Mahler: Symphony No. 3

This live Third, taped by the BBC during a visit by the Berlin Philharmonic in 1999, is a welcome addition to the growing list of outstanding Mahler Thirds on CD, Bernstein's "hot" version and Gielen's cooler one, among them. Abbado's new one is superior to his first go at the symphony, thanks to superb orchestral playing and a ripening of his interpretation of the work. He makes it sound as wildly revolutionary as it must have been to the audience at the premiere. Abbado now adds extra intensity, crisper articulation that makes the rhythms more dynamic even at his relatively slow tempos (as in the massive first movement march) and heightens the hushed tension in the long final movement, taken slightly faster and the better for it. The Berlin Philharmonic's playing is all the more impressive for being "live." The brazen brass, alert winds, and dense, biting strings outdo themselves, and the active percussion section supplies plenty of excitement. Alto Anna Larsson, who's also on the Salonen Mahler Third, is fine, as is the chorus. The engineering is strange, though. The low-level transfer needs a big volume boost and even then it's hard to find a volume setting that can accommodate quiet passages without blasting the roof off at climaxes. --Dan Davis