Fabio Luisi's live 2005 recording of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 2 in C minor, "Resurrection," with the MDR Sinfonieorchester may not be as frequently discussed as, say, Pierre Boulez's or Iván Fischer's recordings of the same year, but it deserves equal attention for its coherent interpretation and tight structure, and should be counted as one of this conductor's most successful efforts. Furthermore, the recording has the great advantage of SACD mastering, so the sound is an audiophile's delight, especially in the outer ...
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Fabio Luisi's live 2005 recording of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 2 in C minor, "Resurrection," with the MDR Sinfonieorchester may not be as frequently discussed as, say, Pierre Boulez's or Iván Fischer's recordings of the same year, but it deserves equal attention for its coherent interpretation and tight structure, and should be counted as one of this conductor's most successful efforts. Furthermore, the recording has the great advantage of SACD mastering, so the sound is an audiophile's delight, especially in the outer movements where Mahler's dramatic orchestration is the most vivid and apocalyptic. Luisi gets some astonishing sonorities from the orchestra, especially in the low brass, and his lines and textures are just as clear and vibrant as those Boulez drew from the Vienna Philharmonic. Luisi also matches Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra in the area of orchestral brilliance, though he avoids their rendition's formal looseness and slack pacing (Luisi has his share of performances...
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