Mahler - what are your favorites?
 

This thread is an experiment in having a thread dedicated to a composer. This one can be a place to collect useable Web resources about Gustav Mahler and offer personal suggestions about recordings and collections. There are plenty of Mahler resources on the Web and perhaps better to aggregate those links than attempt to replace what they do.

Anyway, kindly contribute suggestions, favorite recordings, and thoughts, or whatever Mahler related, as you please.

Suggested Recordings: There are as many interpretations as there are conductors and as many opinions as listeners. Pictures are clickable.

Redbook CD Mahler Collections, etc.

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• EMI 3402382 - "If you want to know what Mahler's all about, conveniently and inexpensively, this is the set to have." under $30 here

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• Sony 88697 453692 - classic performances

Vinyl Mahler Collections, etc.

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• SFS Media/Michael Tilson Thomas Mahler Project - also on SACD commentary

Has anyone heard the Zinman cycle?


Individual works, etc.
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• Channel Classics SACD: Symphony 2, Ivan Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra, top notch sound and performance
• San Francisco Media SACD: Symphony 3, Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra

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• Channel Classics SACD: Symphony 4, Ivan Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra
• DG CD: Symphony 6, Leonard Berstein and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

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• LSO Live SACD: Symphony 8, Valery Gergiev and the London Symphony Orchestra
• EMI CD: Symphony 9, Bruno Walter and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

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• San Francisco Media SACD: Songs with Orchestra, Thomas Hampson (baritone), Susan Graham (mezzo-soprano), Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra - 5 star sonics & performance
• EMI CD: Des Knaben Wunderhorn,Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (soprano), Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (baritone) George Szell and the London Symphony Orchestra - "indispensable"

... more coming

Mahler Resources

MahlerReviews.com: Find reviews of Mahler recordings by work or conductor.

gustavmahlerboard.com: Discussion forum on the life and music of Gustav Mahler.

musicweb-international.com: Excellent collection of recording reviews for each Symphony and the Rückert Lieder, plus more.

Gustav Mahler: Encyclopedia Britannica.

Collection Noël-Vallerand: Les disques Gustav Mahler, a nice collection of listings at McGill's music library


"My Time is Yet to Come" - The Symphonies of Gustav Mahler on Record

5/10/2021 NOTE: Many of the references in this thread originally had album cover pictures accompanying them. Many of those came from various sources on the Web which have now removed the picture or changed its location. I've tried maintaing these but it is an endless task. I downloaded many album cover pictures and put them in an AA album and displayed them from there, however available AA space ran out. Hopefully one can use an album's catalog number when present. I ask please for all future album references to include catalog numbers. Thank you.

I tried a few but never developed any taste for them. They were OK.

His #2 is excellent and the #4 is very good but there will not be a full set from Fischer/BFO. I know there will not be a #8 but wonder about the rest. I'd like to hear them do one of the #10 reconstructions.

I don't have much to choose from but I do enjoy, Symphony No. 1 Eliahu Inbal and Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra on Denon


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I also started exploring Mahler with Eliahu Inbal... his reading of the 4th as well as Simon Rattle's take on the reconstruction of the 10th and Bruno Walter/Kathleen Ferrier great Songs of the Earth.

Thanks to Tim and Kal I now also have the Fischer 2,4,6, Tilson Thomas 1 and 5 and Bernstein's 5 and also picked up an Alan Gilbert's 9 on my own. Can only confirm everyone's suggestions above. Fantastic.

I am considering this...the Bruno Walter Sony Master Series set includes two versions of the Titan, one with the New York Phil and also the one with the Columbia... I like Bruno Walter with Bruckner and Mozart... any thoughts on his Mahler Symphonies?

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Graham

Mahler Symphony #6 and Symphony #8 are my favorites.

I like Inbal............for a change. As for the #4 and Das Lied, I also like Szell. Also, interesting is the Das Lied with Herrwegh/HMU.

For the 9th, I like Abbado, either on DG with the CSO or on the Accentus BluRay with the Lucerne FO.

Walter's 2 and 9 are outstanding.

Bernstein's original NYPO #2 on Columbia and his last #6 with the VPO on DG are super-heated and overwhelming.

It never stops.

There is a nice 15 disc Inbal set - think it is a reissue of the original Denon. I hear Inbal as romantic, lyrical, a relaxed pace.

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Also - are there suggestions for Abbado at Lucerne on non-Blueray/DVD - is there a CD or SACD set??

Dunno, off hand, but there are some. The BDs are just marvelous. There were some minor technical bumps but they don't, imho, make that much difference.

Bruno Rulz! I bought the 2-disc Sony set of the 1st & 2nd before the collection came out. I'd say go for it.

His 2nd is gripping, masterful - if the sonics could only match the Channel Classics, this would be my 2nd. I play this a couple times a yeard: a wee bit scratchy, but happily my phono has the Columbia equalization curve. Puts me on the edge of my seat.

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cheers Tim and Kal - will definitely go for Walter...:tresbon: I was hoping it would get the thumbs up as he is a star in my small universe by any reckoning.

While I don't want to overstretch things thoughts on the 3rd and 8th... the audio guy in me says Decca and Solti for the Thousand but...

thanks again.

Graham

Mahler's 8th is a project I set for myself for later this year. At now I don't have enough confidence in my exposure to it to make a strong buying suggestion. It's a colossal work whose performance, imo, demands as much from the choristers and solo vocals, and their proper integration, as it does from the orchestra. If you put a baton to my head and said "choose!", I might pick MTT/SFSO simply on production values or Bertini for a strong finish and great sound. My sleeper pick might be Kubelik. Never wise to discount Lenny B. Let's wait for Kal's remarks.

Without meaning to go all teach-a-man-to-fish on you, the two links to review pages in the opening post are helpful to browse and they make it easy to get at multiple reviews of this symphony. A glance finds positive noises made for Solti ('apocalyptic'), Rattle ('choral work beyond reproach'), & MTThomas ('especially fine'); I've not heard the Rattle. Ask again in 6 months. :) Arkiv shows 74 Eighths, all mentioned above are recommended w/ good commentary. Tennstedt & Boulez get solid notice too.

No need for last question boundaries - please. :) Your enthusiasm is infectious and very much hope you share your choice(s) and listening notes!

Lots of good 3rds but my most played had been MTT/SFSO (almost as good as the live one he did in Carnegie the same year) and Horenstein/Unicorn. Of course, these days, the Abbado BD is rising in the charts. :-)

As for the 8th, I have to admit, it is my least favorite and least familiar. I was hugely impressed with the Gergiev/LSO mch SACD as a sonic experience.

I like this one:

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Wow, I was not expecting Mahler 3 at all... Michael Tilson Thomas/SFSO

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Mahler's 3rd... what a gentle giant.

From the moment Pan awakens till Love tells her story at the end this is just so beautifully continuous... makes you feel good to have your feet on the earth and the heavens above... such a whole and extraordinary piece of music... it's a good place to go to.

Graham

Yikes - Mahler's 9th: Abbado on DG w/ the Chicago is impossible to find! If anyone has a copy could you please post a DG catalog number. TIA

Mahler : Symphonie n° 9: Gustav Mahler, Claudio Abbado: Amazon.fr: Musique

Maybe this one comes close?
I found it on Amazon.fr

By the way, I like this thread!
Marvelous recommendations.
:tresbon:

Yes. Close. It is an interesting experience as the two orchestras are remarkable but strikingly different.

Much appreciated Bart - I'm gonna hold out a bit for the elusive Chicago Symphony 9th. I've only looked for a day, but no A'zon or Ebay - yet. Abbado was principal guest conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from 1982 to 1986, so if its from that period there should be LP formats too.

Arkiv shows for CA/CSO:
Rückert Lieder (5) (1)
Symphony no 1 in D major "Titan" (2)
Symphony no 2 in C minor "Resurrection" (1)
Symphony no 3 in D minor (1)
Symphony no 5 in C sharp minor (2)
Symphony no 6 in A minor "Tragic" (1)
Symphony no 7 in E minor (1)


An Italian discography at Claudio Abbado - Discografia shows for the 9th, only these:
Symphonie Nr. 9, Symphonie Nr. 10, Adagio
Wiener Philharmoniker
DG 423 564-2, 1988

Symphonie Nr. 9
Berliner Philharmoniker
DG 471 624-2, 2002

The Japanese discography at Claudio Abbado Shiryokan lists:
Symphonie Nr. 9
Wiener Philharmoniker
1987. 5. Konzerthaus, Wien
Günther Breest (P) Karl-August Naegler (E)
Deutsche Grammophon

Symphonie Nr. 9
Berliner Philharmoniker
1999. 9. Philharmonie, Berlin
Christopher Alder (P) Klaus-Peter Grosz (E)
Deutsche Grammophon


This review, of Abbado's recording of the 9th mit den Berliners (that Bart referenced), written by Michael Liebowitz at ClassicsToday suggests that at the time of its writing [unknown, but after CA left Chicago] there are only two DG Abbado 9ths: "Throughout the movement DG’s predilection for close-up miking (a feature of Abbado’s other DG-produced Ninth with the Vienna Philharmonic) creates an unnatural soundstage that emphasizes harp and English horn at the expense of the principal trumpet, which often is drowned out (see instances at measures 38, 232, 365, and 374, and in other places–measure 294–where it is just not prominent enough)."

Reviewer's synopsis: "In a sentence, this performance has it all–except good sound." Fwiw, at the bottom of the review we find "Reference Recording: Bernstein I (Sony), Karajan II (DG)" - presumably Mr. Liebowitz' preferences for the 9th.

Not sure if this is a favorite yet, but I do like it!

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I approached the Stenz series as "yet another" Mahler set but I have been consistently impressed as I was with the Sinopoli recordings. Neither rises to a top choice but, rather, ones I return to occasionally for refreshment. The Stenz is, also, exceptionally well-recorded in MCH.

Updated opening post

Ardent suggestions for a 1st? Perhaps one of these? Perhaps another?

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Levine, Chailly, Solti, Zander, Zinman, Haitink ???

Few people here listen to Mahler and even fewer do so playing records. May what authority is lacked from our numbers be made up for by the sweetness of our rills. :)

Here is a fine box set from Deutsche Grammophon - DG 2720 033
1971 Limited Edition 14 LP Box Set + booklet

Rafael Kubelík and the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks

“When I conceive a large musical structure, I always come to the point where I must bring in the word as carrier of my musical idea…”

Soloists:
Martina Arroyo, Edith Mathis, Elsie Morison, Erna Spoorenberg (soprano)
Norma Proctor, Julia Hamari, Marjorie Thomas (alto)
Donald Grobe (tenor)
Franz Cras (bass)

Choirs:
Munchen Motet Chor
Tölzer Knabenchor
Norddeutscher Rundfunk Chor
WDR Rundfunkchor
Regensburger Domspatzen

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Mahler cycles on vinyl aren't exactly falling out of trees, so availability is a strong suit for this collection. It is (relatively) not that hard to find, often in pristine or unplayed condition. I'd say around $45-$55USD is reasonable for a minty box set. Don't be surprised if the box itself has not held up as well. Each symphony was released individually and the splendid covers I've seen from those are the only thing missing.

I wasn't playing Mahler in 1971, but I'll speculate had the high-end equipment of today been around then, more people would be still playing Mahler records today. It's fun to have a robust system to deliver robust music.

In those days, the hotness in Mahleria came from Solti's performances on Decca. Yet this Kubelik cycle - to my ears anyway - wears well over time. He offers a thoughtful reading with quiet authority though perhaps without the volcanic drama one may associate to (expect from?) the music. Soloists may not be the very topmost tier, but overall I am happy to have this set and enjoy playing records from it.

There is a more recently released Kubelik cycle, some members of which are live recordings - and yes on vinyl - from Audite (here and here also), several of these can still be had at retail at much greater expense. Also released on SACD/CD/FLAC.

edit: update .jpg link

I just won an eBay auction for this, but in a different box, issued as 2720 063-10. Cost me $45 includinng shipping, from Canada. It should arrive next week. I do not have a single Mahler in my collection before this one.

wrong thread...

It has a smaller picture of the composer toward the top of the box? Not 100% certain, I believe its release was 1974, with the same performances. Congratulations, I hope you get a good one and enjoy it !

Yes, that is the one (from eBay). The box is not great, but the records are supposed to be all mint.

--.--Excellent thread! :thumbsup:

I want to get Mahler's 2nd on analog vinyl, and not digitaly recorded.

Recommendations to look for?

As with all things Mahler each of these will yield a range of opinions. From my perspective each is one of the great 2nds. I don't have enough experience to give suggestions on pressings. Invariably the Resurrection Symphony is a 2 LP release.

==> Note to lurkers who don't do vinyl - all performances mentioned are available on CD, etc.

Mahler's 2nd was a signature piece for Otto Klemperer. His 1963 recording from EMI/Angel made in Kingsway Hall London with the Philharmonia Orchestra features Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Hilde Rossl-Majdan and continues since that day as a thriller. My copy is from Pathe Marconi (French EMI). 2C181-00570/1

"This is an essential recording for any collection: the greatest interpretation of Mahler's Second ever placed before the public, made under ideal studio conditions ...." Review.

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The Klemperer is more frequently found with a cover similar to this below. The branding across the top may be Columbia or Angel - 2 albums. I've seen the packaging with two separate covers or as one. COLUMBIA SAX 2473 2474, ANGEL 3634. There is also an EMI UK release as a box with a picture of Klemperer smoking a cigar on the cover. ASD 2691-92 or SLS-806.

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Then there is Bruno Walter on Columbia with the New York Philharmonic. I find this an extraordinarily power-filled/gripping/compelling performance and it could be my regular favorite but for the typically crackly vinyl that seems more the rule than the exception for Columbia classical issuances. (Their jazz always seemed to fair better - don't know why.) For optimal sound it really should be played using the Columbia playback curve. M2S 601 (stereo) M2L 256 (mono 6 eye). Truly an unforgettable performance from a man who knew GM personally.

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Up next is Sir George Solti with the London Symphony featuring Heather Harper and Helen Watts - likewise recorded in Kingsway Hall in 1966. This is still available as a re-issue. I see it at Music Direct. Probably the best chance for a clean new record. Another strong performance.
DECCA SXL 6113

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Lastly is Leonard Bernstein. I don't have this on LP, but have it on CD (Sony) as a part of a box set. But it is out there on LP and I know it is a performance worth hearing. The Bernstein Mahler cycle mentioned somewhere above is definitely one to consider owning. The Columbia performance with the New York Philharmonic is the one to have, yet again here its Columbia vinyl so caveat auditor. An intense, personal performance - one of the greats. M2L-295 (mono) M2S 695 (stereo)

I don't know where this cover is release-wise, but it's colorful, almost Dali-esque.
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Tim, thanks a lot for the detailed post and recommendations. I'll look for one of these, starting with the Pathe Marconi EMI set.

I have this Bernstein 2nd on LP and think it's good . . . but I do like others better - particularly the Ivan Fischer/Budapest SACD on Channel Classics. I could listen to it three times a day.

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I actually just ordered the Speakers Corner reissue of the Decca Solti/CSO from MusicDirect. I needed some AIVS fluid anyway, I added to my order. :thumbsup:

If you care to post back, it would be interesting to learn your thoughts on the Solti v the Kubelik from your box set.

My favorites are the 5th, 6th, and 9th. I'd say Karajan, Solti, or Sinopoli (for any/all of them) on RBCD. On SACD, Stenz for the 5th, Zander for the 6th, and either Chailly or Gilbert for the 9th.

OK. It should arrive today, but I doubt I'll have a chance to listen to it before this weekend.

OUCH!! Big time brain fart.

I meant to say Abbado/VPO. Sorry for the turmoil.

No problemo - thanks for the update! :)

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For vinylists, 2-LP-Box DG 423564-1

edit: Btw, Kal, aside from the 9th, which of the other Accentus BRD Abbado/Mahler/Lucerne performances do you favor? I canna play these now on my main system but should be able to in the future.

All*. The entire series is eminently satisfying and I do not think there is disappointment among them. That is not to say that I could live without many other interpretations but the Abbado/Lucerne series joins other great Mahler series'.

*If you don't get them all right away, start with #6.

Kal

Thanks Kal. I'm eying the EuroArts set that covers 1-7 along with the 9th from Accentus.

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Not much talk in this thread about the Mahler 3rd Symphony, and, as it is my second most favorite of Mahler's works (after the wonderful 2nd Symphony) and, as I was listening to it this morning, I thought I'd duplicate some effort and say something about it here. I think that the first movement of the 3rd symphony is truly a work of great art and it is presented extremely well by the SFO in this SACD recording, The voices here are excellent as is the orchestra itself.

I am copying my own post from this morning in the "What Classical Music Are You Listening To" thread.

I love Mahler's Third Symphony! And, I heartily recommend the MTT/SFO SACD for the impeccable performance and extraordinary sonics.