This is a decent enough Eighth, I suppose, but in the face of existing competition IMO it hardly merits the exuberant praise heaped upon it in some quarters. It might have been otherwise had the performance as a whole kept up the power and drive of the opening, which is very good, with thunderous organ and a forceful chorus. The tempo, too, is well-chosen, a true allegro. Other laudable features in this first movement are the natural perspective in which the soloists are recorded, and the wonderfully present, excellent children's choir - split in two and placed antiphonally, in fact, a solution that works very well. Musically, too, many parts of the Veni Creator come through quite well. The darker moments from bar 135 onwards are suitably mysterious, even though some other quiet passages (at #13 for instance) are somewhat lacking in tension. The end is suitably exuberant, even if MTT speeds up a bit too much for my taste.

However. The chorus does not maintain the power of the opening, and once separate groups sing polyphonically there is a noticeable lack of incisiveness, quite simply due to too small numbers; indeed, in some passages you can just about hear individual singers, and at #46 the soloists are louder than an entire tenor group singing ff. Given the vagaries of concert planning we are used to miniaturized Mahler 8ths these days, with choruses usually not much larger than the 180 or so that MTT employs, but a good recording engineer can make it sound quite differently.

Towards the end of the first movement another big drawback of this recording slowly becomes apparent, namely MTT's penchant for making absurd, uncalled for ritenutos at all the obvious moments (key changes, for one), and for inserting momentous pauses at major transitions. It doesn't mar the first movement too much, but becomes an absolute pest in the second. Recurrent, wilful slowdowns uproot its opening adagio and rob it of a sense of direction. No doubt in an attempt to prove himself a great mystic, MTT comes up with one of the most ponderous, drawn out reading I've ever heard of these pages, and it is quite a relief when the singing starts. However, the marvellously moving turn at 'heiligen Liebeshort' is completely ruined by the insertion of a break before 'Liebeshort'. Especially towards the end of the movement the musical flow will be interrupted by similar pauses on nearly every double barline. I guess it is supposed to make it all sound very meaningful, but in practice has quite the reverse effect. Mahler knew what he was doing, he doesn't need this kind of amateurish help.

While the soloists work well as a team in part I, their solos in part II are of varying quality. Quinn Kelsey's Pater Ecstaticus is quite good, if maybe a tad too cultivated. James Morris's Pater Profundus is rather less pleasing; his German diction is somewhat peculiar and there is a kind of hollow quality to his sound that didn't work for me. The crucial tenor role however is well taken by Anthony Dean Griffey, who sounds unforced all the way through even if his vibrato above the stave is hardly a thing of beauty. He has some wonderfully expressive moments from #91, "Bill'ge was des Mannes Brust..."onwards, but looses it a bit at "Jungfrau... Mutter...". The trio of women is adequate rather than memorable, and much the same goes for Gretchen, for whom I personally prefer a lighter, less 'creamy' voice.

At #106 (Mater Gloriosa schwebt einher) MTT reaches the nadir of his slowdown tendency, it is ridiculously slow; add to that his signature ritenuto's and the result is truly awful. The final part of the symphony is served up in a stop-and-go fashion due to uncalled for pauses at rehearsal numbers 172, 176, 199, and 220. It is a shame, as the final chorus recaptures some of the grandeur of the very beginning and leads to a satisfying close of what is, as said, a decent but somewhat plodding and fairly uncompetitive Eighth. The orchestra itself can hardly be faulted, it plays beautifully throughout; and the recording is pleasing if somewhat lacking in detail (at least when listened to in regular stereo). Still, go to Sinopoli, Rattle or Tennstedt for something altogether more probing and exciting.

The Adagio of the Tenth is offered as a filler. It gets a very good performance indeed: if only the main work had been performed like this! I counted only two unwanted ritenutos in its 25 minute span, in which MTT and his players capture the varying moods of this strange piece to perfection. The violas do themselves proud in their long, lonely, meandering lines, and the contrasting, sarcastic secondary material is well characterized. The great a flat minor outburst is truly earth shattering, and I've never heard the famous subsequent atonal chord sound quite so piercingly dissonant, the excellent recording allowing you to hear all its layers. One regrettable little blot occurs at the very end: whereas MTT, both here and in the Eighth, tends to underplay written-in glissandi, he inserts a huge and ugly unwritten glissando on the final downward swoop of the violas. I suppose the fact that this Adagio is included here, and MTT eschews all Cooke's additions to the orchestration, means that he will not be recording a complete Cooke version of the symphony, which after hearing this movement I find regrettable.

When I buy an SACD I am looking for excellent sound quality and hopefully an excellent performance. I do not have enough experience with this piece to comment on the performance but as to the sound quality it is poor. Shrill high frequencies and I mean painful especially on disc one of this two disc set. My system does not emphasize high frequencies so the fault is not with my system. Organ- what organ? Quiet passages are not bad but loud passage break up - not what I want from an SACD. Deep bass- lacking. So let's sum up: shrill treble, inadequate bass and dynamics and a missing organ. If your audio system cannot reproduce the above you may not be missing much but then why buy an SACD?

Tilson Thomas completes his Mahler cycle with a truely marvelous performance of the mighty 8th. I learned this symphony, years ago, with Solti and the CSO (on the cassette tape) and for my money that recording (now remastered on a single disc)is still the gold standard, but this must be rated a close second. The phonics are bone shaking and the performers masterful. The performance is chock-full of memorable moments. The final "Gloria" chorus that wraps up the first movement is the most exciting rendition to date (crank it up and I promise you'll be on your feet conducting the entire SFO). At the end of Part II keep an ear cocked for a thoroughly magic moment when the altos and sopranos of Chorus II begin the final "Alles Vergangliche" two measures ahead of the rest of the chorus. (I had to replay that seven times!) Unfortunately, the timpani bump before "Gleichnis" is muffled. (Solti does this moment justice and Bernstein [on D.G.] shakes your soul with it. By the way, Boulez eliminates it completely-or the engineers missed it-which put me irredeemably off of his recording.) The coda is wonderfully paced, indulgent but of mounting sequence unlike Rattle who rushes through it or Boulez who paces it like a funeral march, both to the dimunition of the inherent majesty of the finale. I suspect that anyone who loves this music will find this recording to be an irresistable treasure, as do I.

I am extremely disappointed that the organ is practically inaudible because this is the best conducted version of this work and really could have stood the test of time. I have heard Tilson Thomas conduct this work about 4 times with the SFO and let me tell you, the organ is there. But if this very important element isn't present in the current recording, the engineers must be at fault. I find this truly inexcusable that they would deliver something missing such an important element. Come on SFSO, re-release this the way it sounds if we were present. Without this glaring omission, I cannot recommend this current recording. Other CDs are better (though without the same fidelity. The Adagio from Symphony No. 10 is fantastic, but I really believe MTT should release the complete Cooke III. The simple reason why is that without the rest of the symphony, we lack the context and understanding that Mahler made very clear he intended to go. I really wish I could convince MTT to finish the symphonies with the full Mahler 10/cooke III. I understand all the arguments against it, but after having heard about 7 different versions (and three of them live), there is a clear consistency in the general feel of the music that certainly deserves to be heard and documented.

This is a monster symphony, far from my favorite Mahler, and the few previous times I've listened to it - recorded or live - there have always been incoherent sections (soloists buried by the orchestra, orchestra out of unison, etc.). But this recording is beautifully played and sensationally well recorded. I'm not a Mahler expert and don't have the experience of having listened to dozens of alternative performances, but I found MTT's interpretation moving and successful - contemplative, but not mannered or over-dramatized. I was one of many who feared that the San Francisco Symphony would become a personality cult when MTT took up the helm. Having seen the orchestra in person many times since, my fears were totally unfounded. The orchestra has never played better in the 40 years I've been following them.

It has a very refined beginning and gathers momentum over the course of the first movement. The second "Veni Creator Spiritus" is not speeded up as it is on so many other recordings of this work and that gives it more power. Too many other conductors play this part too fast creating the impression of tip toe running over it. Haitink and Bernstein make this second "Veni Creator Spiritus" go off explosively by slowing it down and making sound more massive.

The second movement is done with great refinement and emotion.

I bought this CD primarily because it is available as a Hybrid with both SACD and standard CD recordings. I have Mahler's #8 on other records but not with Michael Tilson Thomas directing and that was also an important factor. I am very pleased with my choice; Thomas is superb and manages to brighten #8 which in some hands can be rather dark. Moreover, SACD is superior to CD being more clearly detailed and more "musical". Hard to understand why it has not become the standard format.

Since he enjoys a host of adoring fans in San Francisco -- a perfect match of conductor and community -- MTT has nothing to fear from criticism. Not that he gets much. His Mahler cycle has won more acclaim than I could muster, although the Fifth and Seventh were both high points, and the Das Lied bids fair to be one of the leading versions with two male soloists. Like Boulez, he has chosen to cap his cycle with the Eighth, arguably the most difficult of Mahler's symphonies to bring off, in no small part because so many components -- orchestra, chorus, organ, multiple soloists, children's chrus -- are cruelly exposed and must rise to the same high level. It rarely happens that way.

The Adagio of the unfinished Tenth Sym. serves as a filler, and to my surprise, MTT plays it with great conviction and involvement. You won't mistake the San Francisco strings and horns for the Vienna Phil, but here that matters little. The conductor galvanizes them to a unified purpose. My chief complaint against MTT's Mahler is that he is too dapper, but here there is urgency and grit in the playing. The recorded sound is marvelous in its clarity and naturalness, a hallmark of the whole cycle. (I listened in two-channel Stereo.) The only thing missing is that last ounce of tragic devastation as delivered by Bernstein and Tennstedt, for example. But the variety of mood that MTT extracts from the score is remarkable.

The thunderous organ chord that ignites the Veni Creator spiritus of the Eighth is recorded with real splendor, and the choral entrance hard on its heels is equally clear. We are in another world from every predecessor I've heard. The balance between soloists and orchestra is also natural, even though we know that it takes multi-miking to draw the solo voices tis close. MTT approaches this movement with more flexibility, variety, and nuance than one usually hears. Only Boulez comes close, the norm being Solti's crunching power and headlong drive. By encouraging his soloists not to scream, Tilson Thomas gives them room to expression and tonal blending -- very nicely done. I found myself engrossed from beginning to end in this movement.

Part II, the extended Faust setting, is notoriously difficult to pull off. It really requires an opera conductor's instincts, which is why Gergiev and Chailly are notably successful in this section. At the outset MTT is rather prosaic, and one's admiration mostly goes to the recorded sound, which moment after moment sets a new standard in the Eighth. There's a lack of atmosphere here that misses Mahler's other-worldly scene painting. The big horn entry and frenzied string interlude right the ship, happily. (Mahler here foretells the desperate yearning of the Tenth's Adagio.) The whispered choral entry is rather wooden; one gets the feeling that they are singing German on cautious syllable at a time. The good news is that the chorus sings in tune with nice unanimity, of not the greatest power. We aren't remotely in Mahler's visionary world of countless teeming voices. Indeed, I've never encountered so modest a sound in this work. Clearly the conductor wanted maximum clarity, and he gets it.

The vocal soloists form a strong band, with good voices and considerable dramatic conviction. James Morris's commanding bass is no longer steady, but he throws himself into his role passionately and carries the day. Griffey lacks heroic heft in his tenor, but he sings with rapt sensitivity and is quite moving. The women re fresh-sounding and secure. Even better than Chailly and Gergiev, MTT finds dramatic contrast and variety in every episode of Goethe's extended apotheosis. Frankly, I've never heard a more convincing account of this music, which however high-minded on Mahler's part, often comes off as rather a trudge, but not here. This is an Eighth for doubters, and it should also delight anyone who, like me, thought that there wasn't much new to say in this monumental, problematic score. Like Boulez, Tilson Thomas ends his Mahler journey with an inspired capstone.

As a final note, here are the vocal soloists: Erin Wall (sop); Elza van den Heever (sop); Laura Claycomb (sop); Katarina Karnéus (mez); Yvonne Naef (mez); Anthony Dean Griffey (ten); Quinn Kelsey (bar); James Morris (bbar

Michael Tilson Thomas inherited his gift for conducting the works of Gustav Mahler from his mentor Leonard Bernstein, and just as Bernstein's recordings of the complete cycle of symphonies was exciting with the first recordings, only to mature into great interpretations as he aged, so it seems will be the case with Tilson Thomas. Many of the symphonies of Mahler he has recorded with his San Francisco Symphony are superb. preparing us for that most challenging of Mahler's works - the mighty Eighth.

Electing to flesh out this 2 CD recording by opening with the Adagio from Mahler's Symphony No. 10 is a bit of the problem: the Adagio is breathtakingly beautiful but it is pensive and cerebral while the subsequent Eighth is operatic and visceral. But that is a small flaw in this recording. The orchestra plays very well for Tilson Thomas and the three choruses sing sensitively and carry the choral parts well. The soloists Tilson Thomas has chosen are a mixed group, the women are secure (Laura Claycomb is a particularly excellent Mater Gloriosa), but of the men only tenor Anthony Dean Griffey (one of the finest Doctor Marianus on recordings) manages to impress - James Morris, usually so reliable as a Wagnerian, is cautious and wobbly with his roles.

Part One is sound if rather uninspiring. Tilson Thomas comes into his own in the closing pages of Part Two where his tempi seem right and he serves his soloists and choruses well. After a somewhat insecure feeling that plagues the recording ( ? due to the live performance recording status?), he manages to make the symphony end in an airborne state. Listening to the recording several times suggests that another recording, later in time, will be truly magnificent. Grady Harp, December 09

I had high hopes for this recording upon its release. A work of this size, with this many performers makes for a very difficult production and as such, there are few really great recordings of this work (I wonder if an opera company might have more success). I think Solti-Chicago remains the standard and even modern recordings don't dethrown it. The two most recently released recordings, Gergiev-London and MTT-San Francisco are not up to the challenge. Gergiev has advantages given his excellent opera background, but like all his other LSO Mahler recordings, it sounds harsh. What really disappoints with that version is the acoustics that do not help the huge sound. Here the recorded sound is better, but the performance is not as good. By now, it is well known how difficult this recording was for MTT-San Franciso to pull off. Don't get me wrong, the orchestra, choir, and solo voices all sound fantastic - as they have throughout their Mahler cycle. However, it takes two to tango, and MTT is too involved here. There is too much MTT and not enough Mahler. Regardless of how great an orchestra can play, if the conductor leads them astray, the recording will suffer. This is in fine point here, captured throughout in stunning sound. Yes, this is a good modern recording, but it falls in with a large number of recordings that are just not good enough to be highly recommended. If you love Mahler's 8th, then by all means pursue this recording, but if you are happy with your recording(s) of it, than don't waste your money here.