Preview: The Mysterious Maestro Maazel

This preview to the ClassicsToday Insider video of Lorin Maazel's ten best recordings looks at the career of a major artist whose reputation ultimately remains ambiguous. To become an Insider member and see the ClassicsToday video, click here:
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A superb podium technician, there were times when Maazel seemed to value form over expressive substance, and yet he made hundreds of recordings. With a few notable exceptions, did anyone buy them? I wonder.

[@JackBurttrumpetstuff]

I was witness to the ‘Worst Public Behavior By a Conductor in Concert’ in 1980 in Berlin, with Loren Maazel. He was guest conducting the Britten War Requiem with the Berlin Philharmonic, and supposedly was unhappy with the choir. At some point during the concert the tenors missed an entrance, and so every entrance after that he cued them sarcastically with both hands, staring at them, for the rest of the concert. That was bad enough, but at the end it was even worse. The piece ends with the choir singing, a cappella, ‘Requiescat in pacem”. At that point, Maazel quit conducting …. and just stared at his baton, twirling it in his hands. The choir had to enter on their own, sing the section by themselves, and cut themselves off. Maazel took no part. I was in the audience and my jaw dropped. And he wondered why he didn’t get the job after Karajan died… orchestra members still talk about that….

[@nikolausspoerel3835]

Not much better was a Berlin Philharmonic concert in Dec. 1978, when Maazel had spent his entire 3 rehearsals on Boulez Rituel and so in the first of 3 concerts Tchaikovsky Suite No.3 was sightread from unplayed parts. Something was apparently wrong in the last movement, and at the end the entire brass section continued playing, and the concertmaster had the orchestra repeat the last couple of bars for another ending. I guess nobody would have noticed if Maazel had not stood there with his arms folded over his chest.

[@cykill1000]

I saw a performance of him doing Brahms 3 with Pittsburgh and the final F major chord of the symphony was out of tune so as only he could, he held it and started to tune the individual notes. Only Lorin Maazel......

[@FREDGARRISON]

Thanks for the video, Dave... "MAAZEL" TOV !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@tatoarg9508]

Aside from the fact that your talks are among the most interesting videos on KZbin, the way you characterise musicians is tremendously funny!

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Thank you. Just because they take themselves so seriously, it doesn't mean that WE have to!

[@tonywatts6699]

Towards the end of his life I saw Maazel conduct the Philharmonia in Mahler 5 at the Festival Hall. As ever I was so stunned by the perfection of his baton technique and found it hard to think of another conductor who matched it. However I slowly came to realise how dull the performance was. Beautifully played, but lumpen and almost totally without personality. It seemed endless and I couldn't wait for it to finish. A paradox.

[@montanaricello]

Best Maazel description

[@philipadams5386]

@@leo1961berlin Lorin Maazel was, as you may know, Klemperer's assistant at the Philharmonia and was practically its principal conductor in Klemperer's dotage. For that reason, he was offered principal conductorship of the New Philharmonia but couldn't agree terms. The job consequently went to Muti. Anyway, my point is that Maazel's special relationship had its origins in Klemperer.

[@bbailey7818]

Maazel's late Don Carlo at the Met bordered on disaster. Dogged, endless, completely uninspired. It made me feel sorry for the singers.

[@philipadams5386]

@@leo1961berlin Thank you. Wikipedia was my reference.

[@tonywatts6699]

@@bbailey7818 I'm afraid I suffered that as well. One of the worst-conducted opera performances I have ever heard

[@williammoreing3860]

I can think of one performance conducted by Maazel that rivals other versions in my collection, that being Respighi’s “Feste Romana” on Decca. I have at least a half-dozen recordings of the piece, but it’s Maazel’s that I return to, time after time.

[@denbigh51]

All said and done I love the Decca box of all his Cleveland Orchestra recordings - I’m always listening to these. I remember as a teenager being wowed by the Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet. The introduction immediately had me hooked - the fantastic orchestral playing with a Decca recording that is still hard to beat all these decades later. Then there is the Porgy and Bess. And the Brahms cycle….

[@furrybear57]

i have that box and i find it interesting that Dave did not mention the Porgy and Bess, nor the Prokofiev R&J...

[@denbigh51]

@@furrybear57 Well it’s all good I find. I had many of the original LPs and I regret Decca didn’t reproduce the cover art. The LP of Gershwin’s An American in Paris etc… sported an image of the composer in his swimming trunks !

[@culturalconfederacy782]

Maazel's recording of Bruckner's 8th on EMI, is probably one of the best recordings I've heard. Would I be incorrect in saying that he got Bruckner right.

[@corgansow6173]

The only Bruckner recording he got right

[@nb2816]

His EMI Bruckner 8th is superb. I am also a fan of his BRSO Bruckner cycle; together with Skrowasczewski's, it is probably my favorite cycle, completely different from S. but quite satisfying on its own terms.

[@davidgoulden5956]

A belated Happy New Year to you, Mr Hurwitz. Enjoyed your talk about Maazel, as I enjoy ALL your talks. Saw him conduct many times in London in the 80s and 90s, including a traversal of all 9 LVB symphonies on the same day. Performances that stick out: the Symphonie Fantastique with the Philharmonia and - how is this for a generous program? - the Tchaikovsky first piano concerto with Volodos followed by Bruckner's Eighth. Cannot recall if the latter concert was with the Philharmonia or the Cleveland. He had the most precise stick technique I've ever seen, no contest. Talked with him very briefly on two occasions. The first time, I congratulated him on his 1976 Respighi/Cleveland recording. I wouldn't say he was effusive exactly. He wasn't chilly, though, either. The second time, I asked him to sign my box set of his LVB recordings with the Cleveland Orchestra. He signed it but this time he DID have a rather lordly way about him. Lesson learned, I never approached him again. Your description of him as 'mysterious' is apt. Best to you and your cat. D.

[@gavingriffiths2633]

I witnessed one of Maazel's last concerts in London - he played a beautiful 'Also Sprach', slow but detailed and structured ; and a dreadful Alpine Symphony that went from slow to much, much slower - it took hours...

[@johnanderton4200]

Collecting records starting in the 1980's under the influence of the Penguin Guide, I discovered his wonderful early (late 1950's) Stravinsky Song of the Nightingale, Franck Symphony (both DG) and a few others. Enthusiasm for Maazel seemed to extend to into the Sixties (Sibelius and Tchaikovsky cycles) but then evaporate. Even the Sibelius Third in his late Pittsburgh cycle, to which you gave top recommendation, strikes me as a bit chilly and perfunctory but comes off as the highlight as the rest of the cycle is so perversely mannered and arbitrary. He never seemed to bring any emotional investment to the podium. High-end autism spectrum? There was something Glenn-Gouldish about him.

[@TallPaulInKy]

I am a casual fan of classical music and even I have a few Loren Maazel albums which I treasure. I doubt if there are many classical fans that don't have at least one.

[@HassoBenSoba]

"I HAVE to listen to" Maazel's recordings of: a.) Ravel - L'enfant et les Sortileges ('61) - unbeatable b.) Strauss - Symphonia Domestica (Vienna/live- DGG) The best c.) Strauss - Also Sprach - Philharmonia ('63) d.) Mahler - Symphony No. 2/Vienna Sony--overall, my reference recording e.) Mahler - Symphony No. 4/Vienna Sony ditto f.) Sibelius - Third Symphony/Pittsburgh (thanks to Mr. Hurwitz for this one) g,), etc .. Mahler 3 (except for woefully slow finale), Mahler 5, Mahler 7 (all Vienna/Sony) Seriously..these are at the top of my list. Do I agree with your overall assessment of his work/career?-- YES...very erratic! But when Maazel was good, he was the best. I had numerous interactions with him, from two conducting symposiums in Cleveland to a couple of pre-concert interviews with the Chicago Symphony (early 2000's). By that time he had really mellowed. I intentionally left enough time in our interview to ask him about my favorite recordings of his, and he REALLY lit up; he was sincerely grateful that I recognized and valued them. I think he was a genuinely nice man, beneath the cold, haughty exterior; when we spoke at length in private, there was even a sadness, as if he felt "lost" due to the passage of time. PS-- You-Tube has a live Vienna Mahler 5 in Japan; it's terrific, recorded around the time he did his Sony studio recording. LR

[@furrybear57]

Found the live Japan Mahler 5. appears to be broken up into separate movements to avoid copyright.

[@estel5335]

h.) Bruckner 8 (Seraphim)

[@danielgreineder1456]

Thank you for a tremendous talk. Why do we care so little about a musician who was so talented? A violinist at the Philharmonia once confirmed his awesome virtuosity to me. I love his DG Zemlinsky Lyric Symphony where the decadent atmosphere and hugely complex orchestration play to his strengths. Perhaps that is a reference recording. Maazel may be a representative of the jetset celebrity classical musicians post-Legge and pre-streaming. Even as such he rarely provokes ire in the way Karajan did. However, I had a music teacher years ago who was obsessed with Maazel, notably his wealth, whom he unfairly branded a “charlatan”. He wanted us all to listen to Norrington and Goodman. Enough said.

[@flexusmaximus4701]

His Berlin Bruckner 8th is top drawer! My go to recording for that work. Transparent recording. Paul G

[@djquinn4212]

I'm partial to the Wand lubeck cathedral, but Maazel is my go to for the last movement.

[@iptych]

With regard to the last point: Ravel - L'enfant et les sortileges (still the best a far as I'm concerned)

[@HassoBenSoba]

Absolutely.

[@johnwright7557]

Maazel brought the Cleveland Orchestra to Kennedy Center many moons ago in a limited series that also included Haitink and the Concertgebouw. The catch was that you had to buy tickets to both to get to see either of them! Naturally, I was interested in the Concertgebouw, but not Maazel based on earlier recorded experiences with him. Sure enough, his Brahms-I think it was the 3rd Symphony-began well with Cleveland playing at their best, but before long he had to suddenly change the tempo and throw in one of his mannerisms as if to show us how Maazel knew best! I do have 3 CDs of his that I think are really great: Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortileges on DG, Mahler 4 with Vienna on CBS/Sony, and Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet with Cleveland on Decca. But that’s it!

[@chadweirick67]

I really enjoyed this talk and I just had a suggestion or thought maybe for a potential new series down the line is instead of looking at people looking at institutions such as the Boston symphony orchestra through the years when was its best years the rise and fall New York philharmonic Vienna just sort of going through the history of the conductors and the basic personality of that orchestra would be fascinating at least to me :-)

[@martinhaub2602]

I, for one, bought a lot of Maazel's recordings back in the '70s and well intro the CD era. I haven't read the CT list yet, but I would have no trouble naming 10 "best" recordings. He got more mannered as time went on, but his early work was often brilliant. Prokofieff Romeo and Juliet, Zemlinsky Lyric Symphony, Tchaikovsky 4, 5, 6 on early CBS CDs. And that superb Symphonie fantastique on Telarc. There are two creations of his that we should have: first, that funny short film "A Week in the Life of a Conductor" and then his Symphony, which I still have a recording of the Vienna Philharmonic playing on cassette. Maybe I'm the only one who liked his opera "1984"? I like that symphony, too.

[@cayrephilippe2416]

You're not the only one. It is a very interesting work indeed. He didn't betray George Orwell.

[@Warp75]

I really like that London Phil/Cleveland Scriabin recording on Decca.

[@djquinn4212]

Dave! Is there a way to set up comments for the insider videos where you reveal your top ten so we can have the usual discussions and comment threads about your choices without spoliing the list for those who haven't taken the plunge and subscribed? This is the first of your conductor lists where I have strong enough opinions that I'm dying to start the "how could you leave off ______" but can't out of respect to your no spoilers edict. I LOOOOVE these best of conductor videos, they're my absolute favorite of your newer series.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

You can comment on the videos themselves as usual and other Insiders should be able to read them, but no one else can. There are several comments there already. In order to do it, when you see the video on classicstoday.com just click on the "view on youtube" option on the lower left of the screen, and you'll see the usual KZbin setup for the video and comments. Thanks for asking!

[@cklau8245]

Maazel's Mahler 4 with Vienna Philharmonic (Sony) is really good.

[@MDK2_Radio]

David has recommended that one on his video about the 4th. I don’t recall if it was his number one, but it got his 👍. Of course the truly great thing about that one is Kathleen Battle. Her voice was simply the ideal for the finale.

[@HassoBenSoba]

@@MDK2_Radio I agree about Battle's superb contribution, but she's the "icing"; Maazel and the VPO are brilliant from the very first note. LR

[@mackjay1777]

Yes it's interesting. In my record retail days Maazel was a conductor I used to wonder about. I agree he'd made some great recordings (the Vienna Sibelius cycle is magnificent, especially the Fifth Symphony, imho). But in the later 70s and later he was churning out a Mahler cycle and other things that no one seemed interested in. They were never the recommeded recordings and they'd just sit in our composer bins until we could return them. Sometimes we'd hear one and they were ok, never a fault of the orchestras, but just not inspiring.

[@OuterGalaxyLounge]

Ha. Good point. "I want to go listen to that Maazel record" is a phrase I'd never heard until you said it. That said, he did make many fine recordings and I have a lot of them. Also some stinkers. I have a few of those also.

[@austinhan6998]

When I was a teenager Maazel and Ny came to Ann Arbor for two concerts and I was always captivated by how he cut off the orchestra as if he was tying a ribbon on a Christmas present. I also had the bright idea of walking backstage to meet him, but the staff ordered me to go to the other side of the street if I wanted to. In hindsight they were probably probably doing that for my own protection.

[@ahartify]

His recording for the Don Giovanni film was a massive hit.

[@johnzito3124]

Maazel’s career has always baffled me. He commanded such high fees and had so many top-shelf appointments, but near as I can tell the “Maazel years” are not remembered as among the very best at any of the institutions where he worked. I recently read The Cleveland Orchestra Story by Donald Rosenberg, and the chapters on the Maazel years are a highlight. One thing you learn is that orchestra management basically rammed through his appointment over the objections of the musicians, who wanted István Kertész. But the book doesn’t really explain why management was so adamant about him in the first place (apart from the fact that he had a record deal). It just says that one day the contract was signed behind everyone’s back (including the board's if I recall correctly), and that was that. I'd love to know what really happened there...

[@duvidl]

Talk about orchestra boards - the Boston Symphony hired Erich Leinsdorf as it's Music Director, succeeding Charles Munch, in 1962. Leinsdorf, who had an RCA Victor recording contract (as did the BSO} had never conducted the orchestra even once.

[@jfddoc]

I think the record contract was a major factor since Columbia was not renewing their contract with Cleveland.

[@markstenroos6732]

Why did Cleveland hire Maazel? The answer lies in the Rosenberg book you cite. Subscription ticket sales at the end of the Szell era: 25%. At the end of the Maazel era: 83%. The man put butts in the seats. BTW - Maazel was a tireless champion for the musicians of the CO - he was adamant about getting their salaries in line with the other Big 5 Orchestras. That factoid is also contained in Rosenberg’s book. Surprised you missed it.

[@OuterGalaxyLounge]

@@markstenroos6732 Thanks for the explanation.

[@johnzito3124]

@@markstenroos6732 I didn't miss either of those things, but they are answers to a different question than the one I'm asking. The "search" for Szell's successor was basically confined to the period between October 1970 when the orchestra returned from a strike, and August 1971 when Maazel signed a contract. The book makes clear that the proximate reason that Maazel got the job was that he was the personal favorite choice of orchestra manager Michael Maxwell. Maxwell decided this early, convinced a few key players, began talks with Maazel, and got his signature in secret. After the contract was signed, Maxwell and others were pretending to the search committee, the board, and the musicians that the process was still playing out when it was not. My question is why did it go down like that? Why the cloak and dagger? Why was the decision entirely governed by the preferences of one man, and why did he have those preferences to start? It may very well be that it was ultimately a great choice and the ends justified the means, but that's not the question I'm asking. The book mentions that Maxwell and Maazel had known each other for a while going back to their Philharmonia days, that Maxwell wanted an American conductor, and that he liked that Maazel had a record deal. But by the time Maxwell had essentially decided on Maazel, he had never conducted the orchestra before. And after he had finally conducted them, the musicians categorically did not want him. Why was this all just ignored?

[@richardwilliams473]

Loren Mazell had total control of any orchestra he conducted with his brilliant baton technique

[@davidbo8400]

That's what he said 🙂

[@cesarcaro6767]

I largely agree with your survey, but I think one composer Maazel for which he is a go-to conductor, I'd say Ravel. His circa 1960 recordings of the Ravel operas are certainly the gold standard. But generally, it's true, he was a unique figure.

[@HassoBenSoba]

FUN FACT re: Lorin Maazel.... in a curious twist on the Klemperer/Bohm syndrome (famous conductors whose SONS were actors), check out George Romero's cheapie cult flick MARTIN (1978) where Lorin Maazel's FATHER Lincoln plays "Tata Cuda", a nutty, old vampire killer in Pittsburgh. NO KIDDING. LR

[@johnlilt]

If heard you correctly, you mentioned his Sibelius cycle. There's one recording of Maazel's I would never be without, and that's his Sibelius 4 with the Vienna Philharmonic, and I think you would agree that's its one of the best ever made, wouldn't you? Thanks for your most interesting and entertaining talks, David.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

I would agree.

[@gsaproposal]

His best: Cleveland, Prokofiev Romeo complete on Decca/London. None better.

[@TheOneAndOnlyZeno]

I put out a proposition - if you make another video of one of Jan Dismas Zelenka's many masterpieces, (which is all I am waiting for personally...), I will promptly subscribe to ClassicsToday! With evidence of my subscription.

[@TheOneAndOnlyZeno]

Also I quote from your video review of Zelenka's oratorio "I Penitenti al Sepolcro del Redentore", ZWV 63, performed by the Capella Regia Musicalis under conductor Robert Hugo: "Don't worry - we are going to talk about his other works. We are going to get to the Trio Sonata's, and the orchestral pieces - and just a huuuuuge bunch of Masses, and Responsories, and other things, liturgical works... it's just marvellous... it's incredible stuff... incredibly sensitive, original, quirky and fascinating music".

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Well, I will do more Zelenka and you don't have to subscribe (although there is a good selection of Zelenka review there). I plan to do more, but I have to get permissions to use clips. and that is what has been slowing things down.

[@TheOneAndOnlyZeno]

@@DavesClassicalGuide I understand.. however one final tidbit - is it a financial reason the permission is hard to obtain, or just they don't want to for whatever reason?

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

@@TheOneAndOnlyZeno It's much more complicated than that. I'm working on it.

[@stevenmsinger]

I think if Lorin Maazel had a specialty, it was with sonic spectaculars. Things like Respighi's Pines of Rome, Stravinsky's Firebird Suite and Song of a Nightingale, Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet, Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain, the Ravel operas, etc. That's not to say he always got these right or couldn't play other things well, either. However, much of his best seems to cluster around these types of works. The biggest disappointment for me is The Rite of Spring. I'll bet he had an amazing version of that in him, but it just never got out.

[@furrybear57]

i have two ELEKTRAs conducted by Maazel and they are both terrific: Cleveland Orchestra @ Carnegie Hall 1974 and the Vienna Philharmonic also @ Carnegie Hall in 1991. These performances definitely confirm your assessment that his specialty was "sonic spectaculars".

[@james.t.herman]

I remember his Bruckner Eighth with Berlin. I thought that for as attractively as Maazel shapes so much of the Eighth, he's spent by the time he gets to the finale. He’s brought the orchestra to its limits so many times already, he can’t get the effect he needs from the end.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

You memory is playing you false.

[@james.t.herman]

@@DavesClassicalGuide I thought Skrowaczewski and Haitink with Vienna shaped the form of the piece much better than Maazel did.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

@@james.t.herman That's another matter, but I still disagree.

[@gregstanton7321]

Looking forward to this - interesting perspective and topic. I wonder if you would be willing to address another somewhat related topic, a conductor who has become something of a cult figure despite the fact that so few recordings are available. From what I have heard, most are marginally good at best and many suffer from poor sound quality. Sergiu Celibidache. The opposite of Maazel as record companies have invested so little in him, at his own insistence. I personally don't understand the hype, but I may be missing something. Anyway, something to consider.

[@classicalperformances8777]

" it's like a musical chairs." hahahahah. well said....

[@IvanSinger]

Maazel's Mahler's second with Jessye Norman does it for me. And that's the one I compare to all others, including Tennstedt.

[@vincentspinelli9995]

Thank you so much for this insightful video. Makes me realize why I have so few Maazel recordings. I know you get suggestions and requests all the time, but would you consider a video on Dimitri Mitropoulos? I know he did not make many commercial recordings and much of his work is unavailable or really hard to find. But what a fascinating musician. Thank you!

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

I will do it when the recordings become available again, as they are supposed to later this year.

[@vincentspinelli9995]

@@DavesClassicalGuide Wonderful. I am looking forward to it!

[@vincentspinelli9995]

Thanks so much for the heads up about the upcoming Sony/RCA big box of Mitropoulos recordings. Per the press release it is projected for late April (maybe optimistically) and it is on pre-sale at Amazon U.K. 69 CDs. Looks fantastic.

[@daveorme1683]

Pittsburgh guy here. I enjoyed him more than Previn, but that's just personal taste, of course.

[@MarauderOSU]

Poor Lorin Maazel. He had some huge shoes to fill in Cleveland, for one thing. It must have been a burden for him to have to succeed the great George Szell. I remember watching him conduct the New York Philharmonic a few times on Live From Lincoln Center during the 2000s. Speaking of which, there are at least two big boxes devoted to two other conductors who led that orchestra before him coming out this spring: Dimitri Mitropoulos and Kurt Masur. The latter also brings back memories of watching LFLC during the '90s. I wonder if either of them will be worth it.

[@colingatwood4531]

As a review said of Maazel in the 1980’s , “that narcissist on the podium “.

[@walkure48]

"I have good news and bad news. The good news is that Maazel is conducting tonight." "What's the bad news? ...oh....never mind."

[@jeffboggs6274]

Having worked in the retail end of the music industry for many years, and getting lots of promotional recordings (which I still miss!), I did get to listen to (and own) a number of Maazel recordings. The thing I always seemed to find with his recordings, is no matter how well they were played, not matter how good the sound was, no matter the pieces played, in the end, they just seemed rather dull and could be a bit cold. They were proficient, but just lacked passion in many of them. One of my favorites of his is the one with Cleveland doing the Respighi Pines and Roman Festivals. Again, very well played, and one of the best recorded (its worth having just for the organ pedal notes that rumble the room!), but even these could use a little more passion to them, like Bernstein's. But one thing you also notice about him, especially if you watch him either in interviews or in action, the man hardly ever smiles or shows much emotion. He just always looks very stoic, which comes across in his interpretations.

[@neilmurphy7554]

Always admired his Gianni Schicchi with Cotrubas and Gobbi. Have yet to find a better feel for Puccini's great surges of emotion and humour in this work. This performance 'bounces' with a great theatrical sensibility and captures the structure of the work as a whole. Don't really have a strong feeling about him otherwise.

[@burke9497]

I followed Maazel during his time in Pittsburgh. The performances I attended were all over the map as far as quality. His Mahler 4 was stunning, but a few years later I attended when he conducted Bruckner 8 and it was just very bad. This is my limited contribution to this discussion.

[@OuterGalaxyLounge]

Interesting. Thanks for the anecdotes.

[@HassoBenSoba]

Your two experiences with Maazel may very well sum up his entire artistic career.

[@wdashwor]

I became an insider member a few days ago, but I don't understand where/how to access the insider content previewed here.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

It's on the classicstoday.com home page, not on KZbin.

[@wdashwor]

@@DavesClassicalGuide Ok, thanks Dave.

[@duvidl]

Mt favorite story about Maazel concerns the time he was invited to guest-conduct the NBC Symphony - at the age of ELEVEN! When he climbed up on the podium to begin his first rehearsal, the entire orchestra held up giant "all-day suckers" (huge lollipops} which they had been hiding behind their backs and began to lick them. It's true! Apparently, little Lorin was unfazed and the rehearsal proceeded unimpeded.

[@HassoBenSoba]

There's also a similar story..was it the NY Phil?...where Little Lorin ascends the podium and asks the orchestra "And what shall we play today, gentlemen?" to which a wise-ass trumpet player responds "How about Cops and Robbers" (or maybe it was "Cowboys and Indians".....)?

[@dr2549]

I think it had something to do with his personality and his social interactions, which (as I read somewhere) were a bit... complex. Unyealding and never smiling - in person and in music - It seems he was considered most effective (is he?) as a Soundtrack Conductor - did them for Losey's Don Giovanni, Rosi's Carmen and Zefirelli's Othello. It must mean something, I wonder what... BTW his name - Maazel - means Luck in Hebrew.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Yes, I know, as in Mazel Tov, but not the way he pronounced it.

[@adityavashisht270]

The very question I've been pondering over. Why isn't he talked about? For me his 'New World' with Weiner Philmoniker is the go to record for this work. I love his emphasis to the punctuations in the scores. I simply adored his Beethoven 5th (i forgot which version) for the very same reason. Love how he goes from soft to loud gradually

[@Plantagenet1956]

It’s strange that Maazel turned out the way he did. And why did he record the same works for the different companies? He was more intelligent than that?

[@furrybear57]

they paid him....no other reason.

[@Plantagenet1956]

@@furrybear57 ah yes. For money, not for the love.

[@wendychen5779]

When Maazel led the New York Philharmonic concert at the Grand Theater in Pyongyang, North Korea, on February 26, 2008, playing Dvořák's "New World Symphony," an unlucky horn player (don't know who; maybe someone can ID the poor player here) failed to reach the "high C" (so to speak) near the end of the last movement. Now, Mahler had said something to the effect that "there are only bad conductors and no bad orchestras" (and, by implication, no bad players). On that historical occasion, at that critical moment, however, it was clearly the horn player's bad luck, not Maazel the conductor's fault. To this day, I wonder what happened to that poor horn player if there ever was a postmortem of that historical concert. I'm sure all NYP musicians were aware of that shocking "mishap". Did Maazel even care to mention or discuss that small glitch after the concert?

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

www.classicstoday.com/the-ny-philharmonic-playing-with-dictators/

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

www.classicstoday.com/the-ny-philharmonic-playing-with-dictators/

[@robertgruver9613]

The only "I must listen to Maazel recording" I can think of is his recording of the Franck Symphony with Cleveland. Every other recording I've heard sounds either oddly mannered or unfelt.

[@adamfrye246]

Unforced brass brings out the color more than any other version..

[@fjblanco]

I heard him conduct the Orch Nat de France in a performance of the Moussorgski/Ravel Pictures at an Exhibition, at Festival Miami, a music festival held at the University of Miami, back in the mid 80’s…. It was a spectacular performance, red hot, full of passion and drama. Shortly afterwards I purchased his recording with Cleveland on Telarc, and…….meh…..

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

The Telarc recording is terrific. I'm frankly getting a bit tired of these "Oh, I heard him live and it was great." Seriously, who cares? No one else can hear it, and we are speaking about recordings, which everyone CAN hear. I've never heard a record that lived up to the intensity of a live performance, but it's not valid to compare a recording to your subjective memory of a live event.

[@vincentspinelli9995]

@@DavesClassicalGuide I agree with you 100% Subjective is correct. Our memories trick us too. Maybe we had a fabulous meal before the concert. Or we saw the concert with our love of the moment. I have been boring friends for years about an opera performance I saw in the 1970s, "a performance for the ages,' "golden age singing," "performance of a lifetime," etc. I finally bought a pirate recording of it from Europe a couple of years ago and realized it was decidedly and thoroughly mediocre.

[@fjblanco]

@@DavesClassicalGuideYou are absolutely on point! Live performance v recordings (even live recordings) are apples and oranges. However, I remember that performance very well because I was starting to get into classical music and slowly growing my collection during that time. The Telarc recording sounds terrific but the performance is boring, especially when you compare it to Reiner/Chicago on RCA and Jarvi/Cincinnati on Telarc for example.

[@blakley42]

Since everyone here is furnishing less than flattering remarks, I will join in. I attended a concert in Madrid conducted by maazel in 1966 or 67,where he was dissatisfied with the orchestra’s pianissimo, so he audibly shushed them, not once, but three or four times in quick succession. Since the orchestra failed to satisfy his commands, he stomped on the podium. That’ll show ‘em! What an ass…

[@robertdandre94101]

i have some recording i like from maazel...1-schereazade,cleveland decca..2- beethoven complete symphonies cleveland sony classical 3-bruckner 5 vienna decca 4-shostakovitch 5 cleveland telarc....the gershwin porgy and bess with maazel is the best too...and i regret to buy in the past this worst recording of maazel ,for me, the ring of wagner without word with berlin phil. orch. on telarc...the sound is horrible...and poor wagner,the interpretation is so flat....!

[@dougcameron6609]

David can you give us a Best Mozart string quartets and best piano sonatas ?

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Eventually!

[@dougcameron6609]

@@DavesClassicalGuide Thanks ! And one more comment. We enjoy your survey videos so much ! But if I could improve them in one way, it would be. Normally at the end there are a handful of top recommendations. Tell us the one of those that has best sound quality. So for those of us who put a premium on sound quality - “this is Your top contender “.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

@@dougcameron6609 Thanks for the suggestion, but I prefer to indicate any that sound lousy. After that it's just too subjective!

[@dougcameron6609]

@@DavesClassicalGuide My man ! That’s why your the top music critic and I’m a fan 👍

[@tarakb7606]

...."may have sold one copy, to Mrs Maazel, his mother"......😂😂😂 I have always had an enormous respect for his brilliance, but found his music making lacking in warmth and humanity.

[@ericnagamine7742]

I must say that your review obviously has affect the sales of Maazel's CDs. A few days prior to the release of this video, I had looked up his Decca Cleveland set on Import CD. There were 8 copies available. A couple of days after the video dropped, they were sold out!

[@jgesselberty]

Attended the Pittsburgh Symphony during the Maazel years. He had an air of arrogance, and it seemed to me that the orchestra was not impressed. He made Mozart sound like Mahler. And, his Mahler was overblown to the point of being annoying. His Sibelius was a sound to behold. He treated Pittsburgh, I feel, as a stepping- stone to better things. Overall, I did not find him to be the conductor that he, himself, thought he was.

[@joshgrumiaux6820]

I don't know if it is fair to say he treated it as a stepping-stone...he was there a good 12 years. He was there because 1.his parents lived there, it was his hometown, and 2. they offered him an unheard-of-at-the time 7-figure salary. I think half the orchestra loved because he was brilliant and easy to follow, and the other half hated him for both musical and personal reasons.

[@jgesselberty]

@@joshgrumiaux6820 Only, I think, because another orchestra did not pick him up. He circled the globe during those years, guest conducting, but without a single bite.

[@petterw5318]

He took the Bayreuth Ring after Böhm, with almost the same cast (Windgassen, Neidlinger, Adam, Rysanek & King...), and he was simply dreadful. He made the orchestra sound like a third-rate brass band. The recordings exist and they are really funny.

[@nicholasfox966]

It isn't true that Lorin Maazel had no identifiable repertoire preference or expertise. Tell me who was a greater exponent of the sacred music of Andrew Lloyd Webber.