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Review title: Don't believe it
Product review: In a word or two, this CD is a semi-turkey. It has moderately good sonics, nothing special. I put this comment first (even though it is the least important thing about this recording) because it is by far the most favorable thing I'm going to say. Bernstein sounds totally at sea here, sometimes directing what seems to be random wandering by the Concertgebouw when he loses the line of the symphony's development. The vocal part, sung with empathy, is one of the great vocal moments of the entire literature. It *can* melt titanium, but Helmut Wittek is either off key or has a very unsympathetic mixdown. He is unmoved by the score besides, to judge by the unpersuasive result. I really love this symphony; get the Szell/Cleveland/Raskin (or even the 1960 Bernstein/NY Phil/Grist) version and do yourself a favor. Even those who are willing to have more than one Mahler #4 don't want this one.
