Mahler - Symphony 5 [Ka Lok- Russian Philharmonic Orchestra]
This is a new disc that i bought on Ebay, Mahler's Fifth is my favourite Symphony by him, so i'm always on the lookout for a disc that might complement my collection, this was unknown to me, so i took a risk, it looks like it's a Hong Kong based company, i guess the jury's out on this disc at the moment, but i will certainly want to hear it again.
Mak Ka Lok is from Hong Kong, this disc was recorded way back in 1993, so it's certainly not recent, the front cover shows Ka Lok in a wood of birch trees i think, lots of leaves on the ground, and there's a lovely side lighting, the box with the lettering is opaque, showing the photograph underneath, and the Hugo logo gives a nice splash of red colour.
Well this was a very even Symphony, no real movement stood out from any other, i must admit that it's a fairly reverberant acoustic, the orchestra sound a little set back, but there's certainly a nice bloom in the bass, and maybe that can be a problem somewhat, it's a bass heavy recording, the brass gets mixed in the background somewhat, you can't hear individual voices all that well, i'm playing it on my portable player, and i've got it playing at full volume, and yet still want a tad more, and maybe some treble to balance things out, it's still a nice recording though, it's good to hear the harp clearly in the fourth movement Adagietto, and if i have to pick a movement, it would be the second movement, it's full of brass, almost a 'Concerto for Brass', and here i admit that even though the brass / percussion is menacing enough [0:00-0:33], there's something missing somehow, there's dull thuds instead of cymbals crashing and dying slowly, certainly not a front row seat, yes it's obvious that everything is just a bit too far away, i like the sound of the timpani though, nice bass rumblings here, timewise compared to my favourite two versions, it's a midway reading
with each one minute apart, and yet Ka Lok sounds like he lets things drag somewhat, a good sound can make things sound more thrilling and tighter, there's certainly good things here, especially in fortissimos, the trumpets reach a nice crescendo [7:56-8:07], and a little later the high woodwind scream out [8:35-8:42], with the upper brass pleading a shade later, a nice moment, the great climax / resolution near the end is done very well [11:19-12:31], it's probably my favourite moment in the Symphony, and at the end of this moment the music quietens down to hear the sorrowful horns nicely, a nice blaze of brass is well caught [13:01+], Ka Lok doesn't lack any passion, it's just that it would be nice to be 'amongst the orchestra' instead of 'in a seat at the back'!, the 'inner voicings' are a real key to a successful performance.
Here's Gergiev conducting this movement on YouTube.
Mak Ka Lok is from Hong Kong, this disc was recorded way back in 1993, so it's certainly not recent, the front cover shows Ka Lok in a wood of birch trees i think, lots of leaves on the ground, and there's a lovely side lighting, the box with the lettering is opaque, showing the photograph underneath, and the Hugo logo gives a nice splash of red colour.
Well this was a very even Symphony, no real movement stood out from any other, i must admit that it's a fairly reverberant acoustic, the orchestra sound a little set back, but there's certainly a nice bloom in the bass, and maybe that can be a problem somewhat, it's a bass heavy recording, the brass gets mixed in the background somewhat, you can't hear individual voices all that well, i'm playing it on my portable player, and i've got it playing at full volume, and yet still want a tad more, and maybe some treble to balance things out, it's still a nice recording though, it's good to hear the harp clearly in the fourth movement Adagietto, and if i have to pick a movement, it would be the second movement, it's full of brass, almost a 'Concerto for Brass', and here i admit that even though the brass / percussion is menacing enough [0:00-0:33], there's something missing somehow, there's dull thuds instead of cymbals crashing and dying slowly, certainly not a front row seat, yes it's obvious that everything is just a bit too far away, i like the sound of the timpani though, nice bass rumblings here, timewise compared to my favourite two versions, it's a midway reading
Christoph Von Dohnanyi = 12:54
Mak Ka Lok = 13:58
Riccardo Chailly = 14:58
Here's Gergiev conducting this movement on YouTube.
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