Straightmute said:
I love the Abbado recordings but I keep on going back to the set that Rafael Kubelik made with the Bavarian Radio Orchestra. They were the first Mahler I heard, and what they lack in technical precision they certainly make up for in emotional power and musical understanding.
I'm with you there. Although I have other recordings of individual symphonies I don't think you can really beat the Kubelik set for all round value - seem to remember I got mine for a tenner as an introductory offer for the Britannia record club ...
For the record (no pun intended) [Warning: entering anorak mode] here are my favourite individual versions:
I. - Still with the Kubelik here
II. - CBSO/Rattle
III. - LAPhil./Mehta
IV. - not one of my favourites
V. - Philharmonia/Sinopolli (John Wallace - 'nuff said!)
VI. - Chicago/Abbado
VII. - Never really got into it enough to form an opinion
VIII. - Difficult one; my favourite Mahler symphony, but even the best Orchestras/Conductors seem to have difficulty creating a consistently good performance/recording, possibly because of the sheer scale of the work. I have several versions, but they're all "good in parts" but fail to be consistent (starting to sound like an adjudicator now!) - would probably have to stick with the Kubelik as an 'all-rounder'
IX. - Chicago/Guilini
X. - So far as the "Adagio" is concerned, the LPO/Tennstedt version 'does it' for me; I don't really count the "re-constituted" full version.
Just my "opinions".
G.