Mahler Symphonies

Martin, as you are an opera lover, it's no wonder you like 8 and Das Lied best of all! I on the other hand am very much a "symphonist", and those are my least favourites of Mahler's output (along with the 3rd, which always makes a "blah" impression, except for the Bim-Bam movement, which I think some crossover singer should include on a Christmas album).

I think Tennstedt's cycle is the most reliable overall, so he's my go-to guy in this music. Nanut's recordings of 1 and 5 are Goldilocks versions (i.e. just right) in the European tradition, but his 6 is not as successful (neither is Tennstedt's, actually).

Rattle I usually find frustrating, but his Berlin 10 is pretty amazing (the close-up sound helps). If only the rest of his cycle was so unaffected.

There are some obscure recordings of the RPO conducted by Inoue, recorded in the 80s, which are worth seeking out if you can find them. Great warm sound and reverent interpretations. Mastered a little low, though.

Re Bruckner, I'd advise first of all not to waste your time with Jochum (controversy!) Concentrate on collecting versions of the 9th, which is his best, albeit unfinished. It's probably the closest he came to Mahler's style.

It may be that we all have somewhere or other a mental imprint of the first time we heard a piece and that more or less subconsciously we relate all subsequent performances to it.   I heard the Mahler 8 and, I think, the Sixth for the first time in the mid 1950s, the 8th from the Flipse LPs and the Sixth in what must have been a broadcast from the Holland Festival also conducted by Flipse.   Recently I had a chance to rehear both Flipse performances (the Sixth was recorded live and came out on LP) again.   It was like coming home - though I now know how good they were.    I think my first Mahler 9 was Barbirolli's, though I don't find any recollection of it in his Berlin recording - I think the Halle performance I heard must have been very different, especially in the finale, where the aching tension I remember is completely missing on the disc.  And I've never since heard anything to match Bernstein's Royal Festival Hall performance in the Seventh, though just how good an interpretation  it was I've never quite been able to decide - he charted the first movement with pinpoint accuracy, but why did he need to take off to a height of four feet above the rostrum to signal the recapitulation?  As for Rattle, the performances of the Tenth he did when conducting the BBC Scottish Orchestra in the 70s were astonishing - the completion wasn't much played then, and there was only the Ormandy recording.   If you come across a performance that eclipses the early memory and recreates the piece for you the chances are that you will decide it's a great one.   I heard the Berthold Goldschmidt premiere of the first version of Cooke's completion.   After Rattle's early broadcasts I had no memory of it, and neither his Bournemouth or Berlin recordings have wiped out my memory of them.   Perhaps it's time to start combing the BBC archives for early Rattle Mahler performances.

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I also like Klemperer and Philharmonia Orchestra and definitely have to try the great Bruno Walter. 

And also THANK YOU for this Forum and opportunity (Gramophone) and your recommendations!

'On a more general note, I see that no one has mentioned Gergiev's
cycle-in-progress.  I haven't actually heard any of those discs myself
and I know that the reviews have been mixed, but I'd be interested in
reading what the people on this board have to say about them.' (cjeldotto)

I heard a review of the Gergiev Mahler 6 and on the strength of this bought it.  His version is certainly relentless and hard-driven , but that is in the nature of the music, I think.

My olther recent purchase has been the Mahler 9 with Saraste and the WDR Cologne., acquired after hearing the Rondo Burlesque complete on the Gramophone player.  He brings out a wealth of detail in the final movement.

I also was very suprised to see not much mention of Kubelik past the quasi-obligatory no. 1!:

1 + 2: Walter (Sony Classical)

4: Horenstein (EMI)

6: Kubelik (Audite)

7, 9: Chailly

10 Adagio - Kubelik

I graduated from high school in 1976 and entered college as a music major in 1978; graduated and received my degree in 1982. It was during these years that I first began to discover and really listen to classical music. I've always favored orchestral music, as I was a trumpet player in public school and college. The Beethoven, Schubert, and Brahms symphonies marked my first impressions of classical music. It was with those ears, tuned to those three composers, that created a lust for more. When I first listened to Mahler, hoping to find another Beethoven, I was appalled! It would take awhile for me to realize that I "had" actually discovered a Beethoven predecessor in the music of Gustav Mahler. A natural progression of genius. Now, I cannot get enough Mahler. I recently discovered the Berliner Philharmoniker's digitalconcerthall website and I suppose that one's taste's in orchestra and conductor might well be set by which orchestra and conductor one is first exposed to. I love the Berliner Philharmoniker and its principal conductor, Sir Simon Rattle. I love their interpretation of Mahler's Second Symphony. I have a vinyl recording of Bruno Walter conducting the New York Philharmonic Orchestra of Mahler's Symphony No. 2. I love this recording, but the sound quality of this recording cannot match today's sound recording technology. And being able to hear every detail in a performance is of the upmost importance to me. Some say Rattle puts more of himself, than the composer, into his interpretations of Mahler. I would argue that all conductors the same and I find nothing objectionable about that. This is what makes Mahler such wonderful music. I prefer Mahler's orchestral symphonies, but have come to love the choral and vocal sections of his Second, Third and Fourth symphonies. The sound of the human voice along side the orchestra makes these works touch the heart of all who hear them. Anything that keeps this music alive and exposes it to a new generation is good. I cannot imagine my world without Mahler. So to conclude I'd say my favorite Mahler conductors are Mehta, Rattle, Bruno Walter, Leonard Bernstein, and Levine. My favorite Mahler works: 2nd; 6th; 3rd; 5th; 4th; 1st; 9th; Adagio from 10th; 7th, in this order. I'm working on loving the 8th. I think having been a trumpet player, might have something to do with why I find the 8th so unapproachable, but I'll work on it.

Gentlemen, The Solti 4th with the Chicago Symphony and Kiri Te Kenawa is sublime.  The Solti 5 is perfection.  The engineers captured the rich warm sounds from Orchestral Hall perfectly!  The 1980s Chicago players match the very best playing from any of the great orchestra...period!  Most of you already show the 8th as the best.  The 4th and the 5th are there as well!  This is the best Mahler cycle!