# Best Mahler recordings in the past decade or so



## Bwv 1080 (Dec 31, 2018)

looking for a new Mahler symphony set (does not have to be complete), want something recorded within the past 10 years or so from a younger conductor for a change. The conductors I listen to most are Boulez, Kubilek, Bernstein, Geilen, Chailly & Barbaroli

any recs?


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

There have been quite a few new ones. Nott, A Fischer, P Jarvi among them. The newest one I've picked up, just this past June, was also from Germany: Gabriel Feltz with the Stuttgart Philharmonic and also the Dortmund orchestra on the Dreyer-Gaido (the other DG) label. There are no duds in the whole set and several performances are top-notch. The playing is astonishing, really. These are live recordings and you'd be hard pressed to find wrong notes, missed entrances or anything else out of line. The conductor is relatively young and had a lot of interesting ideas - some work, some don't. The sound ranges from good to excellent; I think the Stuttgart hall may not be the best venue to record in. I enjoyed the whole set very much; it will not replaced my favorites (which you certainly listed, except for Bertini), I was very glad to hear them. The one bad move: they used an old, corrupt edition of the Adagio from the 10th. There are some real howlers in it that are quite jarring. The conductor even addresses the issue in the notes, stating that the movement is in bad need of a critical edition. Well, they should have used the edition Bernstein used. Here's a link if you're interested. HERE


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## Chilham (Jun 18, 2020)

Not yet a set but François-Xavier Roth has recorded Symphonies 1, 3, 4 & 5 over the past four years. Symphonies 1 and 4 are with Les Siècles, 3 & 5 with Gürzenich-Orchester Köln. His "Titan" (1893 version) was excellent listening.

I've been recommended Honeck/Pittsburg, but not heard them myself.


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## Bwv 1080 (Dec 31, 2018)

Downloaded all the Fisher recordings from Idagio, along with his complete Bartok, been enjoying his complete Haydn symphony set, so seemed like a good place to start


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

Chilham said:


> I've been recommended Honeck/Pittsburg, but not heard them myself.


Those are terrific, no question. Spectacular playing, conducting and extremely fine recorded sound. It is most regrettable that Exton seems to have stopped recording the cycle, and Reference Recordings is going for other material. And those Exton disks are hard to find. But worth the effort!


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## Bkeske (Feb 27, 2019)




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## Kreisler jr (Apr 21, 2021)

Bwv 1080 said:


> Downloaded all the Fisher recordings from Idagio, along with his complete Bartok, been enjoying his complete Haydn symphony set, so seemed like a good place to start


I don't want to derail the thread but the Fischer Bartok, originally mostly Philips in the 1990s, I think, is excellent. The only modern recording that might be equal or even better are those the late Zoltan Kocsis made as a conductor for hungaroton (SACD I believe).


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## prlj (10 mo ago)

I’ve been curiously enjoying the readings that Dudamel has been putting out lately.


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## RobertJTh (Sep 19, 2021)

Bkeske said:


>


It's one of the best cycles out there and one of my personal favorites. But it's also 17 years old, compiling recordings from 1989 till 2004. I guess Op wants something more recent?


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## Bwv 1080 (Dec 31, 2018)

RobertJTh said:


> It's one of the best cycles out there and one of my personal favorites. But it's also 17 years old, compiling recordings from 1989 till 2004. I guess Op wants something more recent?


Have the Chailly, it’s an excellent set


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## Bwv 1080 (Dec 31, 2018)

Really impressed by the Fischer recordings- went to the last two movements of the 9th for the test. The counterpoint of the Rondo Burleske came through super clear and the liked the pacing of the final movement. It’s a very clear sound like Boulez, but never seemed cold


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## Kiki (Aug 15, 2018)

Recent recordings (say recorded after 2010) from a few young conductors (say under 50) whose Mahler I appreciate -

*Johannes Klumpp*: #5 (Animato)
*Alexandre Bloch*: #7 (Alpha)
*Daniel Harding*: #1,5,6,9 (on various labels). (He also recorded #1,4,10 during the first decade.)

But there are no signs that they will be doing any cycle soon.

I have not heard the Gabriel Feltz's cycle. Maybe I should find time to check it out.

Relaxing the age criteria and including recordings made in as far back as 2000, but note that some of these are not meant to be part of a cycle -

*Claudio Abbado*/Lucerne: #1-7 (EuroArts), #9 (Accentus)
*Vladimir Ashkenazy*: #1-9,DLVDE (Exton)
*Riccardo Chailly*/Gewandhausorchester: #1,2,4-9 (Accentus)
*Gustavo Dudamel*: #1,2,5,7,8,9 (various labels)
*Ádám Fischer*: #1-9,DLVDE (Challenge Records)
*Iván Fischer*: #1-7,9,DLVDE (Channel Classics)
*Valery Gergiev*: #1-9 (LSO Live)
*Bernard Haitink*: #1-3,6,9, some recorded multiple times (various labels)
*Manfred Honeck*: #1,3,4,5 (Exton)
*Eliahu Inbal*/Tokyo: #1-9,DLVDE (Exton) 
*Mariss Jansons*/BRSO: #1-9 (KR Klassik)
*Vladimir Jurowski*: #1,2,4,8,DLVDE (LPO)
*Yannick Nézet-Séguin*, #1,4,10,DLVDE, some recorded multiple times (various labels)
*Jonathan Nott*: #1-9,DLVDE (Tudor)
*Simon Rattle*: #1,2,5-9,DLVDE (various labels)
*François-Xavier Roth*: Titan,#3-5 (Harmonia Mundi)
The *Berliner Philharmoniker*'s cycle with various conductors: #1-9 (BP Recordings)
The *Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra*'s cycle with various conductors: #1-10,DLVDE (RCO Live)

I like them all. Maybe the Ashkenazy and the Dudamel are a bit far-fetched. I definitely don't hate the Gergiev like some do. My current favourites are Riccardo Chailly and Ádám Fischer, although I will change my mind next week; in any case I certainly do not want to be without the rest. Each to his own though.

Apart from the Gabriel Feltz that I haven't heard, Osmo Vänskä's on-going cycle is also a 21st century production, but unfortunately I am allergic to his recordings. Your mileage may vary.

I know we are talking about cycles/near-cycles, but there are some individual recordings that I've found fantastic from the likes of Teodor Currentzis, Jukka-Pekka Saraste and Daniel Barenboim.


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

Bwv 1080 said:


> Downloaded all the Fisher recordings from Idagio, along with his complete Bartok, been enjoying his complete Haydn symphony set, so seemed like a good place to start


You may be confusing two Fischers - or perhaps you are just confusing me! I guess the Fischer Bartok you refer to is by Ivan Fischer and the complete Haydn is by Adam Fischer? Both of them have been working on complete Mahler sets both of which have several excellent performances.

Meanwhile judging by the Mahler preferences you mention you may enjoy many of the Vanska recordings? They have been something of a mixed bag so far but some are very worthwhile indeed.


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

I've been championing the Inbal/Tokyo (Exton) set for a few years now. I stand by everything I've said about it. It's a superb cycle. The problem is that it's not for sale in a complete set (AFAIK) so you'll either have to buy the indiviual discs or the individual downloads. As it's Exton you know that's it's not gonna be cheap and you may have to sell several body parts and all your family heirlooms, take out a 2nd mortgage or become an international drug-dealer to raise the funds needed to buy it.

PS. It's good that you said "in the past 10 years or so" at the start. The last time someone asked for recommendations more a "modern" Mahler cycle most of the recommendations were from around the 1980s (and one was actually before that). That's not "modern". It's 40 years ago!


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

I was looking forward to the Vanska recordings, especially if Bis was up to its usual standards: they are. The playing is fine. The conductor is the problem - and it's a big one. The 2nd is ridiculous; tempos just don't let the music sing. The 7th was somewhat better - it responds to Vanska's cold, analytic approach. It's another one of those Bis cycles that should have been left to others. They have such great cycles of symphonies like Tubin, Sibelius, Alfven, Berwald, Stenhammer and others in their catalog but some duds: Tchaikovsky with N Jarvi and now this Mahler. If anyone is really interested, I'd wait until the pack them all up in a budget box.


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## Bwv 1080 (Dec 31, 2018)

Enthusiast said:


> You may be confusing two Fischers - or perhaps you are just confusing me! I guess the Fischer Bartok you refer to is by Ivan Fischer and the complete Haydn is by Adam Fischer? Both of them have been working on complete Mahler sets both of which have several excellent performances.
> 
> Meanwhile judging by the Mahler preferences you mention you may enjoy many of the Vanska recordings? They have been something of a mixed bag so far but some are very worthwhile indeed.


no, both are Adam Fischer


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

Re Vanska, he manages to commit what for me is a big bête noire ... a ludicrously slow adagietto in the 5th.


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

Fair enough, Becca. It's funny how speed is less important to me (in general) than it is for most people here. I can't remember for sure what I thought of Vanska's 5th but think I liked it. I do remember (I hope!) that he is not overly emotional in that adagietto. It is serene, I think.


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

Bwv 1080 said:


> no, both are Adam Fischer
> 
> View attachment 173026


Ooh. I don't know that Nimbus record. I do know and love Ivan Fischer's Bartok records (and I do love even more the Kocsis recordings of the same works) but I don't think I have heard Adam Fischer's Bartok. I must seek it out. Thanks.


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## Knorf (Jan 16, 2020)

I've been most taken with CIaudio Abbado, Iván Fischer, and Mariss Jansons for Mahler recordings from the most recent couple decades, but no doubt there's been really a lot of thrilling Mahler being played and recorded. I'd never give up my collections of Bernstein (old and new), Boulez, earlier Abbado, Kubelík, Walter, etc. But I'd say it's rather unwise for a Mahler fan to miss out on the more recent recordings happening now and back a couple decades.


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## Knorf (Jan 16, 2020)

Enthusiast said:


> Ooh. I don't know that Nimbus record. I do know and love Ivan Fischer's Bartok records (and I do love even more the Kocsis recordings of the same works) but I don't think I have heard Adam Fischer's Bartok. I must seek it out. Thanks.


Ádám and Iván are siblings but rather different as conductors, and are both stellar in an awful lot of repertoire that they share, certainly Bartók and Mahler included!


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

Enthusiast said:


> Fair enough, Becca. It's funny how speed is less important to me (in general) than it is for most people here. I can't remember for sure what I thought of Vanska's 5th but think I liked it. I do remember (I hope!) that he is not overly emotional in that adagietto. It is serene, I think.


Speed by itself is not that important to me, however in this case it destroys the entire 3 part balance of the symphony.


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## LeoPiano (Nov 1, 2020)

mbhaub said:


> I was looking forward to the Vanska recordings, especially if Bis was up to its usual standards: they are. The playing is fine. The conductor is the problem - and it's a big one. The 2nd is ridiculous; tempos just don't let the music sing. The 7th was somewhat better - it responds to Vanska's cold, analytic approach. It's another one of those Bis cycles that should have been left to others. They have such great cycles of symphonies like Tubin, Sibelius, Alfven, Berwald, Stenhammer and others in their catalog but some duds: Tchaikovsky with N Jarvi and now this Mahler. If anyone is really interested, I'd wait until the pack them all up in a budget box.


I completely agree. The only Vanska recordings that really landed for me were the 4th and the 7th. I saw Vanska perform Mahler’s 8th in June and I thought it was incredible but that could have just been the experience of hearing that symphony live. I’ll definitely want to see how that one sounds on CD because it’ll be taken from live performances versus the rest of his Mahler recordings which were made in the studio.


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## Knorf (Jan 16, 2020)

Becca said:


> Speed by itself is not that important to me, however in this case it destroys the entire 3 part balance of the symphony.


I totally agree. And it's worth remembering that the music of the Adagietto is supposed to be a love song from Gustav to Alma, and not remotely some sort of funeral ode. Also, if it was played too slowly, when the same music reappears in the last movement, it often won't be recognizable to the audience.

ETA: it is in written documents that Mahler himself took barely over 7 minutes when conducting the Adagietto... The earliest recording by Mengelberg from 1926 takes 7'14". Surely stretching the duration to approaching twice that is just wrong.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

It dates from the mid 90s but M5 by Frank Shipway is one of the better ones in my collection.


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## Knorf (Jan 16, 2020)

starthrower said:


> It dates from the mid 90s but M5 by Frank Shipway is one of the better ones in my collection.


Except for the excessively slow Adagietto, and some abrupt but minor shifts of perspective in the recording, I very much agree.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Knorf said:


> Except for the excessively slow Adagietto, and some abrupt but minor shifts of perspective in the recording, I very much agree.


I'd say Shipway's best moment in M5 is the Stürmisch bewegt.


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## prlj (10 mo ago)

Kiki said:


> But there are no signs that they will be doing any cycle soon.


Probably going to be a while before anyone seriously tackles the 8th, given our never-ending pandemic.


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## Knorf (Jan 16, 2020)

starthrower said:


> I'd say Shipway's best moment in M5 is the Stürmisch bewegt.


Heck, yes! _Mit größter Vehemenz! _Shipway takes this indication quite seriously, to thrilling effect.


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

If they can do parts of the Mahler 2nd remotely, surely it's an easy step to the 8th


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## Kiki (Aug 15, 2018)

prlj said:


> Probably going to be a while before anyone seriously tackles the 8th, given our never-ending pandemic.


A lot of countries are lifting their pandemic restrictions and re-starting their economic activities, if not already done so, and concert halls are starting to get filled once again, so some brave investors/promotors probably have started thinking about organising recordings/performances of large scale works. While that might ease off the pressure on musicians' livelihoods, I agree with you, I don't think the pandemic is easing off, I hope this would not turn into something nasty.



Becca said:


> If they can do parts of the Mahler 2nd remotely, surely it's an easy step to the 8th


I was wondering how they solved the problem of musicians going out of sync when they played together because of different network latencies among the musicians' households. They didn't! Essentially each instrument was recorded on a separate track and then later on mixed and synchronised offline to create this "soundtrack".

Did they attempt to play together online while recording each instrument onto its own track? The musicians would have heard a slightly out-of-sync stream mux'ed from their colleagues' lines. It must have been painful for those could not stand bad ensemble.


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## OCEANE (10 mo ago)

Bwv 1080 said:


> Really impressed by the Fischer recordings- went to the last two movements of the 9th for the test. The counterpoint of the Rondo Burleske came through super clear and the liked the pacing of the final movement. It’s a very clear sound like Boulez, but never seemed cold


I wish you are talking about Ivan Fischer and Budapest Festival Orchestra but they have not recorded No. 8.
Mahler symphonies by Ivan Fischer as well as Chailly are my favourite.


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## prlj (10 mo ago)

Kiki said:


> While that might ease off the pressure on musicians' livelihoods, I agree with you, I don't think the pandemic is easing off, I hope this would not turn into something nasty.


It's all about liability at this point...is the risk of mounting an authentic 8th worthwhile? Even for my own orchestra, we had concerns about a recent performance of _The Creation._ Concerns which, unfortunately, proved to be well-founded. :/


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## Kiki (Aug 15, 2018)

prlj said:


> It's all about liability at this point...is the risk of mounting an authentic 8th worthwhile? Even for my own orchestra, we had concerns about a recent performance of _The Creation._ Concerns which, unfortunately, proved to be well-founded. :/


Sorry to hear that. I sincerely hope that any unfortunate folks will get well soon.


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

Becca said:


> Speed by itself is not that important to me, however in this case it destroys the entire 3 part balance of the symphony.


Sorry for the delay but I wanted to listen to the recording before answering. As I have found Vanska's Mahler mixed and couldn't remember what I thought of this one (except that I remembered thinking of the adagietto as a high point), I feel my listening was in the spirit of discovery rather than confirmation. I actually like this account a lot and find that no structural aspect is destroyed! It may not follow what other conductors do but Vanska is not a revolutionary. His transition through the first three movements is smoother and relies less on contrast than most recordings (the second movement does not ramp up the tension built in the first and the third movement does not represent such a big change of mood that it often does). Perhaps in this context, I found no problem at all with the adagietto. Indeed I find it serene and uplifting, as far away from the funeral dirge that Knorf apparently finds (if I read his post as applying to this correctly). It moves naturally to a really well paced finale. That's what I hear.

Of course, a bete noir is a bete noir and can be impossible to shake off. And with many - and every day more - excellent Mahler performances getting issued there may not be much incentive to try. I would urge you to try again but suspect your mind is made up?


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## Knorf (Jan 16, 2020)

I haven't actually heard Vänskä's Mahler 5 (side note: based on what else I've heard from this conductor in other repertoire, I'm not all that curious). 

I was referring to the now-common interpretation of the Adagietto, ever since Bernstein played it at JFK's funeral, as something rather different than a love song; it seems to be a thing to push it hard, via slower and slower tempos, into the funereal, or at least mournfully elegiac, direction. This is clearly very far from Mahler's original concept.


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## Andrew Kenneth (Feb 17, 2018)

Merl said:


> I've been championing the Inbal/Tokyo (Exton) set for a few years now. I stand by everything I've said about it. It's a superb cycle. The problem is that it's not for sale in a complete set (AFAIK) so you'll either have to buy the indiviual discs or the individual downloads. As it's Exton you know that's it's not gonna be cheap and you may have to sell several body parts and all your family heirlooms, take out a 2nd mortgage or become an international drug-dealer to raise the funds needed to buy it. (...)


I'm also a big fan of Inbal's Mahler.
I've collected almost all of his Mahler on Denon, Fontec & Exton.

This is the only Inbal Mahler recording that I never managed to find =>


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## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

OCEANE said:


> I wish you are talking about Ivan Fischer and Budapest Festival Orchestra but they have not recorded No. 8.
> Mahler symphonies by Ivan Fischer as well as Chailly are my favourite.


Fully agree for Ivan Fischer and Chailly and I would add the few Exton records by Honeck which are fabulous. Rattle also did a good job of the 2nd, 6th and the 9th with the BPO.


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