What is a good intro to "Mahler"?


I have not listened to any of Mahler's work, but I am a classical fan and would be interested in learning more about his work.

What do you recommed as a start-off symphony? Something with life and fire! Must have great sound and perdormance.

And finally, I am a vinyl fan. Need to have it in that format. Thanks all!

Rick
rwd
I can confidently second Rcprince"s Solti Mahler 1 on analog Decca as possibly the best ever Mahler 1 (but not 2).
It easily outclasses Horenstein's 1 (but no one beats his 3rd) and both Bernstein Columbia and DG cycles. The bumped up bass on the reissues, is reminicent of the heavy handed MFSL work on most of thier reissues........Frank
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.
I can't believe noone mentioned the Mengelberg recordings!!!??? There are in my book, 2 illuminative Mahler interpreters (owners). Mengelberg- who championed Mahler's music, and Bruno Walter who was Mahler's assistant at the Vienna Phil. If you like Mahler as it should be played, listen to any Mengelberg recording, such as.... the 4th with concertgebouw, the 5th with concertgebouw, and then Bruno Walter's 9th with Vienna which is nothing short of miraculous. They are quite different, I would say the Walter approach is slightly more catholic, but they both get the spirit of Mahler right.
I have the Horenstein/LSO on LP (Unicorn). Although I enjoy the analog sound, but the coda of the first movement is on the side 2! It's irretating to break my mood in the miidle of a piece, especially for Mahler's music. The Solti/CSO No.8 (London LP) sounds congested on my MMF-5 and I am glad I got the CD version. A $10k TT plus $5k cartridge may make a difference. The only exception is Solti/Concertgebouw/Stahlman, the CD is a little bit hash compared to LP. All mentioned are great performances, however.

Defintely check out the SACDs of SFSO/Thomas No 1, and 6. These are the closest to the analog sound you can get from a digital format.

For a intro to Mahler, my order are:

a) 1 and 4, and if you are hooked...
Read some articles about Mahler's life.
b) 7 and Das Lied von der Erde (the first 5 movements).
Read more books about Mahler's life, and browse through some songs from the following (no particular order)
c) Kindertotenlieder,
d) Ruckert Lieder
e) Des Knaben Wunderhorn
f) Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen
g) 2 and 3, and if you can sit listening through without stop, then
h) 5, 9, and Der Abschied (last movement from Das lied, and now you can appreciate this whole work from first to last without stopping), and
i) 6, 8, and 10 (get the Rattle/BPO/EMI)

I always think Mahler's music are probably the best to test your HiFi euqipment. He has everything in a symphony, you name it, opera, chamber music, instrument solo, dynamic, soundstage, tone color, pipe organ, guitar, mandolin, celesta, and even hammer!)
Hope this help.
Buxter66 While Mengelberg is one of my favorite conductors, there is a problem with recommending Mengelberg's recording of the Mahler 5th. I doesn't exist. Unfortunately only the adagietto was recorded from the fifth.

Unfortuately, although Mengelberg performed all of Mahler's symphonies, the only recordings or airchecks that exist are the adagietto, the fourth and Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen.