There was a time when only conductors who felt a particular affinity with Mahler would record his music.
As he has become more popular, so conductors apparently feel obliged to give us their Mahler. Indeed, there was a period when Mahler cycles almost vied with Beethoven cycles in frequency of their appearance.
Unfortunately, the corollary of that is that a number of conductors who apparently have little or no sympathy with the composer have inflicted recordings on us.
Here, then, are my personal views on X's Mahler. In strictly alpabetical order and not restricted to those who have made complete cycles: indeed none of the (IMHO) greatest Mahler conductors had the opportunity (or indeed ambition) to record a complete cycle.
Last modified: Sun Jul 16 20:20:54 PDT 2000