Mahler: Symphony No. 8 in E Flat Major "Symphony of a Thousand"

Los Angeles Philharmonic, Gustavo Dudamel

Released on 6/7/21 by Deutsche Grammophon (DG)
Main artists: Gustavo Dudamel Los Angeles Philharmonic
Genre: Classical

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Conductor Gustavo Dudamel has recorded Mahler's Symphony No. 8 in E flat major ("Symphony of a Thousand") once before. In 2012, he took the work's subtitle (which is not Mahler's) at its word and performed the work with a giant ensemble of more than a thousand players and singers, expanded to an awe-inspiring 1,400 in a Venezuelan performance a few weeks later. Those performances featured not only Dudamel's Los Angeles Philharmonic but the Simon Bolívar Orchestra of Venezuela, plus several massed choirs. Here, the forces are cut down to a more usual 350 or so, and the performance, at the orchestra's usual Walt Disney Hall, is several minutes quicker than the earlier version. It's a good example of Dudamel's work in this phase of his career. He's no longer the wunderkind from the south, compelled to produce miraculous performances, but can, and indeed must, think through a work in greater detail, and so he does. The earth-shattering moments are there, but they move past more quickly. Of course, one's reactions to this will depend on one's conception of the work, which Mahler himself, to some extent, conceived of as being over the top. However, the quieter passages emerge more clearly here, and the Philharmonic's players dispatch them with crackling precision. The three choirs involved have a remarkable sense of cohesion, fully justifying their Grammy nomination (eventually, an award) for Best Choral Performance. The soloists, led by the resonant bass Morris Robinson, are wonderful. This album earned a second Grammy nomination (for Best Engineering), and this too will inspire varying reactions. The live 2019 performance was recorded in a kind of surround sound that to these ears favors the soloists (they seem to be coming at the listener from all sides) but slightly muddies the big choral passages. Listeners are invited to sample for themselves; the effect is clearly audible, without the need for high-end audio equipment. At any rate, the performance hangs together uncommonly well. Those in search of maximal impact may wish to go back to Leonard Bernstein's epochal recording of this most extreme of Mahler's works.
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Mahler: Symphony No. 8 in E Flat Major "Symphony of a Thousand"

Los Angeles Philharmonic

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Symphony No. 8 in E Flat Major "Symphony of a Thousand" / Pt. 1 (Gustav Mahler)

Veni, creator spiritus

Los Angeles Master Chorale