Solti at the Whip!

 

If you're onboard with Solti's Mahler, is it London or Chicago?

Well, in this case, it is a split decision.

Symphonies 1 & 2 from Solti in London are the go-to recordings. They are crackling with life, yet Solti finds warmth aside his terrifying approach to Mahler's more robust moments, and the analogue sound is great.

When it comes to Mahler's Symphony no. 3, it is a different matter. In London, Solti plays the third as if he wants to grasp all of nature firmly in his hand, with little to dwell or reflect upon.

In Chicago, Solti balances the work much better, although he is still set on spectacle.

There are a number of other items that put me off of this recording of Mahler's Symphony 3 in London, however. The Posthorn solo has a fluttery vibrato that is quite off-putting, and far from the heaven-vaunted portrayal I just heard from Jesús López-Cobos and Cincinnati. So too, the trombone solo is playing as if his life depends on it, with Solti leering menacingly from his position at the whip.

The sonics are off too. The loudest moments have a bit of crush and peaking, as well as the sopranos in the fifth movement, which I don't get from the two earlier symphonies from Solti at London. Too bad, since I enjoy the Decca Eloquence series greatly. Obviously no remaster was afforded here, which it could dearly use.

Go for Chicago instead, at least if you want to hear Solti at his best in this symphony.  For some, the best in Mahler 3 is not with Solti. That might go for me too...

A review from 2024

Sir Georg Solti’s approach to Mahler tended to be aggressive and with a rough handling. However in Mahler’s first symphony with the London SO, while still holding a menacing feeling, Solti finds more grace and forested magic for a better balance.

 

While Solti’s LSO recording of Mahler’s Symphony 1 is cherished over his later Chicago recording on Decca, the opposite is true of Symphony 3.

 

In the third, Solti grabs the music by the throat and rarely relaxes the tension. In Chicago, it is generally agreed the Hungarian conductor finds more refined grace, even if he never lets the terror escape. I was also not as taken with the sonics in the Third Symphony, which seemed to peak at any hearty bass drum and sound a bit thin in the climaxes.

 

So, in the end, Mahler’s Symphonies 1 & 2 are great under Solti, and moreso with the London SO. Symphony 3 will be to taste, and for sure Solti makes them exciting. However, the key goes to Chicago for a more balanced approach.

 

Luckily, the early symphonies were paired together on Decca, and the third can be found individually. But if you want these London versions, Decca Eloquence is always a treasure, and the liner notes from Mahler scholar Deryck Cooke seem authoritative.

 

Listen on YouTube (Symphony 1)

Listen on YouTube (Symphony 3)

 

 

Works
Symphony 1 in D minor (54.02)

  I. 15.36
 II. 6.57
III. 10.59
IV. 20.20

Symphony 3 (1.33.54)
  I. 32.56
 II. 10.13
III. 17.21
 IV. 9.36
  V. 4.17
 VI. 19.11

Soloists
Helen Watts, mezzo-soprano

Ensembles
Ambrosian Opera Chorus
Wandsworth School Boys Choir
London Symphony Orchestra
Georg Solti, conductor

Label: Decca
Year: 1964 & 1968 / 2017
Total Timing: 2.28.06

 

 
Unless you are really looking for Solti's traversal of Mahler Symphony 3 in London, best go for a pairing of Mahler 1 & 2 in London and the separate recording of the Third Symphony in Chicago.

Truthfully, the best Chicago SO Mahler might come from Jean Martinon in 1967.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Find more Mahler recordings HERE!