BERNSTEIN CONDUCTS MAHLER

BERNSTEIN CONDUCTS MAHLER (WS 121.193) (2 CDs)

MAHLER: Symphony No. 3

WAGNER : Goetterdaemmerung , Closing Scene – Wesendonck-Lieder

LEONARD BERNSTEIN

New York Philharmonic – 1961 CBS

As the years pass, the first edition of Mahler's Symphonies conducted by Bernstein becomes ever more relevant and essential. Despite the half-century that has passed and the countless editions that have followed since then, the version of the Third Symphony, as recreated by Bernstein with the New York Philharmonic in 1961, remains at the pinnacle of this composition's discography. This box set reproduces that memorable production in its entirety, adding a true rarity on the second CD: the great final scene of the Tetralogy as Bernstein recorded it in that same 1961 with Eileen Farrell in the role of Brunhilde. It is simply a magnificent interpretation, which makes one regret that the great American conductor did not then record the entire work. Ring . The box ends with another rarity: the Wesendock-Lieder , again with Farrell, which at the time of vinyl was paired with the song of the Twilight .