Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

As a critic, David Hurwitz has left behind a long trail of snotty, obnoxious, biased, off-base, and infuriating music criticism, particularly on Mahler recordings. Some of his views are dubious beyond belief, some thoroughly brain dead. An example of his profound tin-eared misunderstanding is his total dismissal of the legacies of conductors Jascha Horenstein and Sir John Barbirolli, two of the supreme Mahler interpreters of all time, whose recordings are among the finest ones in history, and incomparable standards in many cases. He has also tossed Claudio Abbado's Mahler recordings in the trash heap as "nothing of interest". Meanwhile, Hurwitz fawns over inferior conductors, uninteresting recordings, and lousy Mahler. These views alone cast doubt on Hurwitz' ear for Mahler---enough to toss his opinions, and therefore this book, into the trash heap. Hurwitz has also imperiously dismisses Furtwangler, easily and certainly among the greatest conductors of all time. While this does not have anything much to do with Mahler (although Furtwangler did record a superb Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen), it does provid another fine example of Hurwitz' pettiness and lack of undestanding, which cast doubt on his qualifications.) But it's worse. Arrogant small-time Hurwitz thinks he "knows" Mahler better than anyone else, including the most legendary Mahler performers in history. Even if you don't take issue with this obnoxious trail of pungent waste, the issue here is a smarty pants tone and talk-down-to-you style that, for me, spoil the value of whatever he has to say. This also applies to all of Hurwitz' "owner's manuals" on Shostakovich, Sibelius, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Dvorak, and anything else he writes. Here is someone who is tiresome yet endlessly wordy; who won't stop TELLING you what to listen to or for, giving his own self-indulgent opinion of what he "knows" is important, what he "knows" he must make you hear---bossing and suffocating you note by note, phrase by phrase. It is more about Hurwitz' inflated ego than Mahler or the music. He further cheapens your Mahler experience with his low brow American slang, annoying little smug asides. He thinks he's funny. Just as Hurwitz peppers his music reviews with such language as "Oh baby!", this book features erudite wordage such as "CRASH! SCREAM! THUD!" and "Salvation Army percussion". Do you want your Mahler "tour guide" to be a rude Howard Stern/Rush Limbaugh type, yapping slang-laden colloquial nonsense like a Food Network host? Do you want your information from someone who treats you like a brainless child? Or would you prefer some class, taste, and wisdom from true scholar, whose presentation is worthy of the music; one that guides and informs tactfully, without being intrusive? If the former, Hurwitz is your guy, good luck. If the latter, go directly to these instead: For walk-throughs of Mahler's works---direct Hurwitz competitors (that start from the perspective of the symphonies, incorporating biography along the way), consider: 1. "Gustav Mahler: An Introduction to His Music" by Deryck Cooke, whose work bringing the unfinished Mahler 10th to the world was a great achievement for music. Cooke's book, originally written as a booklet for Mahler's centenary, is short and concise, like a book of outstanding liner notes. It is indeed an "introduction": a few paragraphs per movement, a few pages per symphony but he manages to cover a great deal in a short amount of space. Easy enough for newcomers, incisive enough for Mahler veterans. Indispensible. 2. "Gustav Mahler: The Symphonies" by Constantin Floros. Floros is for the more ambitious, who want thorough analysis. Extensive historical and musical sources are cross referenced. This book is ideal for experienced listeners and music students, but still not intimidating for anyone. 3. Highest recommendation for Michael Steinberg's "The Symphony", the prototype of the kind of listener's guide that Hurwitz thinks he's improved on, but hasn't. Steinberg breaks down the symphonies of many composers, not just Mahler. But the extensive chapter on Mahler symphonies could be a standalone book by itself. It offers detailed breakdowns of each work,in a conversational style appealing to both a layperson or a seasoned listener. For those willing to buy a bigger book that isn't just on Mahler, Steinberg does the job as well as any. 4. For a bit more biography, Michael Kennedy's "Mahler" and Egon Gartenberg's "Mahler:The Man and His Music" are also concise books that are 50% biography and 50% analysis. Of these two, Gartenberg does into more detail on the individual works, while Kennedy's is a more general overview of Mahler's style within the context of the biography. 5. Stephen Johnson's "Mahler: His Life & Music" is a clear, concise (less than 200 page)extremely well written and thoughtful. This is not a symphony by symphony walk-through, but a biography with brief analysis on the works. It is ideal for those new to Mahler, but his astute observations of the symphonies are worthwhile for anyone. This book (from Naxos) comes with two CDs of music samples. Many CD liner notes do a great job breaking down the symphonies. For instance, top Mahler scholars Donald Mitchell and Henry Louis De La Grange have done the notes for CDs conducted by Pierre Boulez and Claudio Abbado. Look for these. Avoid those written by Hurwitz himself (which infest the Michael Gielen Mahler set), because they are obnoxious, indulgent and wordy. You can also find plenty of information on the Mahler symphonies on the web. Here too, just don't bother with Hurwitz' site. Unless you like smarty pants. (And on Bruckner, find Robert Simpson's Essence of Bruckner, for Shostakovich, Hugh Ottaway or Roy Blokker, etc. Just avoid Hurwtiz.) Any of these sources will do the job. None are annoying. They do not insult the intelligence of the reader/listener, nor do they attempt to commandeer or insert their own agenda as Hurwitz does. Background information is interesting, but ultimately, the listening experience should be a personal journey between you and Mahler. It is about what you hear, what you feel, beyond words. Don't be a lemming. Don't let David Hurwitz insert himself into this process. It will ruin it for you.