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Title: Muti runs over Mahler during rush hour
Review: Riccardo Muti was the great hope among young conductors for EMI in the Eighties, but he never caught on with the public, and now his many recordings languish in super-budget land. He is a charmless interpreter whose tendency is either to be rigid and fierce or else bland and slack, depending on his mood. He never assayed any work of Mahler's beyond this proficient, hasty Sym. #1, which is almost astonishing in its impatience and complete lack of sympathy with Mahler's idiom. Een with the gorgeous Philadelphia Orch. playing quie well, thre's no humor, nuance, insight, or joy -- just a fast rush-hour traversal that wastes everyone's time. EMI's early digital sound is clear but edgy at the top. A definite pass except for lovers of the orchestra
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