Search - Mahler, Barbirolli, Npo :: Symphony 5

Sir John Barbirolli's Mahler recordings of the '60s and '70s were uniformly praised in the United Kingdom on their initial release, and deservedly so. This performance, in particular, has withstood the test of time, and on CD sounds better than ever. Barbirolli was always a spontaneous artist, and that's precisely the quality he brings to his interpretation of the symphony. The second movement, in particular, storms and heaves as in no other performance, the moderate basic tempo only heightening the violence. The New Philharmonia plays for Barbirolli as though their very lives depended on it, and the recording is darkly rich, particularly at the bass end. This performance won many new friends for this symphony, and no wonder. --David Hurwitz