Best? You jest! :-)
But FWIW, on vinyl, Bernstein 60's cycle, 80's cycle, and not to be missed, his 1979 9th with the Berliner Phil on DG.
Also Levine, Abbado, Tennstedt, and some even like Solti's.
I hope you are not overlooking Digital, Mahler has done very well in this format.
But, one of my favorite versions of the 7th on vinyl is Levine and the CSO on RCA.
If you like it slow Walter has recorded them all I believe and he had an inside track to Mahler, preceeding Bernstein, but he lacks Bernstein's 'color'.
I'll let others name individual 'bests', my day is to short and I can't boil it down that far.
Enjoy............. |
I've always been partial to Solti's on Decca/London. |
I think Lenny's 1960s cycle with NPO is among the best. Buy vinyl since the CD sonics are not great. Abbado's cycle is very good, but if you can find any Barbirolli on LP, definitely grab it. |
Abbado's cycle is probably the best set of performances, though many think the sound quality of the recordings is not good. Solti's is also good. It is also no coincidence that most of both of the above were recorded by the Chicago Symphony.... |
I really liked Abbado's cycle on vinyl. Especially the 1st and the 6th. Its been almost 30 years since I gave up my vinyl rig, but I still remember those records with fondness. |
I'm partial to the Telarc releases...forewarned...these are DDD recordings I believe...but were issued on vinyl in the 80s...purists may scoff...but they sound amazing... |
Phasecorrect is right about Telarc vinyl. They were produced using using the Soundstream digital recorder and NO compression. If you come across any for sale, this is a case where digital vinyl sounds amazing.
BTW, Almarg gave me the info on why Telarc LPs sound so good. |
For sets, I would recommend either Bernstein/New York Philharmonic on Columbia or Kubelik/Bavarian Radio Symphony on DG in terms of most fittingly portraying Mahler's odyssey. For some other, very fine individual performances, try Kletzki or Klemperer on EMI, both conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra or Solti/Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra on London/Decca in the Fourth; Barbirolli/Berlin Philharmonic in the Sixth and Walter/Columbia Symphony in the Ninth. |
Correction: The Barbirolli Sixth I refer to above is with the New Phiharmonia Orchestra, and not the Berlin Philharmonic. It can be found in EMI's earlier incarnations and that company's later reissue, Classics For Pleasure. Like many other British EMI recordings, it was also made available on the Angel label for mainly the U.S. market. However, I tend to avoid Angel lps, whose sound quality I often hear as a bit too bright. |
Angel/emi is the worst modern label I have ever heard. A budget label and does not use the original masters. |
I was being somewhat charitable in my criticism. I think the worst of the Angel lot are/were those earlier light blue label pressings. They are downright strident at times. Anyone looking for some typically very fine sounding classical lps should go for London CS and STS(Stereo Treasury Series)recordings, which were made by The Decca Record Company, Ltd. The CS pressings have red labels with silver print while the SDS labels sport the same red/silver format, but in some cases, an orange label with black lettering. AVOID both the later inferior American red,yellow,blue and light yellow with black lettered pressings. |
Here's a list of my favorites for most of the symphonies and the songs. One note of disagreement, I don't find that the US Angels are any different than any other label. Some are good, some are not. No label made all good recordings and not label made all bad recordings. I don't find most Angels to be that bad.
Symphonies
1 Kubelik DGG 139331
2 Bernstein (NY) Columbia M2S 695
Klemperer Angle 3634B
Mehta Decca SXL 6744-5
3 Bernstein Columba M2S 675
Tennstedt EMI SLS 5195
4 To Avoid - Bernstein
Kletzki EMI SAX 2345
Klemperer EMI SAX 2441 (Testament reissue)
Van Beinum London LL618
5 Tennstedt Angle SZB 3883
Leinsdorf RCA LSC 7031
Levine RCA ARL2 2905
6 Barbirolli Angle S 3725
7 Bernstein Columbia M2S 739
Solti London CSA 2331
8 No recommendations
9 Barbirolli Angle SB 3652
Karajan DGG 2707125
Giulini DGG 2707097
Songs
Five Ruckert Songs Barbirolli / Baker EMI SLS 785 or ASD 2518-9. Also has the 5th symphony
Kindertotenlieder Barbirolli / Baker EMI ASD 2338
Das Lied von Der Erde Klemperer / Lugwig / Wunderlick EMI SAN 179 |
Here's a list of my favorites of most of the symphonies - I skipped the 8th because I don't know it well enough to make any recommendations. I also included a couple of disks of my favorite songs.
Symphonies
1 Kubelik DGG 139331
2 Bernstein (NY) Columbia M2S 695
Klemperer Angel 3634B
Mehta Decca SXL 6744-5
3 Bernstein Columbia M2S 675
Tennstedt EMI SLS 5195
4 To Avoid - Bernstein
Kletzki EMI SAX 2345
Klemperer EMI SAX 2441 (Testament reissue)
Van Beinum London LL618
5 Tennstedt Angel SZB 3883
Leinsdorf RCA LSC 7031
Levine RCA ARL2 2905
6 Barbirolli Angel S 3725
7 Bernstein Columbia M2S 739
Solti London CSA 2331
8 No recommendations
9 Barbirolli Angel SB 3652
Karajan DGG 2707125
Giulini DGG 2707097
Songs
Five Ruckert Songs Barbirolli / Baker EMI SLS 785 or ASD 2518-9. Also has the 5th symphony
Kindertotenlieder Barbirolli / Baker EMI ASD 2338
Das Lied von Der Erde Klemperer / Lugwig / Wunderlick EMI SAN 179
|
Set: Kubelik--came 20 years late to this cycle, but have fallen in love with Mahler all over again, very good with the music in between the "big moments." Sound is good but not demonstration quality.
1: Kubelik/Walter/Muti
2: Bernstein's DGG but $$$$ (we need a re-press) The entrance of the Organ pedal!
3: Kubelik, much like Barbirolli but better, more concentrated and rapt Finale
4: Walter but painful mono sound
5: don't know it enough
6: don't know it enough
7: Kubelik except for "moonlit" stretch of music in 1st mov't, which is far more magical under Levine
8: Tennstedt for sound and performance, a one-off by Wynn Morris (warning: warts) and the Kubelik again for "knocking the dust off."
9: Kubelik would be my hands-down favorite except for ever so slightly "flowing" Finale, though not as fast as Walter! The limo Mahler choice: Giulini, but what a plodding Scherzo!
DLVDE: two scandalously overlooked: Reiner, with the wonderful Forrester, (who's only downfall was *not* dying while the tapes were rolling), and the concertante playing of the Orchestra's first chairs is glorious. Blows the stereotype that Reiner was "cold." The other underdog is Jochum on DGG with the Concertgebouw: Why couldn't DGG always record like this? Merriman (sp?) has a tight vibrato, but all involved are competent and apposite in the best of ways. |
