Repertoire: The BEST Mahler Fourth Symphony

So many recordings to choose from: we're spoiled for choice. But choose we must, and hopefully this talk will help you make up your mind (if you haven't already).

[@jonobester5817]

Best recording I've heard so far is the Cleveland-Szell

[@samnelson8280]

I grew up with the Maazel/Battle recording. Brings back so many memories. Thanks for sharing!

[@shostakovich343]

Everyone will have their favourite soprano in the finale. For my money, nobody captures the boyish innocence better than Netania Davrath in Abravanel's Utah recording.

[@ftumschk]

Yes, Abravanel's Mahler 4 is delightful.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Davrath is extraordinary--I agree--and the rest of the performance is quite fine too, except for the missing glockenspiel solo (!) in the Adagio. What could have happened there? And why didn't they fix it?

[@neilmurphy7554]

Grew up with the Kubelik and its was my first introduction to a Mahler symphony (at 20 now 70). Forever thankful. However just listened to the Maazel and at the climax of the 3rd mvt. I was completely overwhelmed and in tears...... superb playing from the VP. Battle is stunning here. Gonna listen to the Fischer now and of course the Lenny.

[@giacomofirpo8043]

Great review. Oh yes of course I agree: Mahler's Fourth with Bernstein is splendid. Very calm, relaxed but Bernstein knew Mahler as quite any other! My other favourite are Karajan and Berlin Philharmonic (I apologize but I'm a Karajan fan :D) and Klaus Tennstedt / London Philharmonic Orchestra with the sublime voice of Lucia Popp...absolutely terrific!

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Karajan is very good, but as always with him in Mahler there are oddities of balance and texture that I find disconcerting; Tennstedt did the work beautifully (I saw it live a couple of times), but for me the sonics kill that version--an early digital nightmare.

[@vincentspinelli9995]

For many years, Kletzki, Kubelik and the Sony Bernstein have been my favorites. Thanks so much for highlighting the Fischer. It is wonderful!

[@MahlerHolic1860]

David, I'm so pleased that you chose the Previn recording of the 4th. I found it recently and it's so beautifully played.

[@polenc7167]

Wonderful review and as always full of surprises and delights. The Fourth was my favorite as a teenager in the early 60s. The sleigh bells add a charm that would be lacking without them. AND bombast free. Such a deft touch.

[@ssb201]

I immediately took a listen to Fischer's Mahler 4 after your recommendation popped up. Just such a wonderful performance!

[@thezealouscellist1966]

Thanks for steering me back to the earlier Bernstein recording. I had heard it once before, when I was about 19 and thought it was good enough, but figured there were other, better performances out there and just left it at that. I can't tell you how great it is to rediscover it afresh after 35 years!

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

My pleasure!

[@jacquesracine9571]

Thanks David. I know over 20 versions and you highlighted a few new to me. Thanks. Recently discovered Jonathan Nott. To me, absolutely outstanding. Sonics are amazing. Keep posting reviews!

[@morrigambist]

My go-to version of #4 has always been Kletzki with Emmy Loose. It has lots of Viennese charm, even from the Philharmonia. Incidentally, Desi Halban (on the Walter recording) was the daughter of Selma Kurz, one of Mahler's favorite singers in Vienna.

[@ftumschk]

@@davecook8378 +2 for Kletzki. The "Das Lied" with which it's coupled on that EMI twofer is worth hearing, too.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Yes, lovely performances both, although the trumpets at the climax of the Adagio are weak. Still, very good.

[@frgraybean]

Atlanta Symphony/Yoel Levi on Telarc is a goodie, too. Agree about the Previn.

[@leslieackerman4189]

Agreed 100% on the Mazel. Battle's singing has never been bettered. The perfect depiction of a cild.

[@burke9497]

Thank you. This video inspired me to listen to the Levine and the Previn. I have always listened to the Maazel, but these 2 are pleasant discoveries.

[@HassoBenSoba]

A few years ago I had a spontaneous chat with another conductor whom I admire; we had both done the Mahler 4th recently and, without any inkling of each other's preferences, BOTH declared the Maazel/Vienna to be the absolute perfect recording of the work. So I'm very glad that you think highly of it; your description of its assets is SPOT-ON. Couldn't have said it better myself. The VPO under Maazel played EVERY NOTE with great understanding, conviction color and character, and the music seems to be weighted..accented, inflected..whatever..in the exact right way, even when the tempo is on the slow side. It still makes total architectural and emotional sense. The sinister "back-woods" music in the first movement is vividly detailed..shockingly, in a few cases, and the serene "sepulcher" music before the big climax near the end of the Third movement borders on the transcendental. And that leads us to the exquisite Kathleen Battle. I must go back to Bernstein #1 and check it out; didn't Reri Grist portray the tomboy member of the Jets ("Any's body") in the original production of West Side Story? ALSO-- you mention the 4 unison flutes in A Major in the first movement of Mahler 4; have you heard the wonderful deWaart set (w/ Netherlands Radio Phil) on RCA?? It's just one amazing aspect of his performance. Sounds like all 4 players whipped out their Pan/peasant flutes and were actually "speaking" the melody through their playing. Too bad that set seems lost to the world. LR

[@markevans5144]

I’m late to this thread, relishing these reviews and comments. Thanks everyone. I still have a vinyl version of the Bernstein recording in a box set with his Mahler 1 and Bruno Walter’s recording of Das Lied with the New York Phil. All still playable. The 4 is my favourite. Thanks for all the comparisons with other recordings David. I am in awe of your encyclopaedic informed judgements.

[@Barbirollifan]

Since watching your talk, I have listened to the Bernstein and the Kubelik. Wow, do they both bring out tiny little details and bring out the character of the woodwind parts! Both delightful, thank you! Now if I could just find my perfect finale...I imagine something even more heavenly... so tender. With just the right voice, it could be so other-worldly. I just haven't found quite what I imagine it could be yet. That's not to say I don't really enjoy many of these performances you recommended (and my previous favorites, such as Szell).

[@mikezinn7212]

Great to find your channel! Going through another Mahler 'phase' - the last one was 40 years ago!

[@klausdombrowski8658]

Hi David, thank you for your interesting talk about Mahler's Fourth Symphony. I am just reading the astonishing biography of Mahler by Jens Malte Fischer. Parallel to that I am starting to hear a lot of Mahler's symphonies. There is quiet a new CD of Mahler's Fourth by the Bamberg Symphonic and Jakub Hrusa with Anna Lucia Richter. I simply love it. Not only the sound quality is splendid the interpretation is too. Very delicate and subtle. I would love to have you a short comment in case you know that performance. But now I will start listening to Bernstein's first recording again. It's years I haven't listened to it. Hope I find it as brilliant as you do...

[@therealdealblues]

Bernstein's Sony is my favorite pick as well. Love Kubelik and Kletzki as well. I have all the others you mentioned but the Previn, I will have to look it up. Thanks!

[@lovettboston]

Great to hear you point out the antithesis at the end of the symphony. Lullaby lyrics are usually about the ideal--like Gershwin's "Summertime"--but it's hard to find the disconnect between real and ideal made so explicit as it is here, and registered in a remote key (a G major symphony ending in E major). To put it bluntly, any person who can so vividly describe the afterlife is no longer among the living, so the whole symphony is a "Kindertotenlied." Equating any message in the symphony with Mahler's life at any stage is probably hazardous or at least reductionist. One way I make sense of Mahler, especially in this work, is to think of the poet Rilke, a contemporary from the same part of the Austro-Hungarian empire who shared with Mahler a fascination with angels (which are mentioned in the lyrics of all Mahler's symphonies with vocal parts, unless you count Das Lied von Der Erde). The passage I had in mind is the ending of Rilke's most famous 4th--the 4th Duino Elegy: "Who shows a child, just as they are? Who sets it in its constellation, and gives the measure of distance into its hand? Who makes a child’s death out of grey bread, that hardens, - or leaves it inside its round mouth like the core of a shining apple? Killers are easy to grasp. But this: death, the whole of death, before life, to hold it so softly, and not live in anger, cannot be expressed."

[@stuartcampbell9738]

Bruno Walter for all time!

[@lukesinclair4337]

A great example of David putting musical feelings into words. His explanation of how the finale explains the first mvt, and the musical and emotional consequences of that fact, is quite eye opening. And yes, there is always that undercurrent of startling emotions ready to pounce at any moment in all of Mahlers symphonies! Part of the Mahler sound

[@ftumschk]

8:07 I've just listened to the Tennstedt (LSO) recording, and I noticed that he brings out the clarinets here, too. Tennstedt and Kubelík aside, I've not heard it elsewhere.

[@2906nico]

Love the description of the Penguin Guide!

[@Infidelio]

One of my favorites: Hans Swarowsky/Czech PO/Gerlinda Lorenz. I hear the Bohemian side of Mahler and this recording brings this out.

[@deHaanA]

Thanks for these enlightening insights. I heard Mahler 4 with the Concertgebouworkest and Daniele Gatti in Amsterdam - maybe five years back - wonderful performance although the last singing part was too soft from the the position in the Concertgebouw we were in. Anyway the recording is on their own RCO label, it’s excellent - very musically flexible ...

[@DarklordofBarovia]

After being completely blown away by his Mahler 2, I checked out Ivan Fischer's no. 4. Quite happy I did! Hope you've heard it too :)

[@dennischiapello7243]

I just discovered the Fischer today! I think it might be my favorite.

[@rbmelk7083]

It’s outstanding! His Third and First are also excellent - from the Fifth and onwards, not so much.

[@wcw3086]

I had the good fortune of seeing the Atlanta Symphony performance of the 4th with Yoel Levi and Frederica von Stade in 1999. I went with the conductors niece and went backstage to meet Levi and von Stade after the performance, then out to dinner with Levi and his family. What a wonderful night!

[@curseofmillhaven1057]

As always thanks for a great informative review. I had to laugh when you mentioned the Penguin Guide - I spent many a happy hour violently disagreeing with many of their three star, or rosette recommended recordings (the terrible Haitink Vaughan Williams cycle springs to mind, and how they lauded the technically inept recording quality of Karajan's DG version of Holst's The Planets. The organ glissando in Uranus has to be heard to be believed - it sounds like it's played on a Bontempi) Anyway keep up the good work.

[@phomchick]

I had taken to listening to the Szell/Cleveland version, but this overview made me cue up the Bernstein/Reri Grist recording. It is truly wonderful, just as David assured us. I'm sure this is the first version of the Mahler Fourth I ever heard, probably from my Columbia Bernstein Mahler Album (which I still have, and which includes Malloch's I Remember Mahler). I'm surprised that no one has mentioned that Reri Grist was featured on a February 7, 1960 CBS broadcast of Bernstein's Young Peoples' Concerts: "Who is Gustav Mahler" where the Philharmonic played and Ms. Grist sang the last movement of Mahler's Fourth. Many of these concerts are available on DVD including this one. The sound isn't wonderful, but the performance is. It is gorgeous and affecting, and it makes me cry when I watch it.

[@robertrosen3969]

Thank you, David, erudite as always. I believe Bernstein chose a boy soprano because the text 'depicts a child's view of paradise'...)

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Yes, that an Mahler thought about it for a bit, then changed his mind, and with good reason!

[@jcarty123]

I lucked into Bernstein (Reri Grist) being my childhood Mahler 4 and first introduction to Mahler. I'd play it for friends (ordinary teens) and they'd say, wow, I like that woman's voice.

[@barbaricyawper14]

Ditto on the Bernstein/NYPO/Grist. She simply nails the finale perfectly!

[@ZviSRosen]

Had a good chuckle at Mengelberg getting a little "nutsy" in the 30s and 40s. And agreed on the Levine - just had a chance to relisten to it on Dutton's reissue and it's very good.

[@brucknerian9664]

Esa Pekka Salonen, Barbara Hendricks, Los Angeles Philharmonic, my pick; mainly because of Hendricks --- haunting solo performance. L.A. Phil. also superb to match.

[@morrigambist]

A comment from a conductor being interviewed on KZbin: "Mahler's Fourth is the love child of Tristan and Isolde". Especially the slow movement.

[@Dodecatone]

I'd like to put in a good word for Tilson Thomas w/ San Francisco. There is a certain danger to emotional attachment; after all it was one of the first Mahler symphony recordings I remember hearing. But even after I learned to critically listen to performances, I think it still holds its own against some of the performance you mention here. Truly relaxed yet always driving and captivating.

[@jonobester5817]

I heard Joann Falletta on the radio last night conducting the Buffalo Symphony in an absolutely incredible performance of the Eroica Symphony. Live I think. Beethoven's 3rd in E flat seems staid and conservative but this conductor and this orchestra bring a whole new opinion of this work. WOW. Young, vibrant, flawless, and always moving forward. Must hear.

[@tpags7398]

She really is incredible. Just saw her conduct the Verdi Requiem and I was at a loss for words. Authentic and overwhelming sound.

[@faville]

I only have one recording of each of the Mahler symphonies and the first 4th I bought was Szell/Cleveland. I never felt the need to move on from that one, but perhaps after 30+ years with that one it's time to try some others!

[@brennanjordan4292]

I love Szell in the fourth, particularly how the recording brings the pizzicato bass at the beginning of the Ruhevoll more forward than others that I have heard. Any other recommended recordings that do this?

[@dlphcoracl9645]

Spot on. The Szell/Cleveland Orchestra recording from 1965 is my favorite as well.

[@simonbonanno2811]

Szell baby Szell

[@timtomlinson3644]

Wonderful recommendations, many thanks. I'll be tracking some of these down. If I'm not mistaken, no one mentions the Dohnanyi/Cleveland recording (1994), w/Dawn Upshaw. This remains a favorite. A definitive feature is its orchestral fury in the final movement, this kind of whoosh that rushes in following the soloist. None of the 4ths I've heard match that, until the Fischer/Budapest that you cite. I'd also add a recent discovery of an old recording: Klemperer in Concert Vol 2 w/the Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra, from 1954/55. To my ears, the sound is surprisingly clean and detailed. My only reservation is the soloist, Elfriede Trotschel, whose performance warbles in a stylized, pre-war way.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

The Dohnanyi was a disaster when originally issued, with the cymbal player getting lost at the first movement climax. I think they may have quietly fixed it since, but I don't remember offhand.

[@tonysaloway8686]

Having just heard your verdict on Horenstein and Mahler 3 I dug out my vinyl record with Horenstein and the London Phil. Totally dead and lifeless! On air you seem to be showing a box with Walter (which I also have) which is a 1945 mono with the NYork orchestra. But I also have a 1950 recording of Walter from Salzburg and the Vienna Phil which is fabulous. Great sonics and great interpretation.

[@chrisgately4358]

If you are referring to the Horenstein/ London Philharmonic 3rd on the Unicorn label, the pumping sound of the misaligned Dolby units used to record the master tape is distracting.

[@kevincummins481]

Well, maybe influenced by your review, the Previn (in a British store former budget edition) is priced on a well-known international market place at GBP 1,180.28 (free postage).

[@ronaldcomber6676]

I remember Kletzki with Emmy Lppse with great affection. There was sunshine in her voice...

[@dlphcoracl9645]

I am shocked you did not mention the glorious recording by one of your faves - George Szell and the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra, recorded at Severance Hall on October 1-2, 1965. The CSO is in top form and soprano Judith Raskin gives an endearing performance of the soprano solo. Was that an oversight??

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

No, I find it rather cold, if meticulously well-played.

[@craigkowald3055]

I really enjoy the Hendricks Salonen LA Phil recording, mostly due to the soprano. Hendricks approached the song with naivete that I think is required.

[@christophersmith6841]

Well, for once it looks like I'm not going to have to go make a new purchase based on your recommendations! Amazon have been making out like bandits with me ever since I started watching your vids. My favorites are the Maazel, the Kubelik and the Sony Bernstein, and like you I have always admired rather than loved the Szell. After your hilarious excoriation of his Mahler 1st, I think it's great that you can see where Maazel got it right!

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Yeah, it's this special thing I do. It's called "listening!"

[@williamhicks2299]

I love your reviews! I would add the Kletzki/Philharmonia and Solti/Concertgebouw as two of the best; do you know them?

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Yes. Kletzki I like, Solti I do not, but would rank neither at the top of the heap. There was a time I thought differently, but there have been too many excellent versions since.

[@kieran2262]

I just gave the Solti/Concertgebouw a spin.. and wow! Utterly splendid. Ok the sleighbellist gets lost in the first movement too, but it’s over in a jiffy. The performance flows beautifully, has imo a very idiomatic orchestral sound (unsurprisingly) and has cracking energy & commitment from all involved. Sounds like they were enjoying themselves! Sylvia Stahlman very innocent. restrained, and with a very special crystalline clarity in her tone. Sound is a bit dated but quite listenable. For me this is a total sleeper!!! (By the way David, I’m with you on many of your recommendations too - I go to Kubelik most frequently). Thanks for the great videos long may they continue 👍🏻

[@jefolson6989]

Agree with your picks, that I have heard. My new favorite is a KZbin video with Abbado and the Lucerne Fest orchestra. Then maybe Walter, Bernstein, Levine, etc

[@colinwrubleski7627]

A hearty agreement with the advocacy of the Abbado / Lucerne Festival Orchestra / Koczena (spelling-?) video. Maestro Abbado and the orchestra are visibly enjoying themselves thoroughly, and I do not detect any "wobble" in the soloist's voice, despite what another commentator stated in the attached comments (and I have a very low voice-wobble tolerance threshold^^). Kudos all around...

[@jefolson6989]

@@colinwrubleski7627 all those late career performances with Abbado and Lucerne are marvelous. Probably the best orchestra ever assembled for a few years.

[@vincentspinelli9995]

I also remember enjoying an off the beaten path Mahler 4 conducted by Hartmut Haenchen and the Netherlands Philharmonic. Somewhat oddly recorded but moments of charm and simplicity. The 4th and his other Mahler symphonies pop up on various labels like Brilliant etc from time. Not a first class orchestra but interesting to hear.

[@ahartify]

So there's a new critical edition of Symphony No. 4 from Universal Edition. What are we to make of this? Renate Stark-Voit gives the rundown on Slipped Disc.

[@shawnhampton8503]

To my ears, the Maazel/Battle/VPO version is just sublime. Although Stephen Epstein for CBS did an incredible job of bringing the sound of the VPO and the Musikverein alive and the orchestra played beautifully, the cycle was disappointing. But that 4th.... the gods just showed up and blessed that performance. Talk about heaven!!!

[@lawrencechalmers5432]

My imprint recording was Reiner/CSO. Opinion?

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

I like it a lot--not great singing in the finale, though, but it's typical Reiner--amazingly clean and clear.

[@nb2816]

I guess I'd classify myself as a Mengelberg fan; I'm very fond of his Mahler 4, as well as his Schubert 9, Heldenleben, Les Preludes, etc. He could create real magic, in my opinion, and bring music wonderfully alive with great vibrancy. That being said, I certainly understand the stance of those who find his interpretations willful and exaggerated. What do you think of Danielle Gatti's recording of Mahler 4? I actually love his recordings of both Mahler 4 and 5, but I would guess you might not share my enthusiasm, lol

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Right you are! www.classicstoday.com/review/review-3369/?search=1

[@nb2816]

@@DavesClassicalGuide CD from hell, wow. Worse than I thought, lol. Seriously, though, I'm really becoming a great fan of your videos. They are absolutely wonderful.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

@@nb2816 Thank you!

[@michaelstearnes1526]

I recently read a comment by Carlos Kleiber (,who wasn't exactly known for his complements regarding other conductors) "At least he (Mengelberg) wasn't dull"!

[@of-ld4se]

Hello Dave, thank you as always for your wonderful videos. My question is: do you still stand by the 10/10 rating on MTT’s recording, or has it worn down a bit?

[@davidmayhew8083]

"Whips and chains?". Lol! I remember reading a quote from Previn saying that Mahler sounded like a dreadful loud cocktail party. Something like that.

[@mackjay2]

Wow. I have never encountered another who appreciates or has even heard the Previn/Pittsburgh Mahler 4. We are exactly on the same page about this recording. Previn's phrasing throughout, the "heavenly" quality (high strings just before the 1st movement recap, for example), his control of rhythms, Ameling's voice and singing. It's actually favorite recording of the piece, and I'm something a Mahler fanatic, with loads of recordings in the collection.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

I'm so happy that you enjoy that splendid performance too, and so annoyed that EMI/Warner seems not to care about it!

[@BriGuy1974]

Hans Vonk was underrated as a conductor. His classical approach to romantic era works could be hit and miss; and with so much great high romantic Western European music recordings available, it is not surprising Vonk’s work could be lost. However, his approach and recording of the fourth on Pentatone with Esther Heideman and St. Louis is tremendous. Definitely worth a spin.

[@michelangelomulieri5134]

Sorry, but I think that Kubelik live (audite) does not lack that underplaying you rightly point out about his Mahler interpretation. The audite cycle is really marvelous!

[@rbmelk7083]

What are your thoughts on the Bernstein VPO with Edith Mathis?

[@damiangruszczynski7451]

I have to ask you David - where is PSO and Honeck with GM4? :-)

[@pawdaw]

My favourite non sequitur from the Penguin Guide was a description of the Penderecki Threnody as 'beautiful and touching'. What a terrible book it was - English stuffiness and emotional constipation writ large.

[@Xavier_Diabolu]

You briefly mentioned Szell's Haydn 93. Besides Szell and Abbado, are there any other conductors who are not embarrassed by the bassoon joke?

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Not to that degree!

[@Barbirollifan]

I keep listening to Berstein and Kubelik and you are right! They are terrific. My appreciation keeps growing with repeated listening! Even Szell, as wonderful as he is in this piece, is beginning to feel a bit stodgy to me now. Two that still hold up just fine for me are Horenstein/LSO and Haitink/Concertgebouw (the one from the "live Christmas Concerts" boxed set on Philips--wonderful 3rd movement). Maazel still is a problem for me. He is just SO FRUSTRATINGLY SLOW in the first two movements. It just comes off as uninvolved/lack of tension to me still. The third movement climax is GREAT, but why does he then have to be so slow through the brass fanfares that follow? HOWEVER, the fourth movement is PURE MAGIC. It is just so full of wonder and beauty. Maazel's is a frustrating performance for me on the whole and has been for a long time, but shame on me for shutting it off before I got to the 4th movement so many times! Thanks for steering me to wonderful performances. I am really enjoying this!!

[@donaldjones5386]

The Bernstein with the boy soprano is wrong for this music. Kletzki is #1 because of Emmy Loose, who IS right! Halban ruins Walter's commercial disc with the NYPSO. He did better in concert with other singers. There are at least a couple of those around.

[@Barbirollifan]

@@donaldjones5386 I was referring to the Sony Bernstein performance, not the DG one.

[@michaelgoron4226]

Yet to hear Bernstein. Kubelik is my favourite, as with most of Mahler symphonies. What about Daniele Gatti/ RPO? Fresh and almost mediterranean in its lushness. Gatti is a keeper for me. 'Hard Driven' was the phrase used by the Penguin Guide for anything that was a bit too exciting. However as a Brit who grew up with this guide, there was some method behind this kind of reviewing however misguided it seems now. This was the notion that you had one version of a work only (yes , one version as LPs were expensive) and it should give you a kind of 'middle of the road' experience of that work that wouldn't get annoying because it was too fast in places too slow, too loud, too 'hard driven' for 'repeated home listening'. That was the key idea - that you'd get irritated over time with your single recording if it was too 'interpretative'. Most of us have several or many recordings and lots are available through KZbin etc so this whole idea is now outdated. When it was first published the Penguin guide may have originally been intended for a less knowledgeable audience who were expected to only encounter one version of a particular work.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Thank you for your post. Of course the Penguin Guide got some things right and wasn't always silly. These were serious people with a great deal of knowledge, but I don't think the economic argument works as a justification for their consistent preference for performance that were (a) bland, (b) British, or preferably both. That is simply who they were, and many agreed with them.

[@MrTomsudholt]

Another vote for Kletzki and the gorgeously holographic, early Blumlein (a microphone technique) stereo is a bonus. I don't like the Mengelberg - especially the opening - but yet one thing more bothers about it. The interviews done with retired New York Phil.members (Wm. Malloch?) in the late 50s/early 60s, one of them recounts what Mahler told them to do in that section when they played it under his direction circa 1909/1910. The old guy then sang the phrase as they played it...it sounds just like the phrasing in the Mengelberg recording! Bummer...but yet Walter in the 40s must have seen those parts and disregarded them in his NYPO performances/recording...if indeed they were so marked.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

I wouldn't worry about the singing. Just listen to mine.

[@MrTomsudholt]

@@DavesClassicalGuide 🤣🤣🤣

[@cloudymccloud00]

On the "strength" of the Penguin Guide, I acquired the Kubelik version, many years back, on cassette -- and hated it! The clarinets, in particular, were a bit too "rustic" for me. However, over time I came to appreciate its qualities: Kubelik has a genuine feel for the piece, and there's genuine vitality; to extent that I later acquired it on CD as a "safe bet". (No Dave on the internet back then!) One thing I haven't quite been able to get past, though, is the massive E-major "revelation" climax -- where the timpani hammer out E Flat instead of E Natural! Not ideal. So, maybe it's time to think about another. (Can't find Lenny, though!)

[@samueljaramillo4508]

The first recording was actually made in Japan in 1930, conducted by Hidemaro Konoye with Eiko Kitazawa as a soloist. (I would be surprised if you like it, however.)

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

I know it and I don't.

[@handsafter]

I think it was written for Boulez, perfect combination

[@Nookyularnexus]

An ample selection of wonderful Mahler Fourths. But please don't leave out Gary Bertini and the Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra's stellar effort with soprano Lucia Popp, a performance that regrettably may have been shuttered away in the no longer available bin by EMI (now Warner Music). Produced and circulated by Toshiba, Harmonia Mundi, and Electrola, all EMI affiliated divisions, Gary Bertini's Mahler may ironically have been overlooked and overshadowed by EMI's prioritized promotion of Klaus Tennstedt's Mahler cycle, which also had a Fourth Symphony sung by Lucia Popp. But the sensuality and poetry of Bertini's Mahler, which shines forth in most of his withdrawn digital Mahler cycle with the WDRSO, merits special focus in his enchanting rendition of the G Major Fourth Symphony. You Tube contributors have thoughtfully posted a generous quantity of Bertini Mahler, live, video, and studio recorded, with first-rate playing from German, Austrian, and Japanese ensembles, but the glorious Mahler Fourth has yet to find a place for listeners to draw inspiration.

[@dennischiapello7243]

Previn's is very fine, but I give the edge to Fischer. The string tone, as you say, is especially beautiful in the Adagio. What's tricky in the first movement is the frequent adjustments to the tempo and "expression" that Mahler indicates. Somehow Fischer observes all these but with a naturalness and fluidity that is often missing in other performances.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Fair enough!

[@frankgyure3154]

I have to stay with Szell. It's a performance that just glows, luminous

[@frankgyure3154]

I happen to own the Japanese SACD/hybrid stereo. We are getting these Szell SACD'S from Japan only and it's quite costly. These seem to be somehow connected to the Szell Edition.However,IMHO, the SACD does expand the soundstage and gives it a warmth that earlier CD versions lacked.

[@isabellevignola1379]

No votes for Tilson Thomas and San Francisco? For me it's the first choice! I've never heard an orchestra play Mahler's fourth so well. It's sumptuous! Laura Claycomb is magnificent!

[@barryguerrero7652]

Maybe, but . . . listen to how Laura Claycomb sings that one bar on "himmlische". The entire bar is made of four dotted eight/sixteen note patterns. She sings them as triplets, which just sounds wrong. It should almost be like yodeling. It needs to sound fresh and youthful, not informed and almost matronly.

[@isabellevignola1379]

barry guerrero « Yodel - Ay - Hee - hoo! » Haha

[@furdiebant]

It’s good

[@abrain]

Mr. Hurwitz praises Reri Grist for her boyish sound and dislikes Bernstein's boy in the later recording but check out Nanut's recording with an outstanding boy soprano soloist. I think that the spirit of the music, a child's concept of heaven benefits from a little imperfection. And Cencic is terrific in the Nanut recording. I think Horenstein's recording with Margaret Price suffers from her perfection.

[@Barbirollifan]

I disagree. I love Margaret Price in the Horenstein!

[@andreashelling3076]

Interesting fact is that even David Oistrach colducted a performance of it!

[@brianwang1156]

and that performance turned out to be very uninteresting lol

[@barryguerrero7652]

Yeah, Reri Grist is great on that recording! Solid picks, David. I'm a big fan of Previn/Pittsburgh/Elly Amerling. I'm not a big Ivan Fischer guy, but I think his fourth with Miah Persson is darn near ideal too. I like his brother in Mahler 4 as well, Adam Fischer. Lots of great recordings of it.

[@mojahangard]

My absolute favorite is Maazel/VPO.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

It's the best of his Vienna cycle for Sony, so that's a good pick.

[@rubemnogueirajr8215]

After hearing Hurwitz's always respectable opinion, I kindly ask permission to suggest to the users of this portal that, before deciding on LB, they should listen to MAAZEL, with the Vienna Philharmonic and Kathleen Battle.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

See my Mahler 4th video, please.

[@weewee2169]

"his most popular symphony" what? are my irony detectors broken? would that not be 2 or 5? i am genuinely interested i mean it was probably the first one i liked properly and i can struggle with mahler

[@Kyle-ur4mr]

It used to be the favorite, then 5 replaced it, now it’s 2

[@maudia27]

Agree with everything - but I sill love Schwarzkopf with Klemperer - please explain more why you do not like her

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

I find her delivery extremely self-conscious and affected. Mahler asks for innocence and simplicity, and that is the last thing she offers.

[@rsmickeymooproductions4877]

Fischer has the advantage of modern sound quality and this topples the balance for me. The music seems slightly less brittle than Bernstein ( of course I'm British as well). Miah Persson is delightful as well.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

I don't understand what being British has to do with it, unless it involves saying something utterly meaningless like the description "slightly less brittle" as it applies to music? 😉 Sorry. Couldn't resist.

[@michaelmyers2757]

Well I get the metaphor, Richard.seems edgy in a bad sense. And like the top end in a lot of older DG cds, or earlier CD players. British I don’t get

[@klausdombrowski8658]

@@DavesClassicalGuide It might be a comment on what you said about British critics in your video: If they say it is far to brutal then it has to be okay (or something like that).

[@classicalperformances8777]

"Scribble interpretive grafiti," good phrase for that generations megalomaniac conductors

[@etucker82]

I'm not a huge fan of the Mengelberg Mahler 4, like you I find the rubato gets in the way. I think the formal perfection of 4 might have been the single worst Mahler symphony for his musical personality. But like Bernstein, Mengelberg could be plenty restrained right up to the end if the spirit moved him, which admittedly was not his usual wont. Must admit I don't like Levine or Chailly in Mahler 4, and I've heard an Ivan Fischer live broadcast from the Proms that I think blows his recording out of the water. But Kubelik, my god... it's so close to perfect. Bernstein's Vienna video is right there with it and for me, the two sleepers are Herbert Kegel with Leipzig Radio and Karel Sejna with the Czech Philharmonic. Bernstein in New York is great but, if one is being nitpicky, I do find it a little overstated. Not in the climax where the Penguin Guide said, but particularly in the first movement development, where it's so fast it's over in a flash and almost too rambunctious. The problem is the opposite of someone like Chailly who, however miraculous the playing, never cuts loose in the first movement development and just sort of chugs along at a momentum-killing speed.

[@Barbirollifan]

I'm having a hard time with the Chailly Mahler 4 as well. It seems so lacking in tension/excitement.

[@cataromp3762]

I find Haitink's Concertgebouw recording to be hard to dismiss in many ways. I would agree that in the first movement he may be a little bit rigid and not find as many colors as some other recordings. But the Adagio is the best I know on record. The faster tempo really allows the tune to sing itself, and the Dutch cellists give the phrases a swaying simplicity that is not present in many other versions. To me it sounds like a mother humming a tune to herself while a child plays or she rocks a baby. I'm not sure how many times Ameling was recorded singling the FInale, but by David's own admission it must recommend the recording that she was the soloist for the first version from Haitink and Concertgebouw. Her performance is perfectly sincere and naive while also more refined than Grist's imho. The orchestra, though as ever under him maintaining the Haitinkian reserve, is resplendent throughout the movement.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

That's "Haitinkish," not "Haitinkian."

[@edwinbaumgartner5045]

You made me listen to Mengelbergs Mahler, which I avoided until now. I will avoid in future, too. It's grotesque! If Mengelberg wouldn't have been a friend of Mahler, I would say, a nazi is wilfully destroying the work of a jewish genius. Besides, me too, I prefer Bernstein, but I like also Kubelik for his broken naivety. But no one does it better than Bernstein in his first recording. Klemperer would be very good, but Schwarzkopf is, as always, unbearable.