Mahler: Symphony No. 5 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		0.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.0

Mahler: Symphony No. 5 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 22, 2013

Gustav Mahler’s intense, volcanic symphonic output might seem to be a perfect fit for a conductor of Herbert von Karajan’s demeanor, at least in some ways, and yet perhaps quite oddly, von Karajan is very rarely mentioned when most classical musical aficionados list their favorite baton wielders leading orchestras in performances of Mahler’s work. Bruno Walter? Of course. Leonard Bernstein? No question. Maybe even some Mahler fans might mention Maurice Abravanel, who ripped a Grande Prix du Disque out from under Bernstein’s nose for some of Abravanel’s Mahler recordings with the Utah Symphony. But Herbert von Karajan? Hardly ever. This 1973 recording of Mahler’s gargantuan Fifth Symphony proves that this may be a partial oversight on the part of even Mahler fans, for von Karajan’s work with the Berlin Philharmonic, while probably not rising to the supreme levels of the Walter or Bernstein recordings, is expressive and emotionally wrenching.

There’s probably no denying that von Karajan struggles a bit with the sometimes seemingly formless world of a Mahler symphony, a world so completely different from the highly structured universes of, say, Beethoven or even Bruckner. But that very struggle is perhaps part of what gives this performance its unusually visceral quality. Von Karajan seems to not always be leading the formidable Berlin Philharmonic, but instead is experiencing an apotheosis along with the players. This performance will probably not be a lot of aficionados’ favorite Mahler recording, but it’s a fascinating document of a conductor coming to terms with a composer whom he was perhaps more alike than he cared to admit, and also whom he had a tendency to dismiss, again perhaps for that very same reason.

Mahler: Symphony No. 5 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Aside from the static menu screen, there is no video content on this Blu-ray disc.

Mahler: Symphony No. 5 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The insert in this audio Blu-ray's keepcase includes the following text:

What is High Fidelity Pure Audio?

High Fidelity Pure Audio combines the vast storage space and bandwidth of a Blu-ray disc with the original high quality recorded material to create a uniquely luxurious listening experience. We take audio in its purest and uncompressed form and master it onto a Blu-ray disc, retaining all of its original sound range and character to deliver you audio as it was meant to be heard. Because none of the disc is used up by video content and we are able to offer audio at its purest form.

At risk of sounding like a broken record (and/or audio Blu-ray), I continue to marvel at the fact that UMG wants to trumpet the "vast storage space" of Blu-ray discs, and then only utilize a miniscule amount of the space on the disc, especially when they continue to offer three redundant audio codecs, LPCM 2.0, Dolby TrueHD 2.0 and DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. I think UMG would have a lot more success with this newest push into audio Blu-ray if they offered consumers more content. This disc, for example, easily could have handled another von Karajan performance of something. In terms of the audio quality, many people have complained about the supposedly dry, brittle sound of DG recordings from this era, but as with the Klieber Beethoven offerings I reviewed recently, I didn't hear much if any of that on this recording. There's actually a beautifully burnished brass sound throughout all the movements, something that brings both a warmth and sardonic sting to various moments. There's a fair degree of hall ambience here that provides a nice sense of aural space and depth. Fidelity is exceptional and dynamic range is (of course, this being Mahler after all) huge.

Mahler: Symphony No. 5 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There are no supplements on the Blu-ray disc. Unlike some of the Universal Music Group pop and jazz audio Blu-rays, this at least has an insert booklet with some interesting material.

Mahler: Symphony No. 5 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Mahler's Fifth is like a "bizarro world" visit to Beethoven's Fifth siphoned through an anguished consciousness that was just as apt to knock on fate's door as it was to wait around for fate to do the knocking. This performance is a bit ungainly at times, as if von Karajan can't quite wrap his formidable intellect around the roller coaster ride of emotions the composer goes through, but it's still a worthwhile ride. Recommended.