Has any composer been more debated than Gustav Mahler? It took tireless advocates like Leonard Bernstein to heave his reputation back into the mainstream during the past century, but now he is among the most performed and recorded of composers.
So Mahler’s 150th anniversary is cause for celebration. For this month’s Gramophone we’ve put together a very special, even historic, issue devoted to him. The monumental symphonies and Das Lied von der Erde are all explored in detail by 11 of today’s leading Mahler conductors – Sir Charles Mackerras, Mariss Jansons, Lorin Maazel, David Zinman, Sir Simon Rattle, Christoph Eschenbach, Valery Gergiev, Michael Tilson Thomas, Kent Nagano, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Riccardo Chailly – together with recommended classic recordings of each work.
Also in the March issue:
The Gramophone Collection – seeking the finest recording of Schoenberg’s epic oratorio, Gurrelieder.
My Music – leading film composer Hans Zimmer discusses his classical inspirations.
More than 150 discs reviewed, including George Benjamin conducting the music of his teacher Messiaen, last issue’s cover stars the Pavel Haas Quartet in Prokofiev, and Roger Norrington conducting Haydn’s ‘London Symphonies’.
