Vladimir Jurowski, London Philharmonic Orchestra - Jurowski Conducts Mahler's Symphony No. 8 (2021) [Hi-Res]

The world premiere of Mahler’s colossal Eighth Symphony, in Munich in September 1910, was the greatest success of his life. Ten years earlier, his then future wife, Alma, had received this blunt verdict from her step-father, the painter Carl Moll: ‘Mahler? Great conductor. Also composes – but it’s no good.’ Until 1910, many would have shared Moll’s doubts about Mahler as a composer; but with the premiere of the Eighth Symphony all that changed. Mahler’s PR man, the wily and brilliantly theatrical impresario Emil Gutmann, did a superb job. It was Gutmann who coined the eye-catching nickname ‘Symphony of a Thousand’, to Mahler’s initial horror – though he relented somewhat when he saw how much interest Gutmann had stirred up. Munich’s colossal new Music Festival Hall was sold out, twice. (Gutmann insisted on two performances.) The audiences included a dazzling array of A-list names from the musical and literary worlds, and there were representatives of several European royal houses. The first performance, under Mahler’s own direction, was, for once, well prepared, and the response was sensational, from the audience in the hall, and afterwards in the press. In a sense, however, Mahler had done a lot of Gutmann’s work for him. ...

Judith Howarth, soprano
Anne Schwanewilms, soprano
Sofia Fomina, soprano
Michaela Selinger, mezzo-soprano
Patricia Bardon, mezzo-soprano
Barry Banks, tenor
Stephen Gadd, baritone
Matthew Rose, bass
London Philharmonic Choir
Choir of Clare College Cambridge
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Vladimir Jurowski, conductor