Album

As an admirer and conductor of Robert Schumann's four symphonies, Gustav Mahler felt obliged to make extensive revisions to help clarify textures, bring vivid colors to passages where opportunities for brilliance had been missed, and make myriad changes in dynamics. To a certain extent, Mahler succeeded in making Schumann's music quite a bit sharper and a lot more colorful, but the changes of orchestration in many instances reveal the arranger's hand too plainly, particularly in the brass and woodwind parts, and the mix of Schumann's Romantic scores with Mahler's post-Romantic orchestral effects seems a little weird and disorienting for anyone who knows these works well. Of course, newcomers absolutely should get to know the originals first, and there's no dearth of great recordings available; experienced listeners who make the comparisons between them and Mahler's revisions may well feel that what was good enough already should have been left alone. Yet Riccardo Chailly and the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig have performed a valuable service in recording these much discussed but seldom played versions, and listeners who have been curious about the extent of Mahler's "tampering" may judge for themselves if he went too far. This double-disc package is strongly recommended for Mahler completists, but it is not essential listening for anyone else.

© Blair Sanderson, All Music Guide

CD 1 of 2
Robert Alexander Schumann Composer Symphony No.1 in Bb, Op.38 ('Spring') Work Recorded 2007 30:18 Gewandhaus Orchestra Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly Conductor
1	1.Andante un poco maestoso. Allegro molto vivace	10:50			$1.99
2	2.Larghetto	6:08			$0.99
3	3.Scherzo: Molto vivace. Trio 1: Molto piu vivace. Trio 2	5:11			$0.99
4	4.Finale: Allegro animato e grazioso	8:09			$1.49
Robert Alexander Schumann Composer Symphony No.2 in C, Op.61 Work Recorded 2006 34:42 Gewandhaus Orchestra Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly Conductor
5	1.Sostenuto assai. Un poco più vivace. Allegro ma non troppo	11:38			$1.99
6	2.Scherzo: Allegro vivace. Trio 1. Trio 2. Coda	6:28			$0.99
7	3.Adagio espressivo	9:02			$1.49
8	4.Allegro molto vivace	7:34			$1.49
CD 2 of 2
Robert Alexander Schumann Composer Symphony No.3 in Eb, Op.97 ('Rhenish') Work Recorded 2007 28:52 Gewandhaus Orchestra Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly Conductor
1	1.Lebhaft	9:00			$1.49
2	2.Scherzo: Sehr mäßig	5:05			$0.99
3	3.Nicht schnell	4:25			$0.99
4	4.Feierlich	4:50			$0.99
5	5.Lebhaft	5:32			$0.99
Robert Alexander Schumann Composer Symphony No.4 in D-, Op.120 (1841 version) Work Recorded 2006 25:30 Gewandhaus Orchestra Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly Conductor
6	1.Ziemlich langsam. Lebhaft	8:35			$1.49
7	2.Romanze: Ziemlich langsam	4:03			$0.99
8	3.Scherzo: Lebhaft. Trio: Etwas zurückhaltend	5:21			$0.99
9	4.Langsam. Lebhaft. Schneller. Presto	7:31			$1.49