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Cover: Gustav Mahler – Symphony No. 6 · Piano Quartet

Gustav Mahler

Symphony No. 6

Piano Quartet

The Philadelphia Orchestra
Christoph Eschenbach, conductor
Christoph Eschenbach, piano
Members of The Philadelphia Orchestra

ODE 1084-5D · CD / SACD · October 2006

Buy / listen

...when vision and virtuosity meet...

Track listing

5 tracks · 98:19

Listen to samples on selected tracks.

Disc 1

Gustav Mahler

  1. Symphony No. 6 in A minor
  2. 1 I. Allegro energico, ma non troppo. Heftig, aber markig 23:34
  3. 2 II. Scherzo (Wuchtig) 13:11
  4. 3 III. Andante moderato 17:23

Disc 2

Gustav Mahler

  1. Symphony No. 6 in A minor
  2. 1 IV. Finale (Allegro moderato) 30:48
  3. 2 Piano Quartet movement in A minor (1876) 13:23

About this recording

When vision and virtuosity meet... - For this, their third CD recording together, Music Director and renowned Mahler interpreter Christoph Eschenbach leads The Philadelphia Orchestra in Mahler's monumental Sixth Symphony, an orchestral and intellectual tour de force. The glorious sound of this legendary ensemble can be experienced in finest SACD 5.0 Surround Sound technology. This release also has an added bonus, as it is coupled with Mahler's relatively unknown Piano Quartet, a work composed when Mahler was only sixteen years old. It is performed here by members of The Philadelphia Orchestra with Christoph Eschenbach at the piano. A true discovery. Mahler's Sixth is one of Christoph Eschenbach's signature pieces, as he is renowned as one of the great Mahler conductors of our time ("His approach is fundamentally objective, confident, sharp-edged, and analytical, and yet there is no mistaking the underlying emotional thrust", Gramophone 10/1998).

The booklet includes liner notes written by Reinhold Kubik from the International Gustav Mahler Society in Vienna, as well as rare photographs.

Features

2 Hybrid SACDs (SACD Surround 5.0 / SACD Stereo / CD Stereo - playable on all SACD and CD players); booklet with liner notes in English, French and German; luxurious slipcase

Press

The elegant Christoph Eschenbach counts among the intuitive conductors who touch the point where it hurts, and where it bleeds. But he also touches the sphere where dreams and an ecstatic idealisation are able to heal these wounds.
Gilles Macassar, Télérama magazine, December 16, 2006, 'ffff'

It's prompted by the end-of-the-world power of the performance, with the orchestra sounding like it's had a triple espresso and Eschenbach's considerable imagination in full tilt. No matter how many Mahler Sixths anybody has, there should always be room for ones this good.
David Patrick Stearns, The Philadelphia Inquirer, December 10, 2006, 10 of the Year's Best

This recording of Mahler's Sixth Symphony may well be the Sixth of first choice, sonically and interpretatively.
Jed Distler, Gramophone, November 2006

It's thrilling. (...) No Mahlerian will want to miss it!
David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com, October 2006, Artistic Quality 10 / Sound Quality 10

The artists

The Philadelphia Orchestra

Founded in 1900, The Philadelphia Orchestra has distinguished itself as one of the leading orchestras in the world through a century of acclaimed performances, historic international tours, and best-selling recordings. Six music directors have piloted the Orchestra through its first century, giving the ensemble an unparalleled cohesiveness and unity in artistic leadership. Fritz Scheel and Carl Pohlig served as its first music directors. In 1912 Leopold Stokowski was appointed conductor. Leading a series of major world and U.S. premieres and making widely acclaimed recordings, Stokowski firmly established Philadelphia's prominence in American classical music.

Full biography

Christoph Eschenbach

Held in high esteem by the world's foremost orchestras and opera houses for his commanding presence, versatility, and consummate musicianship, Christoph Eschenbach has also been acclaimed for his creative insight and dynamic energy, as a conductor, collaborator, and ardent champion of young musicians. In autumn 2010, he assumed the music directorship of the National Symphony Orchestra and the specially created position of music director of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, both in Washington, D.C.

Full biography

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