Gustav Mahler

“…Damrau's programme is a clear, intelligent blend of robust innocence and subtly disquieting experience; her performances are informed by a candour nicely lit in the recording, a well-coloured lower register and an obvious, unfussy delight in the meaning of the texts.” BBC Music Magazine, September 2006 ****

“The whole thing is testament to the astonishing versatility of an artist who just goes from strength to strength” The Guardian

“this scrupulously prepared, gently radical take on a familiar score could well appeal to those not normally drawn to the composer...everything unfolds with seductive song-like grace...the bucolic woodwinds make their points without strain, quieter moments gently sweetened, never thickened, by the use of gut strings.” Gramophone Magazine, February 2011

Larry L. Dash wrote in the Financial Times: 'Boulez's Mahler is revelatory in its leanness: no frills, just the music . . . I was trembling by the end of the performance . . . This was not merely an evening's entertainment, but a life-changing experience for anyone who thought they knew their Mahler.'

“This yet another triumph for Pentatone’s RQR series. With visionary conducting and exemplary playing and singing, this set is a treasure to listen to from both an audiophiles and a musician’s perspective. As will be familiar to those of Pentatone’s modern recordings, the sound balance is very natural…There is no hole in the mix either when swapping to Multi-Channel, so one must give praise and thanks to the original Philips engineers as well as to the geniuses at Polyhymnia. To sum up: for all Mahlerians, this is an essential addition to the discography.” John Broggio, SACD Net (Double five star review)

“Haitink's spacious and certainly powerfully sustained interpretation is heard as never before within the super acoustics of the Concertgebouw...The dynamic range is remarkable, and there are few recordings of any music more spectacularly compelling than the work's closing 'Hymnenartig'” Penguin Guide, 2010 **/*

'Thomas Hampson impressively sustained his long lines both here and elsewhere, finding an enviable range of colour between and within songs.' (Barry Millington, The Times 1991)

“Hot on the heels (or so it seems) of Jansons's LSO Live recording… comes this rival version from his own orchestra's label. The first movement again kicks off at a remorseless march tempo… There's no wallowing in the slow movement but there is expressive room for manoeuvre where required. The Concertgebouw's well upholstered string tone comes into its own here, framing some beautifully poised playing by the woodwind principals... It's in the monumental finale that the differences are most apparent. Where the LSO sounded raw and savage the RCO achieves greater nobility and mystery.” Gramophone Magazine, July 2006

“The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under the inspirational baton of Mariss Jansons, not only fulfilled but surpassed all that was expected of them.” The Independent