Free register and download UseNet downloader, then you can FREE Download from UseNet.

    Download without Limit " Gustav Mahler - Symphony No. 4 (CSO, James Levine) (2004) " from UseNet for FREE!

A lot of Mahler 4s have come and gone since this 1974 release, but its musical values remain undiminished. It finds both James Levine and the Chicago Symphony at the absolute peak of their form, and that-s really saying something. This performance has everything: incredible precision in the first movement (especially the central development section), a nicely spiky scherzo, a broadly sung and soulful adagio rising to a glorious climax, and a terrific soloist for the finale in the person of Judith Blegen. There-s really not much more that needs to be said, other than that the current remastering sounds extremely vivid and close up, even a touch bright, but perfectly acceptable. A generation of Mahler lovers imprinted on this performance, and it-s great that a new legion of fans will now be able to do the same--and at mid-price too.
Review: As he traversed the landscape of Mahler symphonies over the 1970s, the young James Levine proved that he was to the manner born, almost as much as Bernstein. His RCA versions of the Third, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Ninth are full of exuberance, power, and original ideas (Levine-s incomplete cycle omits the Second and Eighth). All of those readings can stand beside the best and far surpass Haitink and Chailly, whose cautiously interpreted Mahler continues to be admired.
The first half of Levine-s Fourth raises high hopes. In his view this is an untroubled work. Levine approaches it without stark contrasts of light and shadow. Such an interpretation risks turning cloying, since the Fourth is a bit candied anyway, but Levine has so many novel turns of phrase, and the CSO plays so beautifully, that these first two movements come off very well. (The listener should be forewrned that the solo violin in the second movement is strongly highlighted, sounding louder than the rest of the string section combined.)
My hesitation is with the last two movements. Levine takes the slow movement, which is marked Poco Adagio, so broadly that it finishes in 22 min. compared to 18 min. for Klemperer; the average on disc is about 20 min. Since Levine also restrains the cntrast of light and dark here, making very little of the -heaven-s gate- climax, the prevailing serenity gets monotonous. The finale is brisk and light, but Judith Blegen sings with no regard for the words. She makes no attempt to imitate the tone of a child-s voice or emotions, and her notes get noticeably weak at the bottom. She-s lovely in an abstract way but not involving. Finally, the remastered sound of this mid-price reissue, though clear, retains a bit of digital glare in the strings, with insufficient body in the bass.
There-s no denying that Levine continues to impress as a born Mahlerian, probably the most gifted one America has produced after Bernstein, but this performance isn-t one of his best.
Track
Symphony No. 4 in G major
Composed by Gustav Mahler
Performed by Chicago Symphony Orchestra
with Judith Blegen
Conducted by James Levine