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This is a discography of commercial recordings of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 8.

The first commercially issued recording of the work was performed by the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Eduard Flipse, recorded live by Philips at the 1954 Holland Festival. In 1962, the New York Philharmonic conducted by Leonard Bernstein made the first stereo recording of Part I for Columbia Records. This was followed in 1964 by the first stereo recording of the complete symphony, performed by the Utah Symphony conducted by Maurice Abravanel.

Since the Eighth was first recorded, at least 70 recordings of it have been made, by many of the world's leading orchestras and singers, mostly during live performances. This number includes recordings which were for private or limited distribution and were not issued under commercial record labels.

Some of the recordings have won high critical praise. On its first release in CD form in 1988 the historic Stokowski recording was described by critic Kevin Conklin as "the most consistently satisfying performance of the Mahler Eighth I know, and a powerful argument for preferring a live recording of the work". Simon Rattle's 2004 version with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra was BBC Music Magazine Disc of the Month for May 2005, and was Gramophone magazine's Disc of the Month in April 2007. A Leonard Bernstein 1975 recording, when issued in DVD format in 2005, was Gramophone's DVD of the Month choice in February 2006. The DVD of the Klaus Tennstedt 1991 recording, praised for its "passionate commitment", was a finalist in the annual Gramophone Awards in 2007.

Audio recordings

Audio recordings in limited circulation

These recordings were issued for private or limited circulation.

Video recordings

Notes and references

Notes

1. The label indicated is that of the most recent issue of the recording, usually in CD form

References

1. Michael McManus (2010-09-21). "Pioneering Mahler recordings from Rotterdam". Gramophone. Retrieved 2024-05-27.
2. Duggan, Tony. "The Mahler Symphonies: A Synoptic Survey by Tony Duggan — Symphony No. 8". MusicWeb International. Retrieved 29 December 2021. The earliest commercial recording generally available came from a performance at Ahoy Hall in Rotterdam for the Holland Festival of 1955. It was conducted by a Mahler pioneer, Eduard Flipse, who came from the Dutch Mahler tradition. This recording was much beloved of a previous generation of Mahlerites (not least for the unforgettable sound of the boys choruses—like a parliament of street urchins straight out of Fagin's kitchen) since it was, for some time, the only recording you could get and still has much to tell us.
3. ^ "DISKS: VAST 8TH Mahler's 'Symphony of a Thousand' Is At Last Recorded Stereophonically". New York Times. 3 May 1964. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
4. ^ "Symphonie No 8 en Mi bémol majeur: Chronologie; Discographie: Commentaires". gustavmahler.net. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
5. ^ "Symphony No. 8 E-flat major (1906) Discography". Mahler Records. Archived from the original on 18 October 2005. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
6. "Stokowski Fabled Concert Performance: Mahler, Symphony No 8". ArchivMusic. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
7. "Mahler: Symphony No. 8 in E-flat major 'Symphony of the Thousand'". Presto Classical. Retrieved 24 April 2010.

• Classical music

• Symphony discographies
• Symphonies by Gustav Mahler
• Recordings of Gustav Mahler