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Gustav Mahler

During his own time, Gustav Mahler was considered as one of the major conductors of Europe, but nowadays he is considered to a major composer who bridged the Late Romantic period to the modern age. 

Few composers are so connected with the symphonic repertory as Gustav Mahler. Composing symphonies was his "core business": in every aspect he developed the symphony towards, and sometimes even over, its absolute limits. Almost all of Mahler's symphonies are lenghty, demand a large orchestra and are particularly great in their expressive qualities. With rustic and mythical atmospheres (the start of the First Symphony), daunting chaos (the end of his Sixth), grand visions (end of his Second), cheerful melodies (opening Fourth), romantic melancholy (the famous adagio of his Fifth), evocations of nature (his Third), megalomanic eruptions in the orchestra (his Eighth), and the clamant atonality of his unfinished Tenth, Mahler's musical palette seemed inexhaustible. 

His symphonies are captivating, but some could find it a bit 'over the top' at times. For those, his orchestral songs could undoubtedly show there is an incredibly subtle and refined side to his compositional style as well. 

In the Netherlands, Mahler is particularly popular due to its close bond with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, which was already established during his lifetime!

Featured on

Gustav Mahler
Mahler Symphony No. 2 in C Minor
Philharmonia Orchestra
Gustav Mahler
Mahler Rückert-Lieder, Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, Kindertotenlieder
Sarah Connolly
Various composers
Entartete Musik
Vlaams Radiokoor
Gustav Mahler
Mahler, Symphony No. 6
Adam Fischer
Gustav Mahler
Mahler, Symphony No. 2
Adam Fischer
Gustav Mahler
Mahler, Symphony No. 9
Adam Fischer
Various composers
Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen
Ilker Arcayürek | Fiona Pollak
Gustav Mahler
Mahler, Symphony No. 8
Adam Fischer
Gustav Mahler
Mahler, Das Lied von der Erde
Adam Fischer
Gustav Mahler
Einsamkeit | Songs by Mahler
Marianne Beate Kielland & Nils Anders Mortensen
Gustav Mahler
Mahler Symphony No. 3
Adam Fischer & Düsseldorfer Symphoniker
Various composers
Nocturnal Variations
Ruby Hughes | Joseph Middleton
Gustav Mahler
Mahler Symphony No. 5
Adam Fischer
Gustav Mahler
Mahler Symphony No. 1
Adam Fischer
Gustav Mahler
Mahler Symphony No. 4
Adam Fischer & Hanna-Elisabeth Müller
Gustav Mahler
Complete Symphonies Nos. 1-9
Philharmonia Orchestra
Gustav Mahler
Mahler Symphony No. 7
Adam Fischer
Gustav Mahler
Symphony No. 4 (Ed. Erwin Stein)
Christian Tetzlaff
Gustav Mahler
Symphony No. 3
Daniel Raiskin
Fin de Siècle- Lieder of the beginning 20th c
Anke Vondung / Christoph Berner
Adagietto from Symphony No. 5 / String Quartet No. 5 / Piano Quintet in f minor
Delray String Quartet / Tao Lin
Gustav Mahler
Mahler Symphony No. 4
Lisa Larsson
Mahler: Symphony 1
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra / Vasily Petrenko
Gustav Mahler
Symphonies Nos.4-6
Philharmonia Orchestra / Sarah Fox / Lorin Maazel
Gustav Mahler
Mahler: Symphony Nos. 1, 2 & 3
Philharmonia Orchestra and Voices / Sally Matthews / Sarah Connolly / BBC Symphony Chorus
Gustav Mahler
Symphony No.9
Michael Schønwandt / Danish National Symphony Orchestra
Various composers
Afscheid van een springlevend orkest
Radio Kamer Filharmonie
Various composers
Schöne Welt, wo bist Du?
Julia Kleiter / Michael Gees
Recordings
Netherlands Symphony Orchestra
Gustav Mahler
Complete Wunderhorn Songs
Dietrich Henschel / Boris Berezovsky
Various composers
Folk Stories - Songs by Beethoven, Britten, Mahler, Respighi, Sibelius a.o.
Cora Burggraaf / Simon Lepper
Gustav Mahler
Symphony No.1
Edo de Waart / Royal Flemish Philharmonic
Gustav Mahler
Totenfeier - Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen
Sarah Connolly
Gustav Mahler
Symphony No.6
Philharmonia Orchestra / Salonen
Robert Schumann, Wilhelm Kielwasser, Gustav Mahler
Wanderer
Christoph Prégardien / Ensemble Kontraste
Gustav Mahler
Symphony No.4
Sarah Fox
Gustav Mahler
Symphony No.9
Philharmonia Orchestra
Gustav Mahler
Symphony no. 1 (Hamburg 1893 version)
Netherlands Symphony Orchestra / Jan Willem de Vriend
Various composers
Between life and death - Songs and Arias
Christoph Prégardien / Michael Gees
Gustav Mahler
G. Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde (Original Version for piano and Vocals)
Hermine Haselböck, Bernhard Berchtold & Markus Vorzellner