Mahler: Symphony No. 5 (DVD)

Advantages: Embodies some of Mahlers most notable music qualities.
Disadvantages: Unfinished.

...and Naxos. There are many versions played by various orchestra's and in different decades to choose from, the most recent notable one has been Simon Rattle's Berlin orchestra's performance. Overall if you like Mahler this is a definite buy, if you are new to Mahler get this as part of a compliation package, if new to classical music perhaps sample it before you purchase. --- AVAILABILITY --- There are many labels and different recordings of this that is hard to suggest which one to go for. You can buy it stand alone or as a compilation of Mahlers other music. If you are new to Mahler buy a complilation of his other scores too as he has so many other offerings (Symphony No. 1 is one of my favourites). If you have some Mahler music already then I would suggest the Naxos label which has Symphony No. 10 all on its own for around £5.... Read review

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Advantages: Varied movements, esp. 1st and 4th. One of Mahler's most popular works.
Disadvantages: 2nd movement a little weak.

...magnificently onto the 4th and final movement which has the addition of a soprano voice. It is at the beginning fast-paced before tailing off into to calm and hopefully leaving you in that state. --- CONCLUSION --- Like so many classical scores these days it can be found very cheaply. In fact I have recently noticed many reductions in prices of classical labels, including HMV's own (down from £4.99 to £2.99 for some very popular classics) and 5 CD's for £20 on the Naxos label. I would consider the first and last movement of Mahler's symphony no.4 to be the most worthwhile, while the middle two utilize parts of both the others, but lack the distinctiveness remaining. Compared to the other Mahler score I have reviewed I personally would place it above that in terms of quality and originality, but there are plenty of places online and offline to... Read review

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Advantages: Great passion, beautiful melodies, unrestrained romanticism
Disadvantages: The finale doesn't quite convince in it's purpose

...and distinctly external force that crushes our hope with brute force. In the Fifth, Fatum is not quite so overstated, but is perhaps even more terrifying. Here Fatum appears in the form of an idée fixe, a term coined by Berlioz in his Symphonie fantastique for a fixed idea that stubbornly reappears in every movement (a kind of precursor of Wagner's leitmotif). Rather than being a forceful entity appearing amid dreams of happiness, Fatum in the Fifth is more all-enveloping, intruding more subtlely into every germ of our mind. This makes the Fifth perhaps a more refined and less destructive work than the Fourth for casual listeners, but is no less powerful. MINOR CRITICISMS Tchaikovsky set to work on the symphony in May 1888, finishing the score in August of the same year. The work was premiered in St.Petersburg on November 17, 1888 under... Read review

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