Mahler: Symphony No. 3

Disc 1
1	Symphony No. 3 in D minor
Disc 2
1	Symphony No. 3 in D minor
2	Symphony No. 3 in D minor
3	Symphony No. 3 in D minor
4	Symphony No. 3 in D minor
5	Symphony No. 3 in D minor
Mahler: Symphony No. 3
1.	Symphony No. 3 in D minor 1:41:25
	Composed by Gustav Mahler
	Performed by Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Chorus, Michelle DeYoung, Duain Wolfe and Chicago Children's Choir
	Conducted by Bernard Haitink

All Music Guide

Bernard Haitink recorded Gustav Mahler's "Symphony No. 3 in D minor" with the Concertgebouw Orchestra in 1966, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra recorded the work with Georg Solti in 1982, so each already has a classic rendition that is readily available and worth including in any collection. But this live 2006 recording, which marks Haitink's debut as the CSO's principal conductor and features mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung, the Women of the Chicago Symphony Chorus, and the Chicago Children's Choir, also deserves serious consideration, despite not being released on a major label and not having the cited recordings' longevity in print. In fact, Haitink's interpretation here is exacting, intense, and powerful, and the orchestra's playing is vivid and evocative, so there is nothing lacking in this concert performance and little to take issue with, aside from the occasional coughs and other unavoidable audience noises. The sound of the recording is phenomenally deep, wide, and spacious, and the separation of the instruments is so realistic that one can easily imagine being in the front row of Orchestra Hall; the sonorities are so vibrant and the acoustics are so responsive that everything from the softest bass drum stroke to the glassiest harmonic has an almost palpable presence. And if one considers that Haitink's older recording on Philips is somewhat inferior in sound due to its age and the slightly airless quality of its remastering, this recording has clear advantages for audiophiles. But in the end, the performance is what matters most: this is an emotionally compelling rendition that holds its own with any version on the market, and it will satisfy any Mahlerian with its many passages of profound beauty, childlike playfulness, and spiritual ecstasy. Blair Sanderson

New York Times

The long-awaited peroration of the finale is overwhelming. What makes it all work of course is the playing of this mighty orchestra.... Over all, a superb effort. James R. Oestreich

Gramophone

It's easy to understand why Mahler's Third Symphony would seem the ideal work with which to launch this venture, as it gives a chance for every section of the orchestra to shine. And shine they do. The brass have thrilling weight and authority. Andrew Farach-Colton

BBC Music Magazine

Haitink knows how to pace this great Adagio; the agonized climaxes and serene resolution here are second to none. David Nice

Philadelphia Inquirer

The conductor keeps everything in a tight structural frame, but also allows the music's loopy, loose-cannon quality to come through. The recording quality is wall-shaking. David Patrick Stearns

Dallas Morning News

[Grade: A-] Naturally, the Chicago brasses make exciting sounds when called on, but the rest of the orchestra also lives up to its exalted reputation. Scott Cantrell

Audiophile Audition

This is breathtaking Mahler. Haitink brings his Concertgebouw legacy to Chicago, a burnished sound laden with abundant Mahlerian sturm und drang.... This is a Mahler Third you must get to know. Enthusiastically recommended. Ronald Legum

The Guardian

A surefire winner.... Haitink's reading of the Third has always been one of his most impressive in the Mahler canon, and this one seems more powerful than ever.... A hugely auspicious launch for the CSO's new venture. Andrew Clements

Chicago Tribune

The eminent Dutch conductor [displays] consummate mastery.... Haitink gives us the music's inner life and underlying pulse, its dreams and visions, and how the myriad details shape the vast, overarching whole. John von Rhein

Raleigh-Durham News & Observer

The orchestra is as gleaming as it ever was. The brass climaxes are not to be believed, and the posthorn and trumpet solos in the third movement are brilliant and flawless.... The music unfolds like a great landscape at dawn, seen from an airplane. David Perkins