# 100 Favorites: # 48



## JACE (Jul 18, 2014)

*Mahler: Symphony No. 1
Jascha Horenstein, London Symphony Orchestra (Unicorn-Kanchana)*










I'm a great admirer of Rafael Kubelik's Mahler cycle on DG with the Bavarian Radio SO. His recording of Mahler's First is frequently recommended as a top choice by critics -- but my favorite version of the First Symphony is Horenstein's with the LSO. Whereas Kubelik's reading of the First emphasizes the child-like, _Wunderhorn_ elements in the music, Horenstein's interpretation is much harder charging, full of Beethovenian intensity and grim foreboding. Horenstein doesn't short-change the lyrical aspects of the music, but even these passages feel more impassioned and vehement compared to other recordings. As a result, the First comes off as a mature, more fully-realized work. In Horenstein's hands, the ambivalence and tragedy that characterize Mahler's middle-period symphonies are already present as foreboding intimations in the First, so the linkages between Mahler's _Wunderhorn_-period and his middle- and late-period works are much more obvious.

Unfortunately, this recording is no longer available, and it's commanding high prices on the used market. Regis, Brilliant Classics, and other labels have licensed other Unicorn-Kanchana recordings since the label's demise. Hopefully, someone will reissue Horenstein's LSO M1 soon. It's essential listening for anyone interested in Mahler's music.


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