I had the complete sets of Solti, Van Karajan, Haitink, James Livine, and various different releases of Ormandy, Muti, Bruno Walter, Steinberg with the Pitsburgh symphony and somehow never got around to purchasing any of this set! Can you believe that?
So, I just bought the 2nd,'Resurrection, 3rd,5th, 7th, 8th, and 9th, and recently got the Ormandy version of 'Das Lied von der Erde' Sine qa non, by the way. Even better that Walter's

I happened to read a critique concerning the recent re-release of Rafael Kubelik's complete Mahler set with the Berlin Radio Symphony. I knew that I didn't want to listen to a bar when the critic said that Kubelik liked his Mahler straight forward without much imbellishments. What Gustav Mahler is this? Must be from Mercury or something.

From the very first bar of the 'Titan' until the very last bar of the 'Ninth', 'Das Lied von der Erde', all of his songs and even the unfinished tenth? Glissandi in the strings?, exageration of all choruses of the orchestra that must have a master conductor who is so deeply in touch with the soul of Mahler that it all flows together in magnificent polyphonic storms and sudden quiet and all of a sudden you know that you are wittnesing the very depths of, not only Mahler's soul but the Maestro's also.

There is a section in the finale of the ninth #24 where there has been a wondereful slowly built up crescendo in the strings and brass and there is a subito immediatly to pianissimo, and it sounds like one of the bass players was so caugth up in the mood that he looses it and falls off the stage! You can hear it, but the mood is undisturbed and the finale is beautifully realized. Mahler's 'Pathetic'?

The 'night music' of the seventh--umm, wonderful, mysterious. The third is marvelous. The boy choir, Jenny Tourel. And I didn't think that I would ever hear a better performance Than Ormandy's PHO 'Resurrection', especially in the finale when the this incredible death march is occuring into the pit of death itself and then the beginning of the positive music makes its
inexorable entrance and the bells start to ring and the ultimate battle between life and death is occuring and the tremendous climax of this struggle, the ecstatic music begins, the angels start to sing and tell the dead that it is time to rise up and the men sing 'forget thy trembling! Prepare thyself for LIfe!' Ormandy and Bernstein conduct with absolute fervor and the men sing it quickly and urgently, not two long sustained notes as I have heard in other recordings that absolutley loses the impact of the most important two lines of the symphony and the maestro concludes magnificently.

Every one of these recordings has amazing sound for being thirty somethings. A must have for any music library and an absolute benchmark that all Mahler recordings should be measured by. AND CHEAP TOO!!!

Do not pass this up!

I am not here to grind an ax for any particular conductor. Let's take a look at each symphony - perhaps there are a few "gems" out there that you might be overlooking.

1. Bernstein's Amsterdam version on DG is better played and recorded than this one. But for me, the finest stereo recording - by far - is a recently released live 1979 Kubelik performance on Audite (my review of it is at Amazon). It has supplanted the stereo Horenstein in my affections. I am not a Kubelik "fan" - this is the only Mahler by him that I truly like - and it's a beauty! Horenstein's 1951 Vox recording is still my benchmark as an interpretation - but in old sound with some subpar playing.

2. Bernstein's last mvt. here is engaging, but I find most of the rest either ponderous or unsubtle. The Scherchen is quirky and very dramatic - likely it will be re-issued. My favorite reading is the live 1960 Carl Schuricht/Hessian Radio in fine mono sound (Originals CD).

3. This, along with the 7th, is Bernstein's best performance - but I think it fails to match Horenstein (Unicorn). By far the best played version - and in stunning sound - is the live 1967 Martinon. It is available in a 10-disc set called "The Chicago Symphony: The First 100 Years." It's a GREAT set, well worth owning. Section by section, desk by desk, the Chicago players leave their NY Phil. counterparts in the dust here. I also love the old Adler (Tahra) - it has a very moving finale.

4. Neither the playing nor the concept here work for me - and Reri Grist is rather inadequate. Horenstein is too sober, while Barbirolli is wonderful for 3 mvts. but then gets ponderous. The classic Kletzki/Philharmonia (EMI) is a real winner in fine sound. I also treasure the old Mengelberg (Q-Disc) and Otterloo (Epic LP).

5. One of the greatest of ALL Mahler recordings - in superb sound - is the Barshai on Brilliant Classics. It is the finest 5th that I have heard. It is coupled with Barshai's own completion of the 10th.

6. Dimitri Mitropoulos started the Mahler boom in the U. S. - he recorded Mahler's 1st in 1940, when Lenny was still in school, and did most of the symphonies in New York long before Bernstein took over. His 6th is staggering. It is available in the 10-disc "Mahler Broadcasts" set from the NY Phil. This 6th simply leaves Bernstein's panting at the gate. The Horenstein suffers from shaky playing by a Swedish orchestra. Barbirolli's is flawed by a snail's pace first mvt. Zander is too civilized, Solti is too Neanderthal. There were great mono LP accounts by Adler and Rosbaud; both need good CD transfers.

7. Bernstein is at his greatest here - this can be had on a separate CD without buying the complete set. Horenstein has awful sound, Barbirolli is just awful, period. Also superb was Rosbaud, on a deleted Wergo CD.

8. Bernstein was my favorite here ... that is, until the live 1959 Horenstein was released on BBC Legends in decent stereo. The latter is my desert island pick - nothing else comes close.

9. Bernstein is quite eloquent here. However, I just can't imagine being without Horenstein, especially the 1952 Vox recording - it's one of the most moving Mahler statements on record. I also love Horenstein's live 1966 BBC account.

If limited to just one choice each, my selections would be 1. Kubelik, 2. Schuricht, 3. Martinon, 4. Kletzki, 5. Barshai, 6. Mitropoulos, 7. Bernstein, 8. Horenstein, and 9. Horenstein (Vox). Except for Horenstein, no conductor appears more than once - all are truly exceptional.

If you MUST have a single complete set, this Bernstein is as good as any (you might also audition the Kubelik). In the end, I think three questions must be posed regarding Bernstein. Was he a talented conductor? Un-questionably. Was he a great conductor? Probably. Was he the single greatest Mahler conductor? No way - and nobody else was either.