Gustav Mahler was nearing the end of his life and composing career when he penned this massive choral symphonic work in 1906. It premiered in Munich in 1910, a year before Mahler’s death. While the Eighth Symphony, also known as the “Symphony of a Thousand,” may not actually engage 1000 musicians, this premiere issue in High Definition 96 kHz/24-bit surround sound, features 8 soloists and 4 choirs. The work has two contrasting sections, the opening hymn, “Veni, Creator Spiritus,” and the concluding final scene from Goethe’s Faust. It was intended to provide an overwhelming musical and spiritual experience, and to this end, Mahler largely succeeds. Antoni Wit, the director of the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra in this recording, has become not only one of Poland’s leading musicians but, through his many recordings, has achieved a world class status. His eight soloists, three sopranos, two altos, a tenor, baritone, and bass are nearly all Polish nationals, the exception being American tenor Timothy Bentch. This performance, initially issued in 2006 as a standard CD, was recorded in Warsaw Philharmonic Hall.
Wit has recorded most of the Mahler symphonies with these same forces but nothing previously prepared me for this particular listening experience. There was control over tempos,attention to the wide shifts in dynamics, for example, in the exuberant close of the first movement, and the nearly hushed opening of the second movement, coherence of the massive choral forces and the integration of the soloists, all attested to substantial preparation and a profound understanding of Mahler’s intentions. Taken as a whole, I was continually astonished by what I heard, in terms of inner details and overall sonic presentation. Most impressively, Maestro Wit never luxuriates in this work’s many glorious musical passages, nor does he succumb to the potential hysteria of the closing verses of Faust.
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Disc Size: 12,115,807,814 bytes
Length: 1:20:46
Video: MPEG-2 Video / 0 kbps / 1080i / 29.970 fps / 16:9
Audio: German / DTS-HD Master Audio / 5.0 / 96 kHz / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Audio: German / LPCM Audio / 2.0 / 96 kHz / 4608 kbps / 24-bit
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