This DVD box is a special historical document of the famous Mahler performances that Bernard Haitink gave with the Concertgebouworkest in a series of Christmas Matinees in the 1970s and 1980s. Whether Haitink (not a fan of looking back) is happy with it, is still the question, but the enthusiast can certainly be happy with it. It is a huge asset to see Haitink at work as a conductor. Only then does
… it become apparent how intensely he cares for Mahler's music and how passionate but subtle he leads the orchestra. It is also nice to see that he conducts some works (the First and the Fourth) entirely from memory. Combined with excellent sound quality, this box is a fantastic document for that alone. And that is a good thing, because the further finishing of this release is rather mediocre. In addition to the very meager 'booklet' and the clumsy DVD menus, it is especially remarkable that the image and sound are not synchronized in three of the four parts of the Ninth, something that is very unfortunate about this legendary performance, where Haitink (it was his penultimate concert as head of the Concertgebouw Orchestra) dropped his baton after the dying final chord. These flaws do not seem to stand alone: with the CD box with the same concerts from 1999 (AAX5466) there were also complaints about the finishing of the release. Fortunately, a beautiful Haitink documentary has been added to this box, and the artistic content that the Concertgebouworkest and Haitink offer is of an undeniably high level. (TC) s, it is especially remarkable that the image and sound are not synchronized in three of the four movements of the Ninth, something that is a great pity at this legendary performance, where Haitink (it was his penultimate concert as chef of the Concertgebouworkest) drops its baton after the dying final chord. These flaws do not seem to stand alone: with the CD box with the same concerts from 1999 (AAX5466) there were also complaints about the finishing of the release. Fortunately, a beautiful Haitink documentary has been added to this box, and the artistic content that the Concertgebouworkest and Haitink offer is of an undeniably high level. (TC) s, it is especially remarkable that the image and sound are not synchronized in three of the four movements of the Ninth, something that is a great pity at this legendary performance, where Haitink (it was his penultimate concert as chef of the Concertgebouworkest) drops its baton after the dying final chord. These flaws do not seem to stand alone: with the CD box with the same concerts from 1999 (AAX5466) there were also complaints about the finishing of the release. Fortunately, a beautiful Haitink documentary has been added to this box, and the artistic content that the Concertgebouworkest and Haitink offer is of an undeniably high level. (TC) where Haitink (it was his penultimate concert as head of the Concertgebouw Orchestra) drops his baton after the dying final chord. These flaws do not seem to stand alone: with the CD box with the same concerts from 1999 (AAX5466) there were also complaints about the finishing of the release. Fortunately, a beautiful Haitink documentary has been added to this box, and the artistic content that the Concertgebouworkest and Haitink offer is of an undeniably high level. (TC) where Haitink (it was his penultimate concert as head of the Concertgebouw Orchestra) drops his baton after the dying final chord. These flaws do not seem to stand alone: with the CD box with the same concerts from 1999 (AAX5466) there were also complaints about the finishing of the release. Fortunately, a beautiful Haitink documentary has been added to this box, and the artistic content that the Concertgebouworkest and Haitink offer is of an undeniably high level. (TC) and the artistic content offered by the Concertgebouworkest and Haitink is of an undisputed high level. (TC) and the artistic content offered by the Concertgebouworkest and Haitink is of an undisputed high level. (TC)more
