Posted by Eric Nagamine on November 23, 2002 at 02:23:00:
In Reply to: Mahler 5/NYPO 1947 posted by Chuck Jackson on November 22, 2002 at 23:18:53:
The Walter/NYP M5 recording dates from sessions on February 10, 1947 and was recorded in Carnegie Hall after the concerts a few days earlier. It is the first complete recording of the 5th ever made commercially.
Actually his commercial 2nd was with the NY Phil and the orchestra had a long history of playing Mahler's music since the time Mahler led the orchestra. The orchestra performed at least 1 Mahler work a year from 1920 onward except for the 37-38 season and Bernstein's predecessor Mitropolous did the U.S. premier of the 6th symphony in 1947. At one time in the 30's, RCA had planned to record Das Lied von der Erde with the Philharmonic, but cancelled.
That said, Gunther Schuller once wrote how much of the orchestra hated playing Mahler even in the 1950's.
BTW, IIRC all the Mitropoulous/NY Phil recordings have William Bell on Tuba. Unfortunately, most of them are out of print in the U.S. There were some wonderful stereo recordings of Prokofiev's Romeo & Juliet excerpts, Tchaikovsky's Marche Slave and Pathetique Symphony with Mr. Bell.
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Eric Nagamine