Mahler - Sym 1 - Wayfarer - Maltman - Zander - SACD new Start Price USD 22.71 Current Price USD 22.71 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Sunday, June 29, 2008 End Time Sunday, July 06, 2008 Location New York, New York See more about 'Mahler - Sym 1 - Wayfarer - Maltman - Zander - SACD new' Description You are bidding on Telarc 2SACD-60628, a 2-CD set including the music of Gustav Mahler -- the Symphony No. 1 in D ("Titan") and the Songs of a Wayfarer, with Benjamin Zander conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra, along with a second CD containing Maestro Zander's appreciation-lecture on the music. Here's another in Maestro Zander's string of Telarc successes with Mahler's music. His performance of the First Symphony is genial and verdant, or turbulent and anguished, as the music variously demands. As always when he conducts London's excellent Philharmonia Orchestra, the performance exposes a wealth of color and detail within a rich, deep ensemble sonority. With the whole enterprise cloaked in Telarc's customary outstanding sonics -- here further processed into impressive 5-Channel Surround sound, for those who have SACD surround playback -- this immediately heads near the top of the list for this ever-popular symphony. The program also includes the Wayfarer Songs, the Symphony's customary "filler" in the CD era, and an appropriate one -- the symphony incorporates themes that originally appeared in the song cycle (specifically, in the second and fourth songs). Here, Christopher Maltman offers a considerate, heartfelt performance in his smooth, even, virile baritone timbre. The engineering benefits the songs as well as the symphony. The second disc, a bonus, presents Maestro Zander's lecture on the symphony and song cycle. As in previous releases in the Telarc series, the lecture may well help newcomers to Mahler get a hold of the materials and structure of the symphony, and even some experienced listeners will find points to ponder. I've marked this album as "new" -- it's not shrinkwrapped, but it came to me new and I've not played it. The "hybrid" SACD is playable on all SACD and conventional CD players, though only 5-Channel SACD Surround systems will unfold the music into surround-sound. Total program timing, including the long lecture, is 2:27:38. I accept money orders, cashier's cheques, or personal cheques (which I hold for clearance); PayPal on non-U.S. orders only. Winning U.S. bidder adds $3.40 for Media Mail shipping with Delivery Confirmation; winning bidder elsewhere pays actual shipping cost. Place a Bid!