Favorite Recordings of Every Mahler Symphony
There are lots of wonderful recordings of Gustav Mahler’s 10 symphonies. And in this post, I recommend my favorites from among them.
If you are already a classical music lover, I hope that you will enjoy trying out some of the recordings that I recommend below. And if you are new to classical music, Mahler’s symphonies can be a fun place to start.
Both Mahler’s biography and his music are captivatingly rich in complexity.
Mahler’s Wikipedia page describes him as an:
Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism of the early 20th century. While in his lifetime his status as a conductor was established beyond question, his own music gained wide popularity only after periods of relative neglect, which included a ban on its performance in much of Europe during the Nazi era. After 1945 his compositions were rediscovered by a new generation of listeners; Mahler then became one of the most frequently performed and recorded of all composers, a position he has sustained into the 21st century.
My next (long-planned) post will recommend my favorite educational podcasts that are also entertaining. They cover topics that are wide ranging. And one of my favorites of those favorite shows—Embrace Everything: The World of Gustav Mahler—is a podcast about Mahler’s symphonies. The show is a recent, delightful find for me and it inspired me to want to listen to more of Mahler’s music. I highly recommend the show to existing fans of Mahler as well as to anyone who wants to dip their toes into his music (and/or classical music generally) for the first time.
As an amuse-bouche to my upcoming post full of podcast recommendations, I thought that I would share my favorite recordings of Mahler’s symphonies, in case the Mahler podcast inspires you to want to listen to more of Mahler’s symphonies too.
In recent months, I have also been loving watching classical music recording reviewer Dave Hurwitz’s YouTube channel (The Ultimate Classical Music Guide by Dave Hurwitz).
After I watched the below video about his favorite sets of all of Mahler’s symphonies conducted by single conductors; I felt inspired to create a comprehensive, 10-symphony-long, Mahler playlist; rather than just occasionally listen to the two Leonard Bernstein Mahler symphony recordings that I had previously owned.
And then after I started listening to the fantastic Mahler podcast, I felt inspired to take my search for great Mahler recordings to a more rigorous level. I started by watching even more of Dave’s Mahler videos on YouTube (there are lots of them), including this one about Dave’s ideal Malher cycle; this one about the second symphony; this one about the fourth symphony, and this one about the ninth symphony. I also read some recording reviews on his website, ClassicsToday.com.
Plus, I watched classical music recording reviewer Gil Zihlka’s Malher videos on YouTube too, including this one about the first symphony, this one about the second, this one about the third, this one about the fourth, this one about the fifth, this one about the sixth, this one about the seventh, this one about the eighth, this one about the ninth, and this one about iconic/reference recordings.
I also read which Malhler symphony recordings the British Gramophone website recommends (which you can read here), what The New Yorker music critic Alex Ross recommends (which you can read here), what Opera Chic recommends (which you can read here), and what OurMusicWorld.com recommends (which you can read here). And I checked to see which Malher recordings have been getting most highly recommended on Reddit. Plus, I read some other reviews of recordings elsewhere.
I am subscribed to a music streaming service, which made it easy for me to put many of the most highly regarded Mahler symphony recordings in knockout battles against each other to come up with my own ideal Mahler symphony cycle/playlist.
The quality and characteristics of recordings and performances of classical works can make a world of difference in how you experience those works. And picking your favorites from among the many great recordings of Mahler’s 10 symphonies can feel a bit like getting to be a judge on a reality music competition show (in other words, fun).
Of course, as different listeners have different preferences, the outcome of a similar exercise for you is likely to produce at least somewhat different results than they did for me.
Even the most knowledgeable classical music recording reviewers like Dave Hurwitz have personal preferences that may not be the same as your own. No matter who recommends a classical music recording to you, it still can be helpful to compare that recording to some alternatives. Your personal preferences matter, even if you are new to Mahler’s symphonies or classical music generally, as the whole point is for you to find recordings that you enjoy (not that someone else enjoys).
And as the process is fun (if you are a Mahler fan), you may enjoy creating your own favorite Mahler symphony cycle/playlist in a similar way to mine; if you do not already have your own favorite recordings. Or you may just enjoy collecting lots of different great recordings of Mahler’s symphonies. Among other things, the comparison of recordings can help you better appreciate the artistic contributions of individual conductors and musicians.
I have no qualms about deleting tracks from playlists that I do not enjoy. And although all of Mahler’s symphonies made it onto my Mahler playlist, some of them are there in significantly more abridged forms than others. I am not super fond of most of Symphony No. 8, and I do not tend to enjoy Malher’s insertion of vocal elements elsewhere in his symphonies either.
So, here are my current favorites (and recommendations) from among the Mahler symphony recordings that I tried:
Symphony No. 1
the 1996 recording by Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra & Riccardo Chailly 😘👌
Symphony No. 2
the Deutsche Grammophon recording by Leonard Bernstein & New York Philharmonic and the 1963 recording by Otto Klemperer & Philharmonia Orchestra
I love the way that Bernstein starts his performance.
And Klemperer’s high level of drama throughout his performance almost made me feel giddy with awe the first time that I heard it. The recording is unlike any of the other 2nd symphony recordings that I tried.
Symphony No. 3
the 1999 recording by Berlin Philharmonic & Claudio Abbado and, for something completely different, the 2021 recording by Zlata Chochieva of a piano arrangement of part of the symphony in her album (re)creations
Although I think that Bernstein‘s iconic 1962 recording with the New York Philharmonic starts much stronger; my favorite parts of this symphony are the pretty parts that come later, and I enjoy the gentle beauty of Abbado’s interpretation. If you are looking for the recording of this symphony that has the most dramatically menacing dark moments, you will want to look elsewhere.
After trying lots of symphonic performances of Mahler’s 3rd symphony, I found Chochieva’s performance of a piano arrangement of part of it to be a refreshing treat.
Symphony No. 4
the 1965 recording by George Szell, Judith Raskin & The Cleveland Orchestra 😘👌
Symphony No. 5
the 1988 recording by Leonard Bernstein & Vienna Philharmonic
I made this selection before I learned that a pocket score of this symphony was buried with Bernstein. You can read about it in this Smithsonian Magazine article.
Symphony No. 6
the 1989 recording by Leonard Bernstein & Vienna Philharmonic
Symphony No. 7
the 2025 recording by Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra & Sir Simon Rattle
Symphony No. 8
the 1995 recording by Berlin Philharmonic & Claudio Abbado
Although I prefer the singing in this recording to the singing in the other recordings of this symphony that I tried, I still most enjoy the few parts of the symphony that do not have any singing at all.
Symphony No. 9
the 2009 recording by Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra & Alan Gilbert 😘👌
Symphony No. 10
the 1988 recording by Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin & Riccardo Chailly
Plus recording recommendations for two symphony-related songs
Mahler also composed songs, and he sometimes inserted elements from them into his symphonies.
For example, Mahler used the tune from the second song—"’Ging heut' Morgen über's Feld"/"I Went This Morning over the Field"—from Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen/Songs of a Wayfarer in the fantastic 🥰 first movement of his first symphony (which you can listen to in the first symphony video far above).
The Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen Wikipedia page explains:
it is a song of joy and wonder at the beauty of nature in simple actions like birdsong and dew on the grass. "Is it not a lovely world?" is a refrain. However, the Wayfarer is reminded at the end that despite this beauty, his happiness will not blossom anymore now that his love is gone.
My favorite video recording of the song is the one just below starring Christian Gerhaher, the Berliner Philharmoniker & Sir Simon Rattle.
And I also enjoy the audio recording of the song by Dietrich Fischer, Rafael Kublik & Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks. It is on the same album as one of the most highly regarded recordings of Mahler’s first symphony and is similarly high in quality.
And Mahler used the tune of the song “Des Antonius von Padua Fischpredigt”/“St. Anthony of Padua's Sermon to the Fish” from Des Knaben Wunderhorn/The Boy’s Magic Horn as the basis for the wonderful scherzo in his second symphony (which you can listen to in the far above video of Klemperer’s performance of that part of the symphony).
Mahler incorporated aspects of a few of the other Des Knaben Wunderhorn songs into his 2nd or 3rd symphonies as well.
Riccardo Chailly conducted an excellent recording with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Des Knaben Wunderhorn, and you can listen to the wonderful song “Des Antonius von Padua Fischpredigt” from it in the video below.
Mahler education from other podcast episodes and from an audiobook
Although Embrace Everything is the only Mahler-centric podcast that I will be recommending in my upcoming post about entertaining educational podcasts, some of the other shows that I will be recommending also have episodes related to Mahler. Below are some of the episodes from those shows to which you may enjoy listening to help deepen your appreciation of Mahler’s symphonies.
The Sticky Notes podcast has episodes about most of Mahler’s symphonies. The conductor host of the podcast knowledgeably walks you through the symphonies bit-by-bit. Below is just one example episode. It is about the first part of the first symphony.
And if you are interested in a fairly technical analysis of Mahler’s first symphony, you may enjoy the below Classical Breakdown podcast episode in addition or instead.
You can also listen to a one-minute-long biography of Mahler’s colorful wife Alma in The Classical Music Minute podcast episode below.
And/or you can listen to a 16-minute-long, even-more-colorful biography of her in the following Everything Everywhere podcast episode.
If you would like to take an even deeper dive into Mahler’s captivatingly complicated life story and music, there is also an excellent 6-hour-long audiobook from The Great Courses called Great Masters: Mahler—His Life and Music. It contains a series of lectures (+ music clips) and is taught by Professor Robert Greenberg, an entertaining storyteller who is extremely knowledgeable.
Bernstein & Mahler
Although Leonard Bernstein is better known to many these days for having composed West Side Story’s wonderful music, he also was an impressive conductor. And Bernstein’s conducting of Mahler’s symphonies was historically important in helping shine much needed light on Mahler’s compositions, which had more-or-less been languishing in obscurity. Even during Mahler’s lifetime, Mahler was better known as a conductor than as a composer. Plus, some of Bernstein’s Mahler recordings are particularly iconic.
Both the below video and below bonus Embrace Everything podcast episode dive into the link between Bernstein and Mahler.
You can learn even more about Bernstein from episodes of other podcasts that I will be recommending in my upcoming post as well. Below are some of the episodes from them about Bernstein that you may enjoy.
The Classical Breakdown West Side Story episode above is a little off topic, but it is such a delightful episode 🥰 that I could not stop myself from including it.
You also may enjoy learning about Bernstein’s complicated love life from the Oscar-nominated Netflix movie Maestro, if you have not already watched it.
And you can see how the depiction of Bernstein conducting a Mahler symphony in the movie compares to real life in the below video clip.