Discography

Mahler, Gustav: Sinfonie Nr. 6 a-moll

Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest

(Live) ausgezeichnet bei amazon.com mit 4,5 Sternen (von 5 möglichen)

BRILLIANT Classics 99549-7/8, 1989

Enthaltene Werke

Mahler, Gustav: Sinfonie Nr. 6 a-moll

Pressestimmen

Great CD, great performance!

It was great! I recommended this CD to all my tutors and students at TutorsTeach.com where I work as a tutor.
Amir M. (Bronx, NY)
www.amazon.com, 03. March 2011
This is a live recording with the Netherlands Phil. Orchestra, now edited in a Mahler integral in Brilliant, the first movt., a "march", is something slow, like in Barbirolli's, I prefer the Haenchen's studio recording of this work in OPUS with the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra (Philarmonia Slavonica), from the 80's, an energetic, dinamic, colourful interpretation in only one CD, in a bargain collection. Haenchen is an imense conductor and I think the appropiate conductor for (for example) Philadelphia or NY orchestras in USA. I recommend you to visit his web direction in "www.haenchen.net".

oscarolavarria "chileanlawyer" (Santiago, Chile)
www.amazon.com, 16. April 2005
www.amazon.com

I can't imagine anything potentially deadlier than trying to put together an acceptable "complete Mahler" (1-9) with diverse oddball licensed product, especially given the blood-thirsty ferocity of Mahler performance critics and Mahler fans. The folks at Brilliant did a great job with this. I hope somebody got a raise.

I'm not going to slobber over the relative merits of each performance--I found them all good to great with some real standouts. The Vonk 2nd (despite so-so sound) and the Haenchen 6th totally threw me, also the Masur 7th which I liked a lot. Mahlerians are probably going to buy this for the classic Horenstein 3rd, or at least to have fun poking sharp sticks at the other performances. Newcomers wanting, say, a summer vacation drenched in Mahler would do well to buy this set and wait till a little later in life to be fussing over tempos and tuttis. For the price this is probably the best Mahler starter box you'll ever find. It's a terrific gift. Please go for it.

Newcomers should also be wary of getting advice from die-hard Mahler fans. They're a stunningly over-opinionated bunch and no two ever seem to agree on anything, even on what to order for lunch. That sort of says something about something. Fact is Mahler--a late 19th Century artist--was a recent recording era phenomenon and it wasn't until the stereo 60s that his career really started to pick up. This was new music for many, including orchestras, audiences, and conductors, not that long ago. Everyone had their own ideas and there weren't a lot of precedents. Also, fact is that despite Mahler's precautions (his performance instructions are perhaps too detailed) there seem to be many satisfying ways to perform his music. Don't take all the blather too seriously and have fun exploring. If you're like me you'll probably end up with a small collection of equally enjoyable different takes on the music. Sometimes I like my Mahler dry, sometimes schmaltzy, sometimes bombastic. You'll eventually find the Mahler performances that suit you--there are plenty of really good ones out there.

WTA (New England)
www.amazon.com, 26. March 2005
Haenchen's 4th and 6th are, well, really really really good. I've always loved his 6th, and I'm glad I finally got to sample his 4th. An under-rated conductor.

Gregory M. Zinkl (Chicago, IL)
www.amazon.com, 23. December 2003
I can't imagine anything potentially deadlier than trying to put together an acceptable "complete Mahler" (1-9) with diverse oddball licensed product, especially given the blood-thirsty ferocity of Mahler performance critics and Mahler fans. The folks at Brilliant did a great job with this. I hope somebody got a raise.
I'm not going to slobber over the relative merits of each performance--I found them all good to great with some real standouts. The Vonk 2nd (despite so-so sound) and the Haenchen 6th totally threw me, also the Masur 7th which I liked a lot. (...)

wilbod "wilbod" (West Hatfield, MA United States)
www.amazon.com, 01. November 2003
Exceeding Expectations

Visiting Amsterdam for just a few days last Fall, I was delighted to learn that Mahler's 8th was being performed in the Concertgebouw. I was somewhat deflated when I realized it was under the aegis of Hartmut Haenchen with the Netherlands Philharmonic, but the 8th was the only Mahler symphony I'd never heard live, so I wasn't about to miss it. We got 2 of the last 3 tickets when the box office opened; of course the seats were just about the worst possible, directly below the string basses. Not to worry, since in my experience there are no bad seats (acoustically speaking) in that wonderful old hall. We were rewarded with a magnificent performance! We were told this completed Maestro Haenchen's Mahler cycle. Ever since, I've been seeking out the others and have found several, including the 6th, and I can highly recommend them all. Granted, the recordings are not state-of-the-art technically speaking, but the dark, rich sound of the Concertgebouw itself shines through for me. I don't even know if the remaining symphonies have ever appeared on CD, but I'm still looking.

John Jobeless (Corte Madera, CA USA)
www.amazon.com, 02. May 2003
Hidden Treasures On Those Obscure Labels

Those of us who have been around a little while have long ago learned that in classical recordings the off the beaten track small budget label with not so well known artist can often put the full price bigger names to shame. It was Vox after all, not Philips, that first extensively recorded a then unknown Alfred Brendel in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s. The same label also signed up al little known conductor named Jascha Horenstein. Hartmut Haenchen is a respected conductor in Europe whose recordings of the music of Haydn and J.S. Bach’s sons have been widely praised. His Mahler in concert is also widely respected in Germany and Holland and it is from the latter that this concert performance with the Netherlands Philharmonic (actually the orchestra of Radio Netherlands) originated. Originally taped for a studio recording but the sound in more than acceptable and fully carries the weight of this score. It is Haenchen’s gripping and edgy performance though that will ban any of that from mind. Mahler gave full vent to his demons in this work and Haenchen and the orchestra cope quite well with them. Although out of print officially keep a look out as it does pop up on occasion. At the price it is well worth investigating.

R. Fill
www.amazon.com, 08. April 2003
Wow

I'm not an afficianado of Mahler 6th, but I do love the Mahler that I know well (1, 2, 5, and to some extent, 4, 7, 10). This recording, however, made me fall in love with 6 immediately. There's a lot that is diabolic, sweeping, and overwhelming, although I'm not so sure about how well-recorded the hammer blows are. The playing of the Netherlands Phil is first rate, and they are recorded in the Concertgebouw. While not the clearest digital recording I've ever heard, it avoids a lot of the DDD pitfalls, and some details, especially in the finale, are very well brought out. At the price, you surely can't get much better performance, or for that matter, at any price. All this leads me to conclude that Haenchen is an unsung excellent conductor. I've now heard a lot of his Haydn and some of his Mozart (w/ CPE Bach CO on Berlin), his Strauss and now his Mahler, and have never been less than greatly impressed. Maybe LaserLight will do the right thing and record just about everything the man conducts!
Gregory M. Zinkl (Chicago, IL)
www.amazon.com, 26. November 1999
Haenchen's a 5-Star Conductor with A 3-Star Recording

Even after listening to Karajan, Bernstein, and Barbirolli, I still find Haenchen's conducting of Mahler's 6th to be truly insightful and more than an artistic match for the over-priced major label versions. Haenchen knows how to mine the poetry from this symphony of death with a 1st mvmt that isn't off to the races like so many others; a 2nd mvmt which doesn't lose it's pulse; a fragile 3rd mvnt taken at a slower-than-usual pace, yielding even greater pathos; and a 4th mvmt of roaring drama. This a performance of controlled passion and persuasive intellect. Unfortunately, the DDD recording is not first-class (it's at a distance, a bit unfocussed, and has a limited high-end), but it is a serviceable document, more than good enough to grasp Haenchen's stunning vision of Mahler. At this price, there's no reason not to snap it up. (By the way Haenchen's Laserlight CD of Bruckner's 4th is also a world-class performance.)
By A Customer
www.amazon.com, 27. June 1999