Posted by Barry Guerrero on November 12, 1999 at 00:43:00:
That got you to look!
OK, here's the scoop. There's a 3 disc set that's being issued directly by the Baltimore Symphony, you can't get this at retail. I understand that is sells for $45. I don't have the set, but a friend sent me an excellent cassette copy of the Mahler 6th conducted by David Zinman. Needless to say, David Fedderly sounds terrific! But here's what's unique about this 6th: I was curious to find out if the Baltimore 6th had the same "trick" that I had heard Zinman use when he conducted here in San Francisco about 5 years back. Indeed, it does! What I'm babbling about is that Zinman uses something that sounds like a pipe bomb going off in the building for the hammer blows - they're unbelievably effective!
When I saw this in S.F., the percussionists had some kind of keyboard rigged up. When they got to the two hammer blows in the finale, they slammed 20 fingers (2 players) on to it. It sounded as though some kind of bomb went off under the stage, then reverberated out in the hall. It sounds much the same way on this recording. Perhaps David Fedderly has some anecdote about this. In case it may sway judgement, Zinman doesn't take the exposition repeat in the 1st movement (doesn't bother me). I understand that the rest of this set is fairly standard German rep. - Beethoven and/or Mozart? This box set is not on the BSO web site - you've got to give 'em a call if interested. We won't have it at Tower.