Many thanks for your kind words on the Mahler Surveys. It's a pity you have requested comments on the Fifth Symphony, since I am aware my distinguished MWI colleague Marc Bridle is nearly finished the surveys on the Sixth and Tenth Symphonies.
Just a small bit of background - it took two years to do the Mahler VII survey ! Admittedly, the First Symphony (an easier listen) took a little less time, but while the aim is to have similar surveys on all the Mahler Symphonies in due course, they are going to take a while.
As for the Fifth, many years ago I did a short survey on a long forgotten forum, but my concluding paragraph does perhaps (partially) answer your question:
So, conclusions. From the ones I had originally, I especially rated Karajan and Shipway, as well as to a slightly lesser extent, Bertini. To these I would add Tennstedt (live 1988) and Kubelik (live 1981). And certainly if I could slip back into the burning house and Siegfried-like battle through the flames, I'd also grab Bernstein 1, Schwarz and Levine to add to my pile. Eight Mahler Fives - that should be enough for anyone.
Of course, as everyone knows, my conclusions may be different if I were to do the survey today. And to clarify, I admired Barbirolli's famous recording on EMI but felt it was badly let down by a flat-footed final movement.
Hope this is of interest and prompts further discussion !
Lee
Hi Lee
I really enjoyed your Surveys of Mahler 1 & 7. I'm hoping for a survey of Mahler 5 in the near future. This is my favourite Mahler symphony. Meanwhile, may I request your rating for the versions by Bernstein, Barbirolli, Barshai, Shipway, Kubelik and Karajan? Any short comments would be much appreciated!
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