Hey, is anyone interested in reviving this thread? There have been an awful lot of Mahler recordings released since it petered out and I haven’t heard most of them.
I used to be enthusiastic about the MTT/SFSO cycle, but as I have upgraded my system, I am now more air of its sonic limitations. The Hall is pretty dead and airless.
The reissue of Bernstein first cycle is a revelation. Some of those records sounded so bad, particularly the Seventh. I read that the producer of those recordings mixed them with the thought that people would be listening to them on AM Car Radio. Ugh.
The as yet incomplete Vanska cycle sounds great as High Res download, but the performances are execrable. Otoh the Honeck M5 is superb sounding and moving.
Ivan Fisher Budapest cycle on Channel Classic Is the best sonic Mahler cycle
that I have heard, but as I mentioned at the top, there is a lot that I haven’t heard out there. His brother with the Düsseldorf band lags far behind, imo.
