What is a good intro to "Mahler"?

Only Mahler 5 I know of out on vinyl now is the Solti Super Analog Disc version available through Cisco Records, but as I mentioned in an earlier post it is extremely bass-heavy in this format. Try the used record shops or e-bay, I guess.

I agree with Jorge_err. I was never a big Mahler fan, as my Dad never liked Mahler so I didn't hear it much in our home. I've sort of been exploring Mahler the last few years. The most accessible of his symphonies is the First, and the best recording I've heard of it (performance is good, sonics astounding-a Peter McGrath recording) is James Judd with the Florida Philharmonic on Harmonia Mundi. Everyone has a favorite Mahler 2, I have a few I listen to. For the 4th, I'd suggest Klemperer on EMI; for the 5th, Solti on Decca or the new Telarc release with Zander, absolutely spectacular on SACD. Take it slowly, and be prepared for emotion, as Mahler put everything he was feeling into his music, part of what makes it as great as it is.

Ethannnn, try also to get the Klemperer Mahler 4, available currently from the mail order dealers as one of the EMI reissues (Testament?). And hey, if your speakers don't go too far below 50hz, maybe the Cisco will be listenable?

I've found that a lot of the Super Analogues sound this way, compared to the originals. It's the remastering process, not the recording process; don't know why they're so heavy handed with the bass, and it's not always done on their reissues, either. If you're thinking of getting some of these, you might call Robert Pincus at Cisco next time you want to order, as he's been honest with me about whether the record I'm curious about is a good transfer and worth getting. As far as the Solti, whose performance I like and the recording of which, if you can listen through the bass level, seems decent enough, goes, see if you can find a copy of the original Decca in the used record bins (make sure its his analog, not digital, cycle). It may be that Speakers Corner or whoever is re-releasing a lot of the old Deccas (and doing an excellent job of it, without jacking up the bass levels) will do this title--they've already reissued the Solti Mahler 1 and 2, and I just got his Sacre du Printemps from them, so maybe...?

Further to my earlier posts on the Solti Mahler 5, I managed to get a very nice London pressing of the performance and, while the bass drum in the first movement is a little overdone, the record is nowhere near as bass-heavy as the Super Analog reissue; worth looking for if you like the performance. Also, for Detlof and the rest of you with SACD players, the SF Symphony Mahler 1 and 6 SACDs are well worth buying, in my view, both sonically and interpretively. Plus it helps support the orchestra, in a small way anyway.