Lucerne Fo:Abbado - Mahler: Symphony No.9

Claudio Abbado and his hand-picked players of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra take their acclaimed Mahler cycle to a new level with this performance of the most complex and compelling of the symphonies, the intense, searching Ninth. Abbado brings all his renowned clarity of vision and the experience of a lifetime to this contradictory music - half valedictory, half life-affirming - and hisorchestra of soloists, including some of the leading instrumentalists of our time, revels in the transparent textures and virtuosity of Mahler's last completed symphony. The listener is rendered speechless at the thrilling depth and perfection of the symbiosis achieved here between artistic wisdom and undimmed joy in making music at the highest level. Christian Wildhagen, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, August 24, 2010