Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)
Complete Symphonies – The Chief Conductors Edition
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra/Eduard van Beinum, Riccardo Chailly, Daniele Gatti, Bernard Haitink, Mariss Jansons, Willem Mengelberg
rec. live, 1939-2016, Concertgebouw, Amsterdam
Texts not included
RCO Live RCO25003 [15 CDs: 840]

Since its foundation in 1888, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra has had eight Chief Conductors, including Eugen Jochum, who held the post jointly with Bernard Haitink between 1961 and 1963. (I exclude from this count Klaus Mäkelä, who won’t assume the post until 2027, though he is already doing a lot of work with the orchestra.) In this present set we have examples of all those Chief Conductors performing Mahler with the exception of Willem Kes (1888-1895) and Jochum. Several of these performances have been released previously. Some collectors may be familiar with a 2013 boxed set, also on the RCO Live label, which contained all the ten Mahler symphonies (with the Tenth in the performing edition by Deryck Cooke) as well as Das Lied von der Erde and ‘Totenfeier’. That set featured nine different conductors leading the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra; it was the subject of a comprehensive review by Dan Morgan, Mariss Jansons’ performance of the Eighth was included in that box, as was Haitink’s account of the Ninth. Dan, whose judgement of Mahler performances I greatly respect, was most enthusiastic about both of those performances. The Jansons Eighth was also released separately by RCO Live and I reviewed it then. Jansons’ performance of the Seventh was issued singly in 2018 when Dan greeted it with great enthusiasm (review). However, he was unable to summon up similar approval for Daniele Gatti’s reading of the ‘Resurrection’ symphony when it was issued singly in 2017 (review). So far as I know, the only other performance in this new box which has appeared previously is Mengelberg’s 1939 traversal of the Fourth, which was part of a set issued not long ago by the Willem Mengelberg Society; my colleague Paul Steinson reviewed that release. 

Before considering the individual performances, it’s appropriate to remind ourselves of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra’s long and proud Mahler tradition, a tradition which few other orchestras can match. As Dirk Lumijes points out in his booklet essay, Willem Mengelberg invited Mahler to appear as a guest conductor with the orchestra in 1903, when he conducted performances of the First and Third symphonies. The composer returned in later years to direct the Second, Fourth, Fifth and Seventh symphonies. Mengelberg himself also performed Mahler’s music often. Even though I was aware of Mengelberg’s advocacy, I was astonished to learn that “there were more than two hundred performances of works by Mahler in Amsterdam’s concert halls between 1911 and 1920”; of course, these may have included performances by some other conductors. Lumijes relates that, thereafter, interest in Mahler’s music cooled somewhat before a revival from the 1960s onwards, led firstly by Bernard Haitink and then by Riccardo Chailly and Mariss Jansons.  

The First Symphony was the first of his works that Mahler conducted in Amsterdam. In this set we hear a performance under Chailly, who was Chief Conductor between 1988 and 2004. He made a complete Mahler cycle for Decca in Amsterdam, of which I’ve only heard a couple of examples. I liked this performance very much and I greatly admired the superb playing of the RCO. The excellent recording allows one to hear lots of inner detail, especially when listening through headphones. The engineering also conveys impressively the acoustic of the Concertgebouw’s Grote Zaal. In the first movement, Chailly establishes excellent tension at the start – one can tell that Nature is awakening – and he imparts a nice, easy flow to the ‘Ging heut’ Morgen übers Feld’ material. The second movement is full of vitality, though the Trio is suitably relaxed. The third movement is a success – I like the way that the layers of the opening canon on the ‘Bruder Martin’ tune build up. The performance of the finale is superb; Chailly is highly convincing as an interpreter and his orchestra responds magnificently.

The ’Resurrection’ symphony is conducted by Daniele Gatti, who was Chief Conductor from 2016 until he departed in controversial circumstances in 2018.  As I mentioned earlier, this recording has already been issued separately. It was not until after I’d finished my listening to this performance that I read the review by Dan Morgan from which I learned that this recording was issued as the first instalment of a projected full Mahler cycle; Gatti’s premature departure put paid to that project. It was evident, when I read Dan’s comments, that I’d liked this performance a bit more than he did, though I shared some of his reservations. Overall, I was convinced by Gatti’s traversal of the first movement, though it seemed to me that some small tempo modifications which I’ve heard other conductors make for expressive purposes rather passed this conductor by. For my taste, the coda (from 19:17) is just a fraction too quick; the music’s ominous tread doesn’t quite make its mark. I felt that the second movement was rather too brisk; Gatti’s way with the music seemed to be lacking in affection and as a result the performance appears matter of fact. The third movement, by contrast, is well paced and the music-making is piquant and pointed. In the passage leading up to the movement’s wild climax the RCO brass offer really powerful playing and when Mahler tips the listener over the abyss (8:46) the orchestral sound is shattering. I’m afraid that ‘Urlicht’ is something of a disappointment. Gatti doesn’t mould the music enough, I feel. The soloist is Karen Cargill, a singer I very much admire. On this occasion, though, her singing seems to be a bit too strongly projected. A lot of the huge finale goes well. My main reservation concerns the passage that follows immediately after the two great percussion crescendi. The drum rolls themselves (10:19) are thrilling but thereafter the episode up to about 15:04 is a bit too steady. Elsewhere, though, Gatti, his players and his singers convey the drama of Mahler’s vast musical fresco excitingly. This is a ‘Resurrection’ that has its moments but overall, it’s a bit of a misfire.

The Third symphony appears in a 1957 performance led by Eduard van Beinum, who was Chief Conductor from 1945 until his too-early death in 1959. I don’t know how much Mahler van Beinum conducted during his tenure but only a handful of recordings survive. He left commercial recordings, for Philips, of the Fourth symphony, Das Lied von der Erde and Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen but, so far as I know, the only other example of his Mahler on disc is a live 1955 reading of the Sixth. I found a couple of issues with that performance when I reviewed it, but overall there was a lot to admire and so I was keen to hear him in the Third symphony. This comes to us from a 1957 live radio recording by the Dutch station NCRV. It’s one of two recordings in this set which have been remastered – the other is Mengelberg’s Fourth. I should say straightaway that though the recording is sixty-eight years old, the sound belies its age. Of course, it’s not as good as the modern digital recordings that feature elsewhere in this set but, bearing in mind its age, the recording gives an astonishingly good aural picture of the performance. One of the few audio issues I could identify was that in the first movement there is a touch of fuzziness on the sound of the solo trombonist – I’m sure this is not the fault of the musician who plays imposingly. On the other hand, the crucial soft bass drum contributions in this movement register very well. Generally, the engineering copes well with the massive climaxes, though the trumpets are too dominant in the symphony’s closing pages. Overall, then, this recording gives us a very good impression of van Beinum’s performance; what about the musical side of things?

I was very taken with the interpretation. Van Beinum brings off the vast first movement very successfully. The opening is darkly dramatic and when the main march begins, the conductor invests the music with verve and jaunty swagger; in the swagger department he may not quite match Leonard Bernstein’s 1961 recording – who does? – but there’s plenty of life in the music-making. Only once did I seriously question what I was hearing: in the dreamy passage between 18:53 and 20:40 I think the tempo is just too broad and as a result the performance drags but once we’re past that brief passage van Beinum injects vitality once again. He displays a fine grip on this movement and leads an excellent performance. The following two movements are also successful. The Tempo di Menuetto gets a nimble performance, with charm and warmth in evidence. The third movement is often deft, though van Beinum is able to obtain bite from the orchestra when required. The crucial posthorn episodes are nicely shaped; the solo instrument is atmospherically distanced. I found I needed to boost the volume control at the very start of the fourth movement; otherwise, the hushed opening was too hushed. The soloist is that fine singer, Maureen Forrester; here, she is warm and expressive. I like the spirited singing from both choirs in the brief fifth movement. The finale is impressive. Van Beinum shapes and paces the music with great understanding and the RCO supports his conception with playing of unforced eloquence. Overall, I think this interpretation and performance of the Third symphony is highly impressive; and we should remember that in 1957 the work was by no means as familiar to orchestras and audiences as is the case today. I’ve spent a bit of time discussing this performance because Eduard van Beinum’s Mahler is insufficiently known nowadays; his reading of the Third suggests he was well attuned to Mahler’s idiom. Incidentally, if I interpret Dirk Lumijes’s essay correctly, this symphony was the first of Mahler’s works that the composer conducted in Amsterdam; at Mengelberg’s invitation, Mahler conducted it on two consecutive days in October 1903, just over 15 months after the work’s premiere in Krefeld.  

It is to Mengelberg, the Chief Conductor between 1895 and 1945, that we turn for the Fourth symphony. It’s entirely fitting that he should be represented in this collection because he did so much to foster Mahler’s music in Amsterdam. I was intrigued to learn from Dirk Lumijes that when Mahler led the RCO in the Dutch premiere of the Fourth symphony in October 1904, Mengelberg so arranged the programme that the symphony was played twice, on either side of the interval! The present performance comes from thirty-five years later. For me, the most controversial aspect of the performance is Mengelberg’s way with the first movement. In the third bar, Mahler instructs the conductor to slow up, rhetorically; Mengelberg’s rallentando is huge, almost to the point of caricature, and whenever this gesture recurs during the movement his treatment of it is similar. To be honest, I don’t think this gesture is consistent either with the way other conductors make the point, or with Mahler’s marking. Once past this point, Mengelberg’s speed is very lively indeed. In some ways this is refreshing but I do wonder if the music is not being rushed somewhat; furthermore, at this speed the contrast with the slower passages in the movement becomes exaggerated. Mengelberg would have heard Mahler rehearse and perform this music. Out of interest, I reminded myself of the recording by another similarly qualified conductor: Bruno Walter. In his 1945 New York recording he avoids the egregious treatment of the third bar rallentando and his subsequent tempo has sufficient life in it whilst avoiding Mengelberg’s undue haste (review). Returning to the present performance, the second movement is pithy and spiky. Again, Mengelberg’s core speed is on the brisk side but I think his tempo selection works and there’s no denying the character of the music-making. The heavenly slow movement is given an expansive treatment. The interpretation and playing is very expressive – there are portamenti galore – but I think the music can take it and I enjoyed the performance. In the finale the soloist is Jo Vincent (1896-1989) Her singing is clear and attractive. Mengelberg takes the quick episodes very swiftly but he and the performers are alive to the poetic nature of the slower episodes. Willem Mengelberg offers us a priceless direct link to Mahler himself and, leaving aside my reservations concerning the first movement – which others may not share – this performance shows him to be a serious Mahler interpreter; furthermore, his excellent orchestra is clearly well versed in Mahler style. The recording is some eighty-five years old. Inevitably, there are some compromises: the orchestra is quite closely recorded; the oboes, as recorded, sound thin and acidic; and the recording can’t quite convey the climax towards the end of the slow movement. All that said, I think the remastering has been a success and the recording in no way impeded my appreciation of the performance.

Riccardo Chailly is once again on the podium for the Fifth symphony. This performance is very good indeed. The opening funeral march is powerful and trenchant and when Mahler increases the speed (from 5:23 to about 7:00), Chailly ensures there’s proper turbulence. Throughout the movement, he exerts a strong grip. The start of the second movement is fast and furious but the following slow, delicate passage (1:20 – 5:34) is played with great finesse.  Throughout this movement, Chailly responds very effectively to every compositional twist and turn; it’s a terrific performance. In the big central scherzo, Chailly has the benefit of an outstanding principal horn (it’s a shame the player isn’t credited). The whole movement proceeds with great assurance; the lyrical passages are expertly judged. This central panel of the symphony is very well done. The celebrated Adagietto is exquisitely played by the RCO strings and harp. There’s delicacy at the start but as the movement unfolds the playing becomes warmer, blossoming to an ardent climax. I think Chailly paces the music in an ideal fashion; his performance plays for 10:26. The performance is wrapped up with a really fine account of the Rondo finale. In my notes. I’ve written “joyful discipline” to describe the playing. Mahler’s finale is a brilliantly constructed virtuoso composition and this present performance sweeps all before it. This is a considerable account of the Fifth. Incidentally, I was intrigued to learn from Dirk Lumijes’s essay that the Dutch premiere of the Fifth was given by a visiting orchestra: the Berlin Philharmonic played in in The Hague in 1905; Mahler conducted the RCO in the work in March 1906  

The Sixth symphony brings us the first involvement in this set of the conductor who, along with Mengelberg, did more than any other, I feel, to develop the RCO’s Mahler tradition: Bernard Haitink, who was the orchestra’s Chief Conductor from 1961 to 1988. He recorded with them a notable cycle of the symphonies for Philips between 1966 and 1975. It’s worth checking out Tony Duggan’s overview of that cycle, with which I would broadly agree; like him, I think Haitink was often better live than in the studio. The present performance is very good indeed. The march music in the big first movement is bracing, as it should be; I also like the emotional surge when the sweeping melody associated with Alma is played. The nostalgic episode with cowbells is very atmospheric. I found this traversal of the movement convincing in every respect. Haitink places the Scherzo second, as I think he always did. The delivery of the music is punchy; there’s good edge in the RCO’s playing. The Trio is nicely relaxed but even so, there’s bite in the playing when required. I like the tender approach to the bittersweet Andante moderato. The climax to the movement is impassioned. The huge finale is a supreme test for conductor and orchestra; here, both pass the test with flying colours. The RCO offers stunning playing and Haitink’s direction seems unerringly right to me. He may not wring out every last bit of tension in the way that Bernstein or Tennstedt do but his is still an intense and powerful reading; I found it riveting from start to finish. After the last dull pizzicato note has sounded there’s a short but respectful silence before the audience show their appreciation of a highly distinguished account of the Sixth.    

With the Seventh symphony we encounter the last of the conductors featured in this set: Mariss Jansons, who was Chief Conductor between 2004 and 2015. His Mahler discography with the RCO was extensive: I think I’m right in saying that the orchestra has issued performances of symphonies 1-8 on its own label, though I haven’t heard all of those. (He recorded the Ninth – and all the other symphonies – with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra.) This present performance has been issued before; it was reviewed most appreciatively by Dan Morgan. There’s a great deal to admire in Jansons’ performance. In the substantial first movement, the predominant impression I gained was one of dark power. Overall, Jansons takes a spacious view, arguably too much so at times, but I never found the performance less than compelling. I’m less happy with Nachtmusik I. Here, I feel that the march material just needed a bit more of a spring in its step – though the RCO articulates the rhythms sharply. Perhaps I’ve been spoiled by Simon Rattle’s recent superb account of the symphony (review) but I just feel Jansons misses something. On the other hand, Jansons is very successful in the central scherzo. The music is sharply pointed and I feel that this shadowy, jagged and unpredictable music suits this conductor very well; the RCO plays it marvellously. Nachtmusik II is very well done; the performance is nicely turned and affectionate. The finale should be exuberant and extrovert and that’s just what Jansons provides; not only that, there’s fine attention to detail. The end of the performance is greeted with huge cheers and I’m not surprised. I do have a few reservations but overall, this is a fine account of the symphony.   

I have no reservations, though, about Jansons’ second contribution to this set: the Eighth symphony. I discussed this very fine and exciting performance in detail when I reviewed the original release in 2013 and I refer readers to those comments. That review covered an SACD (and DVD) release; the recording sounds just as handsome on CD. The choral singing is superb – I think all the adult choirs involved are professional – and Jansons is equally well served by his solo team, amongst whom I’d particularly single out the principal sopranos, Christine Brewer and Camilla Nylund. The RCO plays marvellously, impressing both in the potent passages and in the many delicate episodes in which Part II is especially rich. In my original review I said this of Mariss Jansons’ conducting: “the performance is superbly controlled and though Jansons gives the music its head he keeps a very firm grip on things and also displays tremendous attention to detail.” I see no reason to modify that judgement. Dan Morgan and I both felt this was an Eighth to remember and it’s a worthy addition to this set. My only quibble – and it’s not insignificant – is that the performance is split into just two tracks, one for each Part. The SACD version that I reviewed consisted of 18 tracks and it’s disappointing that RCO Live haven’t here followed their own precedent.

Bernard Haitink returns for Das Lied von der Erde. Tony Duggan pronounced that Haitink’s 1975 RCO recording of this work with Janet Baker and James King was “one of the best recordings of this work” (review). That verdict was delivered as long ago as 2000. Since then, I’ve heard many fine recordings of his masterpiece but only a few have matched, let alone surpassed, that fifty-year-old account. Thirty-one years later, Haitink conducted the performance included in this box; his soloists were Anna Larsson and Robert Dean Smith.  Mahler gives his tenor some cruelly demanding music to sing, especially in the first song where the tessitura seems relentless. Robert Dean Smith copes well with the challenges of ‘Das Trinklied vom Jammer der Erde’, though I’d have liked more sweetness at the passage beginning ‘Das Firmament’. He makes a good contribution to Haitink’s light-footed version of ‘Von der Jungend’. He’s at his best, I think, in ‘Der Trunkene im Frühling’, where he characterises the music nicely. Anna Larsson offers full, warm tone and a good deal of expression; my problem with her singing is that all too often the vibrato she deploys clouds her diction. She reserves her best singing for ‘Der Abschied’ in which she’s very expressive. Haitink conducts the score with wisdom and great understanding; in response, the RCO plays magnificently. Among many passages that caught my ear was the wonderfully poised playing in the first song, during the passage that begins with ‘Das Firmament’; there’s an abundance of refinement in ‘Der Einsame in Herbst’; and I greatly admired the delicacy and transparency with which Haitink and his colleagues render the orchestral tapestry in ‘Von der Schönheit’. The performance of ‘Der Abschied’ is magnificent, the orchestra matching Ms Larsson’s expressive way with the music. Haitink’s conducting – and the RCO’s playing – of the big central orchestral panel (14:26 – 20:05) is masterly. Though, on this showing, neither soloist would be my first choice in this demanding score, Larsson in particular still has much to offer and it’s great to have such a fine example of Haitink conducting this masterpiece relatively late in his career.

Haitink is back on the podium for the Ninth symphony. This performance was given in May 2011, a few weeks after his 82^nd birthday. It’s a performance into which he pours decades of Mahler experience, yet despite the advancing years there’s no evident loss of energy. I’ll cut to the chase; this is an exceptional account of the symphony. In Haitink’s hands, the complex first movement unfolds with evident clarity of thought, fine attention to detail and a firm view of the movement’s structure. We experience wise, highly experienced conducting and fabulously idiomatic playing. The second movement is robust and sharply edged, yet the performance is also very thoughtful in the slower episodes. The Rondo-Burleske movement receives an edge-of-the-seat performance; Haitink and his players bring real bite and acerbic wit to the music. The members of the RCO achieve great clarity in the way they deliver Mahler’s teeming contrapuntal writing. The slower, nostalgic section (from 5:59) is judged to perfection, as is the lead-back to the Rondo music. That concluding section (from 10:59) is tautly disciplined yet with a touch of wildness at the same time, and in the closing pages (from 12:38) the musicians seem to throw caution to the winds; it’s gripping. The performance is crowned by a truly magnificent account of the Adagio. This is profound, searching music and it receives a deep, dedicated performance. Every section of the RCO contributes memorably but, given Mahler’s reliance upon them, the string section has to be singled out for special mention. Not far behind them are the horns, who have a crucial role in the middle of the movement; they rise to the occasion wonderfully. Presiding over all this is Bernard Haitink, who guides and shapes the music with distinction, experience and great wisdom. I found his performance both moving and compelling. The concluding Adagissimo is played with the utmost refinement; time seems to stand still; it’s profoundly affecting. After the last thread of music has receded from audibility the Amsterdam audience seem to hold their collective breath; they are sufficiently discriminating that they don’t immediately applaud, instead maintaining a few seconds of very welcome silence.

I have literally lost count of the number of recordings of this great symphony I have in my collection – four of them, besides this one, are conducted by Haitink – but I can honestly say that this is one of the very finest I have ever heard. This performance was included in the boxed set of video recordings of Mahler symphonies which I’ve already referenced. I had a recollection that Dan Morgan had been greatly impressed when he reviewed the set so, after I’d finished my listening, I went back to his review. Among his comments, he said this: “This is a Mahler Ninth – like Haitink’s LSO Alpensinfonie – viewed from the summit of a long and distinguished conducting career.” He summed up the performance thus: “Quite simply this is the most complete and compelling performance of Mahler’s Ninth I’ve ever encountered, as much a tribute to a great orchestra as it is to a most distinguished and much-loved maestro.” Just so.   

I learned from the booklet that in his copy of the full score of the Ninth, Mengelberg wrote this above the Adagio: ‘Mahler’s soul sings its farewell! His whole inner being sings. His soul sings…its last leave-taking: Farewell!’ I should be intrigued to know precisely when the conductor wrote that inscription. I presume it was before 1923 when Mengelberg would, I assume, have had limited knowledge of the extent to which Mahler had progressed work on his Tenth symphony. It was in that year that Alma asked Ernst Křenek to complete the symphony from her husband’s sketches. Unsurprisingly, Křenek demurred but he did agree to prepare a full score of the first and third movements, which Mahler had left in a fairly advanced state of completion. In 1924 Alma authorised the publication of a substantial amount of the sketches in facsimile and she agreed that Křenek’s edition of the two movements could be performed in October 1924. At this point, Mengelberg re-enters the story. What I didn’t know until I read Dirk Lumijes’ essay was that Alma asked the Dutch conductor to lead that posthumous premiere, but he declined; the following month he performed his own edition of those movements; I wonder to what extent that differed from Křenek’s edition. Since the 1960s we’ve had the benefit of a number of performing versions of the full score of the Tenth, of which the one by Deryck Cooke is the most widely performed. The scholarship and musicianship which has produced these various editions show that, in hindsight, Mengelberg’s view of the Ninth’s Adagio was incorrect; the performing editions have allowed us to broaden and extend our understanding of Mahler to the extent that, whilst I respect the view of distinguished conductors who have declined to perform a full performing edition of the Tenth – Bernstein, Haitink and Tennstedt among them – I feel that a cycle is now incomplete without it. Thankfully, RCO have taken this view and include in this set a performance, led by Riccardo Chailly, of the Cooke performing edition.  

Chailly’s performance of the symphony is very fine. Rightly, he takes the long first movement spaciously; Mahler’s searching melodic lines and harmonies make their full effect. He conducts the music very well and the RCO’s playing is top-drawer. The first of the two Scherzo movements is sharply pointed; the performance is very idiomatic. The short ‘Purgatorio’ movement is pithy and sardonic, as it needs to be; the playing is very precise. The principal impression I have of Chailly’s rendition of the second Scherzo is that he makes the music tart and taut. I believe that over the years a number of conductors have made slight modifications to both the first and second versions of Deryck Cooke’s performing edition; I think I’m right in saying, for example, that Simon Rattle, one of the leading advocates of the score, made some tweaks to the percussion parts. I don’t know if Chailly makes many modifications but in this performance, he does something I’ve never heard before. Cooke concludes the second Scherzo with a loud, dull thud from the bass drum. This sound is repeated to begin the finale and it recurs several times in the first few minutes of the movement. Chailly gets his drummer to play a little tattoo of – I think – two semiquavers followed by a quaver (dah-dah-dah). It’s an interesting effect but I’m not sure I find it quite as convincing as the single drum strokes with which I’m familiar. Otherwise, the performance of the long finale is outstanding. The crucial flute solo (2:24 – 4:07) is fragile and poignant and thereafter the flute’s melody is developed with exquisite tenderness by the strings. In mid-movement there’s a reminiscence of the first movement’s grinding, dissonant climax. Thereafter, (from 14:10) the music seems to exude calm acceptance; the impression is amplified by the eloquence and sensitivity with which Chailly and the RCO perform; they make the long climax just before the end sound very noble. After such beautiful music-making, the final anguished cry (25:52) just before the end comes as something of a shock, even if you know it’s coming. This is an absorbing traversal of the Tenth and the Amsterdam audience pays the performers the compliment of quite a long silence before showing their appreciation.

It’s time to sum up this collection. I have reservations about the accounts of the Second symphony and Das Lied von der Erde. The other performances are all distinguished, especially those of the Eighth and Ninth symphonies. It’s valuable to have a Mahler symphony cycle led by a variety of conductors seasoned in his music. The consistent feature of the set is the superb playing of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. These performances confirm their stature as one of the world’s greatest Mahler orchestras.  There is one more hero of this set: the Grote Zaal of the Concertgebouw. Listening to the modern recordings, especially when I used headphones, I got a very clear sense of the contribution which the acoustic of the hall makes to these performances. There’s just the right degree of warmth and resonance but these attributes never get in the way of clarity. The Concertgebouw was constructed between 1883 and 1888; they knew how to build concert halls in those days!

RCO Live’s production values are very high. All the recordings derive from radio broadcasts by the Dutch stations AVROTROS, NCRV or RNW. The remastering of the two historic performances has been very successful. The modern recordings, which date from 1999 through to 2016, are consistently excellent. There’s ample body and presence to the sound and inner detail, vital in these scores, is very well revealed. I listened both through loudspeakers and headphones and found the sound impressive in every respect. The booklet contains an extended, useful essay by Dirk Lumijes, which is presented in Dutch and English. My only quibble is that none of the sung texts/translations are provided. I suspect it has been assumed that purchasers of this set are likely to possess other recordings of the works and can access the texts through those; that’s not unreasonable.

The cycle is spread over 15 CDs because the Second, Third, Sixth and Ninth each require two discs; it’s currently being retailed in the UK at around £70, which seems good value. This collection is announced as a limited edition set so if you are tempted by it, I’d advise that you don’t delay. It’s a set that gives a fine overview of the RCO’s distinguished Mahler tradition.

John Quinn

Contents & Performers
Symphony No 1 in D major
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra / Riccardo Chailly
29 April, 1999
Symphony No 2 in C minor ‘Resurrection’
Chen Reiss (soprano); Karen Cargill (mezzo-soprano)
Netherlands Radio Choir
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra / Daniele Gatti
18 September 2016
Symphony No 3 in D minor
Maureen Forrester (contralto)
Toonkunstkoor Amsterdam
Jongenskoor ‘Zanglust’
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra / Eduard van Beinum
14 July 1957
Symphony No 4 in G major
Jo Vincent (soprano)
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra / Willem Mengelberg
9 November 1939
Symphony No 5 in C# minor
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra /Riccardo Chailly
10 October 1997
Symphony No 6 in A minor
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra / Bernard Haitink
7 December 2001
Symphony No 7 in E minor
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra / Mariss Jansons
28-30 September 2016 
Symphony No 8 in E-flat major
Christine Brewer (soprano); Camilla Nylund (soprano); Maria Espada (soprano)
Stephanie Blythe (mezzo-soprano); Mihoko Fujimura (contralto)
Robert Dean Smith (tenor); Tommi Hakala (baritone); Stefan Kocan (bass)
Netherlands Radio Choir; State Choir ‘Latvija’; Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks
National Boys Choir;
National Children’s Choir
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra / Mariss Jansons
4 & 6 March, 2011 
Das Lied von der Erde
Anna Larsson (contralto); Robert Dean Smith (tenor)Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra / Bernard Haitink
7 November 2006
Symphony No 9 in D minor
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra / Bernard Haitink
13 & 15 May, 2011
Symphony No 10 in F-sharp major (performing edition by Deryck Cooke)
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra / Riccardo Chailly
18 June 2000

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