth of perspective, spacious yet vivid, characterful/impressive solo voices embedded into the whole allowing orchestral sweep and detail to be unencumbered …”
Editor’s Choice – March 2024
“…there’s no doubting his [Vänskä] commitment to Mahler’s sublime masterpiece.” ****½
“… [this performance is] one of the great performances of the symphony in the surround sound medium. This was Osmo Vänskä’s last venture as artistic director of the Minnesota Orchestra, and the perfect farewell.”
Recommended
“…First impressions are very good; kudos is due to the massed choir, which is sharp and impassioned, enunciating very clearly … their voices cutting through the thick choral and orchestral textures. Sonic balances are superb … This is a recording to convince you of Mahler’s conviction that his Eighth Symphony was his greatest work… a very fine, modern version.”
“… well worth a listen for its many beautiful observations, its first-rate engineering, and excellent soloists.”
Performance *** Recording *****
Joker Crescendo
Sound: 10 Libretto: 10 Repertoire: 10 Interpretation: 10
Performance ***** Sonics *****
“…In every aspect, this is an impressive achievement, whetting the appetite for the project's completion with the release of the Third Symphony in the spring of 2024.”
“…Putting together a good and homogeneous ensemble of soloists is one of the greatest challenges in this symphony, and fortunately Vänskä has vocally secure soloists with a pleasant timbre and plenty of presence… The recording crew also did a good job. They succeeded in achieving a vivid sound image that wonderfully reproduces the phenomenal dynamic range of Vänskä’s performance.” *****
“…this recording ... completes Vanska’s Mahler symphony cycle with the Minnesotans, an orchestra that reached new levels of precision and instrumental finery under his control…” ****
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