Now on CD: All of Mahler’s symphonies by previous chief conductors
In 1903, Gustav Mahler conducted the Concertgebouw Orchestra playing his own work. He was ecstatic about the orchestra, choirs and the audience, writing, 'The music culture in this country is astonishing! The way these people are able to listen!’ Mahler had a close relationship with the orchestra, and its chief conductor Willem Mengelberg, until his death in 1911. These ties are at the heart of the orchestra’s famous Mahler tradition. All of the Concertgebouw Orchestra’s chief conductors have had a very special relationship with Mahler’s music, and each has added his own chapter to this continuing story.
Gustav Mahler - The Chief Conductors Edition contains live radio recordings of all the Mahler symphonies, including Das Lied von der Erde and Deryck Cooke’s completed version of the Tenth Symphony, conducted by Willem Mengelberg, Eduard van Beinum, Bernard Haitink, Riccardo Chailly, Mariss Jansons and Daniele Gatti. Most of these recordings are appearing on CD for the first time, and the Third and Fourth Symphonies have been newly remastered.
Contents of the box set
Symphony | Conductor | Date recorded |
Symphony No. 1* | Riccardo Chailly | 29-4-1999 |
Symphony No. 2 | Daniele Gatti (with Chen Reiss, Karen Cargill and choir) | 18-9-2016 |
Symphony No. 3** | Eduard van Beinum (with Maureen Forrester and choir) | 14-7-1957 |
Symphony No. 4** | Willem Mengelberg (with Jo Vincent) | 9-11-1939 |
Symphony No. 5* | Riccardo Chailly | 10-10-1997 |
Symphony No. 6* | Bernard Haitink | 7-12-2001 |
Symphony No. 7 | Mariss Jansons | 30-9-2016 |
Symphony No. 8 | Mariss Jansons (with various soloists and choirs) | 6-3-2011 |
Das Lied von der Erde* | Bernard Haitink (with Anna Larsson & Robert Dean Smith) | 7-11-2006 |
Symphony No. 9*** | Bernard Haitink | 15-5-2011 |
Symphony No. 10* | Riccardo Chailly | 18-6-2000 |
* first release on CD
** new remaster
*** first audio release
On CD and through Apple Music
The box set will be available from 2 May 2025 in a limited edition, at a suggested retail price of € 90. The recordings not previously available will be released digitally as separate albums. All recordings will become available on Apple Music Classical over the course of May.; soon the entire cycle will available on other platforms as well. Apple Music Classical will include a real-time ‘listening guide’ with the First Symphony.