Klaus Tennstedt (1926–1998) was one of the great Mahlerians of his time and, over a period of 10 years, he recorded a Mahler cycle in the studio with the LPO, where he was music director from 1983 to his retirement due to ill health in 1987.

This recording has never been issued before and is sourced from the BBC’s master tapes.

This 1986 performance from London’s Royal Festival Hall differs from the studio recording made in the late 1970s. As Michael McManus states in his booklet notes, ‘Fine though the studio recording from 1979 was and is, this live performance has an intensity and integrity that few, if any, recordings of this work can match’ and ‘Tennstedt in concert was a very different creature from Tennstedt in the studio. Mahler in particular was a life-and-death experience in the concert hall’.

The sound captured by the BBC engineers is state of the art and easily captures Mahler’s huge dynamic range.

As a bonus, there is a short interview from 1987 in which Tennstedt discusses Mahler interpretation with Michael Oliver.

Recorded: Royal Festival Hall, London, 5 October 1986.

Bonus:
Interview: Tennstedt discusses Mahler with Michael Oliver
BBC Studios, 1987