Because these performances are relatively well known, I will limit myself to discussion of these new SACD incarnations. They are terrible. Abravanel’s Mahler recordings never were very special sonically, and this fleet and light First Symphony (appealing enough on its own terms if hardly among the top recommendations for the work) sounds lost in a cavernous acoustic in which excessive rear-channel echo makes a blur of the crisp woodwind textures and cutting brass. The Berlioz Requiem, a mediocre rendition in any event, is even worse. The orchestra and choirs sound fuzzy, while the four brass bands blast through each speaker as though individually miked in a separate, dead acoustic, resulting in a totally artificial and unmusical falsification of the true sound of the piece. Given the fact that the sonics are theoretically on display here, this release must be counted a failure. Enough said.
