Otto conducts Mahler 5th? Impossible! Must be kidding! Indeed. It is a pity that we didn't have a chance to hear Dr. Klemperer's interpretation of this work. "I have no affinity with Mahler's 5th.", Maestro said so. How humble those old figures were. Even Mahler's own pupils faced themselves honestly. "I don't understand those and those; I only understand this and am able to perform." We have NO complete cycles left from Walter, Klemperer, Scherehen, Mitropolous, Horenstein, and Barbirolli. (The only common point is Mahler's 9th. Amazing!) In 2000, David Huyrwitz wrote a review on a performance of Mahler symphony no. 5 by Rudolf Barshai with Junge Deutsche Philharmonie (JDP) in Classics Today.Com. He mentioned: "It's exactly the performance that, say, Otto Klemperer would have given in his prime: tough, gritty, unsenti- mental, uncompromisingly truthful, and ultimately triumphant." As I mentioned, Barshai would not be thought of a Mahler conductor in general. His harsh interpretation of Mahler's 9th did not impress me much, but this live recording with JDP could change this impression. Initially this performance was not intended to release. However Barshai's son, a lawyer in the US, took the tape to major record companies for publishing, but couldn't make it until he met Herschel Burke Gilbert who own a record company (Laurel Record) in LA. "I have been involved with recording all my life, but I have never tasted such excitement as this.", said Gilbert. Is it necessary to have ANOTHER Mahler 5th in addition to Barbirolli, Karajan, Bernstein, or even Tennstedt? What do you expect from Mahler's 5th? That's the question. The opening funeral march is symbolic, indicating the main theme of the first part (mvt. 1 and 2). The 3rd mvt. is a transition connecting the first and last two movements. The famous adagietto is perhaps the most beautiful movement that Mahler has ever written. Basically this symphony is heroic, mixed with elegiac and optimism, bravura and euphoria. Well, I have to admit Mahler's music sometimes is sentimental, but I also have to say, not unruly hysterical at all. Mahler was quite a pioneer at his time. He did not live when he should live. Two reviews are worth reading, by David Hurwitz and Tony Duggan, respectively. http://www.classicstoday.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=558 http://www.musicweb.uk.net/classrev/2002/May02/Mahler5_Barshai.htm If you can not find the original Laurel version, try to look for the re-issue from Brilliant Classics (92205). Sorry but I don't know about the availability of Brilliant Classics in Taiwan. My other recommendations: Karajan/BPO Mitropolous/NYPO -- Piaf @ PTT; klem/Dutchman elsewhere. --

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