Mahler: Symphonies 1-10 review – a sumptuous Berlin P

Berlin Philharmonic/Harding/Nelsons/ Dudamel/Nézet-Séguin/Petrenko/Rattle/ Haitink/Abbado
(Berliner Philharmoniker, 10 CDs & 4 Blu-ray Discs, or download)
This mammoth undertaking, of all of Mahler’s symphonies with different conductors over the last decade, brings variable musical results
The Berlin Philharmonic with conductor Sir Simon Rattle perform without an audience at the Berlin Philharmonie, March, 2020. Photograph: Stephan Rabold/AP
The Berlin Philharmonic with conductor Sir Simon Rattle perform without an audience at the Berlin Philharmonie, March, 2020. Photograph: Stephan Rabold/AP
Thu 18 Feb 2021 12.00 EST
Ten symphonies, eight conductors, but just one orchestra: there’s no doubt that the Berlin Philharmonic is the star of the show in this cycle of Mahler performances, taken from concerts given in the Berlin Philharmonie over the last 10 years. The earliest recordings – Claudio Abbado conducting the opening movement of the unfinished 10th Symphony on the exact centenary of Mahler’s death, and Simon Rattle’s performance of the Eighth – date from 2011; the most recent, the Sixth Symphony under their successor as chief conductor, Kirill Petrenko, comes from the beginning of last year. As usual with releases on the orchestra’s own label, alongside the audio recordings the lavishly packaged set also includes high-definition videos of all the performances.

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