When I discovered Mahler, I was 14 (I'm 17 now). I was sitting in the passenger seat of a friend's car in a parking lot, waiting for him to return from an errand he had to run. The classical radio was on and I had no idea what was being played. It was quiet, dark, and gloomy music and I didn't care much for it. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a loud giant chord erupted from the orchestra that scared me so bad I jumped in my seat (the volume was near max). I was shocked because at that time I had never heard a composer do something so brutal and unexpected. I saw the name Mahler on the radio and I thought to myself: "who the hell is this guy". Later on, I discovered that I had been listening to the ending of the 6th. Ever since then, I've downed every ounce of his music and deeply studied it. He's been my all-time favorite composer since then, and for good reason.

I discovered Mahler from my Dad back around 1940 as he played a 78 RPM shellac recording of Das Lied with Bruno Walter conducting Vienna Phil. I remember vividly that stack of shellacs.

My grandfather was a student of Franz Schreker in Vienna, and so, he saved Schreker's piano scores and scores of Mahler's symphonies as special treasures during the nazi time in a chest in the basement. When I was about 14 and became more and more interested in classical music, my mother gave me my grandfathers score of the 2nd symphony by Mahler and said that this was in the opinion of her father the greatest music ever written. I tried to figure out, how this work would sound, but with all the transposing instruments, I got into trouble. There was no recording available at the time (the ordering was restricted to a few labels). But then came a life performance in the Musikverein, conducted by Zubin Mehta. At the end, I was in tears, couldn't sleep the whole night and prayed to hear this work just once again in my life. At X-mas, my mother had managed that I got the Stokowski-recording. That was my start into Mahler. Next came the 8th and then the 3rd and 4th, also with scores from my grandfather, and since then, Mahler became my vademecum through all these years.

How I discovered Mahler's Fifth: I was familiar with the First and the Second, already. I was studying in Rome and learned that Solti was coming to town to do the Fifth. I purposely refused to hear the music in any format until hearing it live from him. I sat in the Auditorio di Santa Cecilia, taking it all in, and then at that certain point all the brass players in the back row stood up and pointed their horns directly at us and blasted in unison. Well, that was a moment! And I relive it every time. Later I saw on video how the soloist can sometimes stand up alone, and I do like that effect, but for me it was the whole brass section standing up that got me hooked.

I turned 16 not too long ago and I knew Mahler already but never listened until a few weeks ago, his music is just so majestic. I had seen people downplay the 2nd symphony because it was boring compared to its finale, I disagree, the whole piece is just exquisite, the orchestral parts make me feel so many things, I’m a real sucker for it, and of course the finale lives up to what it’s said to be, it especially hits hard when you’ve listened the symphony in full.

Picture it. It's 1968, a few of my buddies and I are in advanced medical training at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. And we've just heard that we will all been posted to South Korea, NOT Vietnam (all of us draftees). We rushed to the post library to consult a map to see where the hell Korea was, although any place other than Vietnam would have been more than acceptable. In the meantime I leafed through their LP collection to see if there was any Mahler. I had been an enthusiastic fan since age 15 or 16. Yes, the Second. We all (about five of us, all conscientious objectors) listened in awed silence sitting in that small room, the umpteenth time for me, the first time for most of the others. I've lost touch with all but one, but I am happy to think that maybe I sparked an interest in classical music in some of the others.

As a teen, I bought a two record set of "The Ninth!" at Kaufmann's Department store in Pittsburgh. Alas, it was scratched and when I took it back for a replacement, they did not have another copy. The clerk said that they just got in a new recording of a composer named Mahler. It was his Second Symphony and, like the Beethoven, had a choral ending. So, I gave it a try. On my first listening as I got to the final movement, there was a thunder storm brewing, and it seemed to go along with the music. I was majorly hooked.

My introduction to Mahler came one Christmas Day morning aimlessly switching between TV channels and landing on a live transmission of a concert from Amsterdam conducted by Haitink. The programme consisted of Mahler 1. It was spectacular to watch with all that brass, percussion and double timpani and as exciting as hell to listen to. I was immediately hooked and it led me to a lifetime of pleasure listening to the complete canon. A great Christmas present indeed.

It was 1969. I lived In Moscow then and had a habit to tour central book stores weekly with the hope to find something interesting. That day I dropped in the book store that was selling the records from East European Socialist countries. As soon as I entered it my attention was drawn to the new record box made in Czechoslovakia. It was Mahler’s 9th symphony played by Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and the conductor was Karel Ancer. Neither of those names were known to me. I asked a store assistant for permission to open the box. There were two records inside in stereo accompanied by a thin booklet in German, French,English and Russian. Needless to say I read it. The author of the booklet Jaroslav Hokes wrote at the end:” The greatness of his work is made apparent by the fact that he was able to give musical expression to the question asked of life by Dostoevsky:”How I can feel happy when another creature still suffers?…” You have already guessed it right that I never parted with the box. I didn’t know then that in ten years I’ll be living in New York. I still believe Mahler, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and Karel Ancer are the winning combination.

I think everyone who loves Mahler remembers how they first discovered his music. There's something about the impression he instantly leaves on us. With no expectations at all I had bought a vinyl recording of his second (the Chicago SO under Solti although it was the striking golden box that really caught my eye) and then the opening bars were already like nothing I'd ever heard in my life before. I was about the same age as Dave and likewise it opened up a completely new world of music.

The first time I ever heard of Mahler was during an episode of The Odd Couple TV show when Felix tries to get Oscar to listen to the Kindertotenlieder. Later I took out the 2nd Symphony from the library and heard the 1st on radio. I bought a cassette of the 2nd for my Sony Walkman and an LP of the 1st with Bruno Walter on Columbia's Great Performances ( the ones designed to look newspaper covers). My first Mahler cd was the 3rd with Michael Tilson Thomas on Columbia. I have been hooked ever since.

I had bought the Star Wars OST in '77, and loved it so much, as my first 'classical music' album, that i went to the local classical music record shop and said, I want more like this. They gave me Mahler's 1st.

In 1971, while still a schoolboy, my local library ran a series of informal talks held in a room dedicated to music. Enthusiasts, retired music teachers and amateur musicians were invited to give these talks about their favourite pieces of music and composers. On one of these occasions, a college lecturer offered us a series of talks on Mahler's 3rd Symphony. The format of these talks was to listen to a movement, then discuss what our thoughts and impressions were of it, with the lecturer explaining and putting into context what the music is about. It was my first introduction to Mahler, and one I always remember with a feeling of fondness and gratitude.

In medical school I used to turn on the local classical music station to have something in the background when studying. One evening they played the Riccardo Muti recording of Mahler's first symphony with the Philadelphia Orchestra and I had to stop and listen. From the opening notes of the pastoral first movement I thought it was one of the most beautiful pieces of music. Still have notes on the recording in the margin of my pathology book so I could find the recording. That was 1985 and it started my journey into classical music.

I inadvertently discovered Mahler the first time I watched "The Gambler", a 1974 movie starring James Caan (a great movie, BTW). Mahler's first symphony is featured prominently throughout the movie. I did not know at the time that the music was by Mahler but as it left a very strong impression on me, I instantly recognized it years later when I purchased my first CD of Mahler's first (Solti with the LSO).

About six years ago I got my first decent pair of headphones in 20 years, allowing me to listen to more dynamic recordings in my apartment. Classical Music Guide's recommendations, which I used as an entry point into classical music, included the Barbirolli recording of Mahler 5. Other recommendations had been beautiful and/or interesting, but Mahler was something completely different. This was a story unfolding, pulling me along and into it, with a constant stream of new discoveries and perspectives. It was unlike anything I had ever heard. I took me a while to get through the symphonies, and I remember the ache when I first listened to Das Lied since this was the last major work of Mahler that was there for me to discover. Mahler was my escape in times of trouble, and is my joy in better times.

Few people are aware of the great video series of concerts by the Boston Symphony and Erich Leinsdorf, broadcast on PBS stations in the late 60's (too bad they're not available on DVD today). In late summer, '67, I caught the Finale of the 6th on TV---I was stunned by the music, especially the percussion--hammer, cowbells, rute, tam-tams, etc. A few months later (the day after Thanksgiving, '67), I caught Leinsdorf's Mahler 3rd in the same filmed series: Holy S___!. A few months after that, my late brother was in Navy boot camp (having a rough time of it), and listened to Chicago's late-night classical stations on his transistor radio. He heard the finale of Mahler's 2nd (Klemperer/Philharmonia/EMI) and said that I MUST get it. So, in March, 1968, I bought my first 2 Mahler scores and recordings (#2&3) in the classical music Mecca of the day, Chicago's Loop. There was only a fraction of the number of available recordings we now enjoy, which made the quest all the more thrilling. After that, I would cash my monthly check (from playing the organ at Mass), board the Chicago South Shore, and spend the day (and the $) on Mahler stuff. Yes, as you say....very little of his music sounded like the 2nd, and it took me some time to adjust...but coming in contact with #6 (Bernstein/NY), WITH the score, was an overwhelming experience for a 17-year old. LR

I discovered Mahler when I was in high school. I had a friend who played the oboe and loved Mahler, but the first time I heard any of his music was when I saw a televised concert (remember them?!) with Zubin Mehta conducting the First. The klezmer music in the third movement haunted me unbearably, and I had to hear more. I caught the Second Symphony on the radio a few months later and was suitably carried away, but I didn't start collecting his symphonies until I was in college. The Third is my unquestioned favorite, followed closely by the Seventh, whose finale I love.

I discovered Mahler when awaiting a friend to have one of his Bruckner 8th length baths before we went out on the town. It was the 9th. The last movement left me transfixed in the abstract realm of resignating into infinity that the composer so Romantic-era closingly crafted. That was thirty-five years ago almost to the day. I've been under the Mahler spell ever since. How could I not be?

I too found Mahler from his Symphony No 2 - this was cemented by Gilbert Kaplan's live performance in my city in the early 80s - the final 30 minutes always move me

I've been into classical music since I was a child, and when I was younger, I used to live in Utah, so it was inevitable that I would discover Mahler. Largely thanks to Maurice Abravanel, Mahler is extremely popular with classical music fans in Utah, and the tradition continues to this day. When I was a teenager, I found the first and fifth symphonies in used record stores. Both appealed to me, so I gradually accumulated more. Fortunately, finding Mahler recordings in Utah was not difficult. For me, there wasn't one specific moment in which I suddenly decided that Mahler was one of my favorite composers. I liked him from the start, and I appreciated his music more and more as time went on. Some years later, I was on a classical music internet forum, and I decided to post a little poll there. The question was: Which Mahler symphony should I get to know extremely well through the purchase of multiple recordings and repeated listening? After a number of people had answered the poll, the winner ended up being the third. After digging into that symphony (and adding the fourth to the mix because it is a close sequel to the third), I fell even deeper into the Mahler abyss, and I remain there to this day. I no longer live in Utah, but the orchestras in southern California provide opportunities to hear Mahler live, and I have numerous recordings of all of his major works.

I first discovered Mahler as a teen when I saw Death in Venice. Such wonderful use of the adagietto from the 5th and the mysterious otherworldly 4th movement from the 3rd. The first disc I bought was the 5th by Levine with the Philadelphia, such a great performance, and I duly bought the rest. 20 years on and my love of Mahler is still strong!

Your earliest experiences with classical music and record collecting ar uncannily similar to mine. Record stores, libraries and the collections of relatives provided formative enconters with a wide spectrum of repertoire. I must distinguish between my first exposure to Mahler and my awakening to the greatness of his music. In both cases it was the local undergraduate college library that provided the ballast for my music education. I think I was a junior in High School when my first exposure to Mahler occurred via the Bruno Walter recording of no. 2. At the time, though, I couldn't relate to the music. My father and mother had shaped my musical tastes toward the Viennese classics, and my earliest explorations on my own were into Bach, Handel and the Baroque. So it's hardly surprising that my first audition of the "Resurrection" sounded to me like so much chaotic bombast. But then, during my first summer vacation at College I decided to give Mahler a second try. From that same local library I took out the Bernstein Columbia recording of No. 3. Wow! A new universe of sound and musical meaning was opened to me, and since that initial "imprinting" I the Third has remained my personal favorite among the Mahler Symphonies. It didn't take me long thereafter to hear, and purchase recordings of, the remainder of that symphonic canon, extending to the song cycles and the Cooke reconstruction of the Tenth. I've been dedicated Mahlerite ever since. Thanks for your reminscences, Dave. Such memories are precious for us music lovers.

My first Mahler experience was in college at a performance of the 1st by the University of Chicago symphony (Richard Wernick conducting, 1967). All the Bernstein recordings then worked their way through the dorms. I also remember fondly the Leinsdorf Boston Symphony 6th.

My first Mahler was the First Symphony, Bruno Walter with the Columbia Symphony on CBS Great Performances. That was a big shock. The opening alone... Four minutes of musical standstill and yet so captivating.

I discovered Mahler in 1963 when I heard a performance of his Fourth with Fabian Sevitzky (nephew of Sere Koussevitzky) conducting the University of Miami Symphony Orchestra. I was entranced by this work, the sleigh bells in the first movement were a wonderful touch, but wasn't suddenly awestruck. Then I got his First and Ninth--the came together in the wonderful Vox Box LP series and I was hooked. Over the following decades I read everything I could about Mahler--including Henry Louis de la Grange's magisterial four volume bio, Alma Mahler's diaries, all of Mahler's published letters, etc. I also taught a couple of courses on his music through Duke University's continuing education program. How true Mahler's prophesy "My time will come" has proved to be.

Love your musical reminiscences! You've got a touch of Proust in you, my friend ...

I'm afraid that I've spent most of my life with Mahler at arm's length, enjoying the 4th and isolated movements of several others. It's only in the past 10 years I've been purposefully delving into his work, and of course, it's a whole new world of profound amazement. It was actually the 9th that nagged me for several years to get serious about his other work. My biggest surprise has been the two completed movements of the 10th, for it's clear that Mahler was still at the height of his powers. I think the whole structure of the Adagio is mind-boggling.

I was 13 when I first discovered Mahler through the 1974 BBC period drama Fall of Eagles, which I was watching on KZfaq. The opening theme of the series was from the first movement of Mahler's 5th. I didn't find this out until some years later, and even then I didn't bother to explore too much of Mahler as a musician. Last year, on a whim, I made the decision to seek out his works on Spotify and I discovered his First and Third Symphonies. The First hooked me with its incredibly haunting third movement, which I recognised as Frere Jacques in minor. However, it was the Third which really grabbed me with its mammoth first movement - the menacing brass, the shrill woodwinds, the up-tempo military march, the circus music - that stopped me in my tracks and brought me face to face with the genius of Mahler. From that time on I have been a Mahler obsessive, listening to every single one of his symphonies and his song cycles. His music will be in my heart and soul forever.

1960 was the Mahler centenary year and it coincided with my developing musical tastes as a teenager. I had already encountered the Ninth via a radio broadcast and was so moved by it that I bought the boxed Bruno Walter CBS LPs as a result. It wasn’t until the first term at university in 1962 that I was introduced to the Second (again a Walter recording) by a new acquaintance who insisted I must hear the Resurrection Symphony and took me back to his rooms in college and put the records on his record player. It was staggering! I had a transformational experience similar to the one you describe. Now in my late seventies I have multiple recordings of each of the symphonies and enjoy listening to your opinions of the various interpretations.

My discovery was a live performance led by Scherchen of the 5th in Philadelphia. I didn't know at the time that it was a severely cut version. I just was blown away by the whole musical journey. Then it was on to Lenny's recordings. I remember buying a leather bound set of 1 through 9. I am keeping it as a family heirloom. I can't help it. I have a permanent case of Mahleria!

Similar to your story! My dad taught H.S. strings on L.I. in the 70s. One day some widow donated piles of Kalmus scores to the school - which nobody was ever gonna look at, so he started bringing home scores of WTC (Bischoff ed.), Chopin, Vivaldi, Mussorgsky Pictures (orch. Tushmalov), Act II of Götterdämmerung … and among these was a full-size Mahler 4. I was *fascinated* by the gorgeous engraving, the curious dynamic juxtapositions, and all these detailed directions in German! My folks got me a recording, which was another bit of luck: Paul Kletzky and soprano Emmy Loose … lovely! That was my gentle intro to Mahler, and since we already had an LP of the 2nd (Klemperer, poor sound but a great interpretation!) soon I got a mini score of that - and I was deeply hooked for life. Next came 5 and 6, and Songs of a Wayfarer. For H.S. graduation I got scores of 1, 3 and 7. I first heard 9 on PBS (Bernstein w. Vienna, OMG) and I didn’t start to take in 8 and Lied v.d. Erde until Eastman in the early 80s. (Since you asked!)

Mahler I discovered when I was about 15, haunting the local lending library, as I did quite frequently. I've always been musically curious and they had a rather extensive collection of records (no CDs then). I remember coming across this box set which had a unusual rainbow motif on the front and wondered what this guy Mahler was all about. The set was Karajan's version of the Fifth Symphony with Kindertotenlieder and I was absolutely blown away from that opening funeral march to the triumphant finale. Took longer to get get to grips with Kindertotenlieder but never really looked back!

I was around the same age when I stumbled upon Mahler, and about the same year. I had been 'experimenting' by pushing myself towards more obscure or unpopular music, and after dabbling with Schoenberg (courtesy of the record department of the local library) someone suggested "that one with the blue sleeve". I was hooked straight away. I can't pick a single piece as a favourite - it all depends on the day and my mood.

I was 19 and watching afternoon TV. The Sanitarium Health Food Company was launching a new breakfast product; whoever ran the ad campaign decided to use the first 30 seconds of the finale of Mahler's 1st (with the opening flourish of Katschei's dance from The Firebird to finish off the ad). I had no idea what the music was, but it stunned me. Talk about hard-sell. That summer I was at a holiday orchestral music camp and we sight-read the symphony. As ineptly played as it was, the music was unmistakable. My local record store stocked the Abbado/Chicago LP, which I snapped up. Barely a month later, our government broadcaster showed Haitink's Kerstmatinee concert of the 'Resurrection' with Roberta Alexander and Jard van Nes; the one where he loses his baton in the finale. That was it. I was hooked forever.

My introduction to Mahler was thanks to Bernstein’s Young People’s Concerts on TV. I never missed any of those. In this particular one he discussed the 3rd Movement, St. Anthony’s Sermon to the Fishes, the title of which I thought was real cool and the music blew me away. I had to have that! My local record store carried only Mercury LPs so I guess one of my parents must have driven me to Madison (Wis that is) because I don’t think I was in high school yet. So I go into the store on State Street, Victor Records, and ask for Mahler’s Symphony No.2. The sales clerk looked at me as if I were crazy. Why would a kid want something so obscure?! Anyway, they had the Bruno Walter LP set and I bought it. My love of Mahler started there. I used to “conduct” it in my bedroom. From there it was Bernstein in the 4th with Reri Grist and then the incomplete Mahler 10 with Szell, both of which arrived via the Columbia Record Club. My Mahler journey continued so that by the time I was a high school senior I felt I could write an essay on him which I did for my English class! The journey continues (and not just for Mahler!) to this day.

When I was 12 at a summer music camp, my counselor often talked about Mahler and recordings of symphonies. I hadn't heard the music, but I was intrigued. Then during one of our afternoon music classes, another counselor put on the Bernstein recording of No. 8, and I was completely blown away by the first section. In November 1969 I had my first live Mahler experience, with George Szell conducting the New York Philharmonic in Symphony No. 6. And then a friend gave me the Rudolf Schwartz recording of No. 5 as a Bar Mitzvah present. Then Solti's 1970s Chicago recordings of Nos. 5, 6, 7 and 8 sealed the deal for me during my high school years. In college I often traipsed into New York to go to New York Philharmonic rehearsals, which is how I caught many of the Leinsdorf/Levine/Boulez Mahler cycle performances. And now I'm performing four hand arrangements of Mahler symphonies with numerous pianists here and in Europe...coming full circle, perhaps.

Like a number of other folks back then, I discovered Mahler by way of the gorgeous and unsettling sound track to Visconti's Death in Venice. Saw it in a Paris cinema on my first trip to Europe, summer of '71, on the night of my 25th birthday. Talk about being knocked flat by everything! Paris, Venice, Visconti, Bogarde, Mahler, Mann. It was an overwhelming experience, and that 5th Symphony Adagietto was the key to it all. Unfortunately, by the time I got home and found my way to the entire symphony, I discovered a whole OTHER side of Mahler, which took some getting used to. But someone suggested the 4th, then Das Lied, and before long I was hooked for life.

Discovered Mahler only in the last couple of years, and I’m going to be 61 next week. And it’s all thanks to you Dave, your channel and all your great videos! So, thank you for helping me discover many areas of this music, and especially Mahler who has become one of my firm favs!

My introduction was discovering Walter's Mahler 9 (Columbia) on LP as a teen, and the the 1st in a tv broadcast of Leinsdorf/BSO.

Well, i donot remember when I discovered Mahler some 40 years ago. But last week I was searching the internet for some more in-depth clues on Mahler’s symphonies and a KZfaq clip by some Dave Hurwitz pops up on the screen. And since then my understanding and appreciation of Classical music has just taken off like a rocket. And I look forward to every moment when I can watch another clip and get an even deeper understanding. So, in short I discovered Hurwitz through Mahler.

Between my freshman and soph year in college, I started buying High Fidelity magazine. There was an ad in there for Nonesuch and the headline grabbed me for some reason: "Mahler Scholar? In League with Grieg? Boyce Your Choice?" And one of the LPs advertised was the Mahler 1st conducted by Jascha Horenstein (from Unicorn, I believe). I bought it, enjoyed it mucho, and started looking into Mahler's other symphonies.

Saturday 23rd March 1974. Ideal Home Exhibition, London. Bang & Olufsen stand. They had a record playing to demonstrate their stereo system. Fabulous music had me entranced. I checked the turntable, rotating my head to read the record label. Mahler's 8th. 5 days later I slipped out of school at lunchtime to a specialist classical shop in my local town. The old guy that ran it had a framed photo of Vaughan Williams on the counter as he'd known the great man. I had no idea of best recordings or anything so I just asked for Mahler's 8th and let the shop owner make the decision. He sold me the Solti/Chicago/Decca box set for £5.20. By February 1975 I had a complete Mahler symphony cycle and then embarked upon the songs and other works. The shop and the old guy that ran it are long gone but my love for Mahler's music remains.

I'm 17 and just got into classical music and Mahler for almost 2 years now. I would never forget the experience of Bernstein 's Sony studio Mahler 2 and the Solti 8, where the ending gave me almost like an out of body experience for an instant. And like you, it took time to love each piece of Mahler, to understand more of Mahler through his music, which for certain evolved through time. What an experience and there is certainly more that classical music can offer us

My first encounter of Mahler’s music occurred when I watched William Steinburg conduct the Pittsburgh Symphony in Mahler’s 2nd. This was the inaugural concert for the opening of Heinz Hall in 1971 and broadcast on PBS. I was enthralled, even though I was viewing this on a 9 inch b&w tv. The following day, I went to Two Guys department store, and bought the Bruno Walter recording on Odyssey. Now admittedly, I had no idea this was indeed a very good performance which holds up until today. I simply liked the star laden sky of the cover art.

By my college days in the late 60's I already had been into classical music since childhood. I had heard of Mahler but knew little about his music. I had seen Bernstein's Young People's TV special about him a few years before, but largely forgot about it. One day at the record store, I saw the Mahler 1 LP by Ormandy and TPO. (It's not the greatest, but pretty good, with Blumine included, and it had a neat cover.) Once I listened to it, I was forever hooked. I almost couldn't believe it had been written way back in the 1880's. As far as my concept of music is concerned, it was life changing and opened up a new universe that I'm still exploring. I began reading everything I could find about Mahler and familiarized myself with all of his compositions. My bookshelf became and remains well populated with Mahler tomes. I have no idea how many recordings of his works I've heard in the subsequent 50-odd years, except that it's a vast multitude which increases as new ones come along. I love all his stuff, though the 1st, my original portal into the Mahler cosmos, will always be my favorite.

I'm 17, My discovery of Mahler happened not much longer than a year ago. Since then, I have purchased a 4' tall portrait of him that hangs next to my desk, every symphony except for 6 and 7 + kindertotenlieder on vinyl (along with a record player), I've seen the 2nd and 4th live and bought tickets to a show of his 9th (my favorite of all of them) sometime next year, which will be almost a celebration after having finished my senior year in highschool enduring 5 AP classes and getting ready to study biochemistry in college. My discovery an extremely steep exponential curve. I hadn't listened to anything of his except for the funeral march movement of his first symphony and a little bit of the 2nd landler/scherzo movement, but they didn't really feel connected to me. I also occasionally enjoyed hearing the traumatic blast of the fourth movements first few minutes but not much more, meaning that I had practically neglected the first movement all together. It wasn't until I listened to it all the way through that I had really gained an understanding of what I was hearing. I think my main eye-opening moment was the triumphant section that closes the first movement, the trombone fanfare over the short trill melody played by the violins. Something about the complex but extremely rich harmonic profile is something that really struck me. Since then, it's just been an addiction of mine. I've still largely neglected the 7th and 8th, but I'm sure I won't be able to put them off much longer. I've also finally begun my own compositions, the first of which is inadvertently inspired by the heartbreaking adagietto of his 9th (coincidentally in the same key, though a very different progression). It's extremely tough to pick favorites with Mahler, since in my opinion even his "lesser" works are still unbelievably monumental in comparison to anything else. Though if I were to pick a favorite symphony, it would definitely be the 9th. As far as favorite movements, it's between the Rondo Burleske of his 9th (contrapuntal god mode), the Rondo Finale of his 5th (slightly lesser contrapuntal god mode) and the first movement of his first (for nostalgia and also bird sounds).

A friend recommended a 2-in-1 Sony’s Bruno Walter’s Mahler Symphony 1&2 CDs set at a used record/CD store. Really came to love the first.

I discovered Mahler in... 2019.. also started with symphony no. 2 but now love them all equally

Nice to hear that you had pleasant memories of Cutler's and the Yale Coop record department. Back in the late seventies, and then early eighties when Jason Cutler bought the Coop's record department, I was one of the classical specialists in those stores. I started working there right after high school, and then worked there during winter breaks and sometimes summers through grad school. That job was the best preparation I can imagine for my future career as a music librarian.

my first Mahler encounter happened 35 years ago when I was bathing and listening to our local radio c as one excerpt of music that shocked me liked "electric attack" then I knew later that was M3 first movement through it I began my step into the world of Mahler ...

When I was in junior high school circa 1961, I was spending my allowance on the occasional Everest Record for $2 each. (Vox Records were only $1 and made up most of my budding collection.) I took a chance-- I was intrigued by the album cover-- on the Everest Mahler #1 with Boult and the LPO and was then bewitched by the "nature at dawn" first movement. My first brush with "unfamiliar" classical music... .

Public library had the Bruno Walter Columbia symphony recording of Mahler 1, loved it, never looked back. Been a Mahler lover ever since, 1966 or so.

My first Mahler was the 1st. There was a 2nd hand book and record store in the U district and when I was a sophomore in college I picked up the Walter Mahler 1st on Columbia. I got it home, put it on and it was love at first bar. I used to do a lot of hiking, fishing and camping out and as soon as I heard those opening sounds it was OMG, I've been there, or Mahler's been in the forests too with the trees and the mists, and the crisp air, the birds, all of it. The finale took me several listens to really get but from then on it was the Wunderhorn symphonies and then the later ones. I'm afraid that at age 13, I knew from almost nothing. But my older sister had the Cliburn Tchaikovsky 1st (I think there was a law requiring purchase ca. 1958) and she also had Markevitch's Angel lp of R&J coupled with Nutcracker. I think I played them at age 8 more than she did. By 13, though, I'd discovered G&S and recall saving up to buy the first ever recording of Utopia,Ltd. by Washington Lyric Theater. A rather seedy performance and recording but much more fun to me than the latest rock lp. But back on topic, I've always felt much more simpatico towards Mahler than that other composer of long symphonies, but otherwise very different, Bruckner who I began exploring around the same time as Mahler.

I was 19 in 1989 when I discovered classical music, on that day I purchased on cassette the Bruch/Mendelssohn with Milstein/Barzin, still love that one. And MacKerras Eminence Mahler 5 after reading about that Thomas Mann Adagietto. Sublime powerful music, I am almost certain after that I purchased the whole DG Kubelik cycle in the huge 3 x Fatbox edition and listened to them over and over, now my Mahler collection is possible 30 cycles and 300 individual cds, could be more. Yes he is obsessive, but I don’t belong to a cult. Around the same time I discovered Jussi Bjorling and was blown away for the second time… only my opinion but for me popular or chart music died around 1990, it did recover but my interests were elsewhere by then. Great video David, sounds like a series 😆

My first experience with Mahler was in high school, we had a harp player so we played the adagietto. I thought… man this hurts to play, everything is so slow. But it really impressed me. The next year I played the M1 finale in an honors orchestra. Then when I went to college we started a Mahler cycle, 1 symphony every year. I did 1-6 and that’s when it stopped

I also got into Mahler through the 2nd. Our local orchestra was rehearsing it and I went to the rehearsals and came to know it that way. We also had a record of it. The first movement was just amazing and that's what captured me. And later the trumpet solo combined with the soprano in the 5th movement was a moment of such exquisite beauty. Like Dave says, it was a totally different sound to anything I'd heard before. After that, it was the 3rd, 5th, ...

I thank my Chemistry teacher who gave me a concert ticket of Edo De Waart conduct Mahler 5 in Hong Kong when I was a high school boy. That’s the first time I get to know Mahler and that change my life.

I discovered Mahler at a Music Appreciation course in college in 1987. It was part of the school's Core Curriculum that all students had to take and the professor basically played recordings of classical music to a group of bored freshmen who struggled to stay awake the whole time. I had been into classical music for a couple of years and was familiar with mainstream 18th and 19th century composers - Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Brahms, etc. but on this day, the professor was out sick and the substitute instructor put on Mahler's first symphony. The moment the strings started playing the "awakening of nature from a long winter's sleep" theme, I was transfixed. I had never heard anything like it and it struck me like a bolt of lightning. It's one of my most vivid memories of college and I remember it as if it happened just yesterday.

Adagietto of the 5th when I was in HS - most beautiful thing I'd ever heard

I discovered Mahler in the mid-1970s, when I was about 17-19 years old. There used to be a late night classical music program in Polish Radio 2, by the most eminent Polish musicologist (prof. Bohdan Pociej) specialising in Mahler and Bruckner, who presented the whole cycle of Mahler's symphonies. I was astounded by the first two, yet I was a bit confused by his 3rd symphony at that time., yet I started collecting records - it was a hard task in Poland then- fortunately I was able to buy some East Germany ETERNA and Czech Supraphon LP's ( Haitink, Sanderling, Masur, Neumann, Ancerl, Fischer) The most memorable date for me was when I listened to 3rd symph. at London Proms in 1981 (or 82) under Haitink. Also when in London I managed to buy the LPs with two symphonies unavailable in Poland: 8 (Kubelik) & 10 (full version with Ormandy), for which I paid an enormous amount of 3.50 pounds each (In communist Poland that was my week salary then). I still have them and listen with great pleasure! Thank you for your presentations and reviews, Grzegorz Cebrat, Poland

I picked up that Reiff/New Haven Mahler 1 featuring Blumine a few years back for the novelty value. $5 near mint on vinyl, it's actually a pretty darn good recording musically and sonically. I wish I could remember exactly when I first discovered Mahler. It would probably would have been hearing Dohnanyi do Symphony 1, 4, or 5 with Cleveland when I was but a young stripling. Haven't looked back since, became truly obssessed with M7 and M10 in its various iterations and completions over the past five years.

My introduction to Mahler was a live performance of the First Symphony I heard on the radio. On my next LP shopping expedition I picked up the Haitink/Concertgebouw LP and I never looked back.

Occasional bus trips with my older brother in the early 1960s to the city and the basement of San Francisco's Sea of Records, that's where I could use my teenage budget to experiment, because everything was $2/disc. Lots of Vox, but also tons of remaindered Everest and Mercury. I'd heard of Mahler, but not his music, so I picked up the First on Everest with Boult and the LPO. Another SF record store was a small independent place downtown, where I spotted the first Bernstein Mahler 2, and saw it featured a chorus. This was when I was still looking for things that might get to me in the way the choral finale of The Ninth did. The owner was an older guy, saw me holding the box and came over; I might have asked him what the music was like. Turns out he was a former New Yorker and rhapsodized over times he'd heard Jennie Tourel back there. My brother bought me the album, and back home when I got to the finale I had the very same experience you did.

I first encountered Mahler in my later teen years when I was invited to participate in an orchestra gathered together to sight-read through Mahler's 1st Symphony. Until then, I had no idea who this Mahler person was, so I checked out the old Walter recording from the local library and gave it a listen. The first movement grabbed my attention right away, with it's slow build-up over a nearly static wash of unison strings and wonderful folk-like melody that finally emerges from the mists. The rest of the symphony took some time to sink in (especially that wild finale). Later I discovered his 2nd Symphony, which blew me away in much the same way it did for you, and then his 9th, which I found emotionally draining but incredibly beautiful. I've been a fan even since.

Great story David! I am really looking forward to your Haydn story. Take care and thank you for your entertaining and informative videos.

I didn't even know about Mahler until I was in college. Even then, I really didn't start listening to him until much later. Don't even remember when, how, or even why. Up until about 15 years ago, I had only ever heard 1,3,7. It just seemed to evolve over the course of a couple years. He's my been my favorite for many years now, and that is not likely to change.

I was window shopping in the A&A record store's, Classical Music Section in Toronto. I'd have to get out the calculator to tell you what year it was. But some one put on the Second done by Bernstein and the New York. It had just recently been released. I of coarse went home with a set. Same as YOU Dave. The Second drew me into Mahler. - And from there on it was a growing learning Revelation The works of Mahler has ever been one of the more numerous categories in my collection since that day

My very first Mahler symphony was the third symphony with the Boston symphony orchestra

Strangely enough, it was the never-forgotten experience of listening to a performance of (perhaps?) Mahler's least popular popular symphony: no. 7 ("The Song of the Night) that immediately, on first hearing, immediately attracted and even, profoundly-disturbed me, by the power of its uniquely haunting music. This was more than half-a-century ago, when I was 16, and how it was that I came to buy a rather dim and poorly-recorded of performance this work (conducted by some bloke called, Hans Rosbaud) by a composer that I had only vaguely heard of, before, is no longer clear to me. Anyway, Mahler's 7th still remains, by far, my favourite of his 9 (completed) symphonies, and the fact that I have struggled, ever since, to find any of his remaining symphonies quite as satisfying and as equally rewarding as his 7th, is something that I much regret even though I still live in hopes that I shall.

I discovered Mahler about 18 years ago through the Ken Russell film Mahler [1974] & then went out & bought a box set of the symphonies down Oxford Street in HMV.

I first heard Mahler (Mahler 1) in the Academy of Music in Philadelphia with Ormandy circa 1967. Fell in love with it and, as a poor high school student, managed to get a $1.00 copy on the budget Crossroads Record label. So..I thought I might enjoy the Mahler 2. Managed to get a Bruno Walter/Columbia Symphony copy. Sadly, I had to listen on a cheap phonograph in my bedroom and did not learn to appreciate it until many years later - when it became my favorite symphonic work. Heard it live in Mexico City several years ago and now will go to a live performance at the Royal Albert Hall next month (yes...the RPO. Best I can do right now). I own 6 versions on CD and cannot listen without being moved to tears.

My brother and I set off into the wild, Classical music seas without a compass or the benefit of a map after seeing "2001 A Space Odeyssy" in the theatres and finally hearing what a symphony orchestra was supposed to sound like. Every week, we would pool our allowances and lunch money and try to find something cool at the local record shops. I took a wild shot in the dark on the Mahler 1st because it was cheap (Everest Records in their dark years,) I liked the liner notes and the cover was kind of cool. The music blew me away. (By some miracle, I got one of the better Everest pressings and masterings of it. Nothing else on that label sounded as good.) Someone weened on movie music had no trouble imagining action movie scenarios with the vivid writing of the first movement, and the rest of the music didn't let me down either. A birthday present of the Mahler 2nd with Ormandy a year later sealed the deal. I've been hooked ever since.

I liked perusing the records in my college library. There were two striking covers to the Mahler Second that caught my eyes: one was a reissue of Solti's London Symphony Orchestra account, the other was Slatkin's Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra version. I checked them out, and that was that. Later, it dawned on me that part of the M2 was used in Carl Sagan's PBS series "Cosmos."

My first Mahler symphonies were Nos. 1 (Bernstein, Sony) and Karajan. I’d been listening to-and buying-classical music since hearing Schubert’s Wanderer Fantasie earlier that year. Two musical cognoscenti friends suggested I subscribe to Gramophone, which I did, and I noticed Tennstedt’s Mahler 8 and Rattle’s Mahler 2 winning Gramophone awards. I liked 1 and 4, but thought 8 a bit strange. I didn’t dislike it, but it’s a symphony: what’s with all the singing? Symphony No. 2, on the other hand, was the most wonderful thing I’d ever heard. And I became a Mahler fan-a Mahlerian, if you will. I bought all the Bernstein CDs on Sony, plus a few on DG as they were released. I started reading the Penguin Guide, and soon had Mahler CDs by Abbado, Solti, Tennstedt, Rattle, Klemperer (a favorite 2), Walter, Leinsdorf, Levine, etc. I quickly found favorites: Bernstein’s LSO 2 was awful, but I loved Rattle’s version; Bernstein’s 3, 6, 7, 8, and 9, all on Sony, continue to be favorites of mine, number 6 in particular. Everyone else's 6 was too slow in the opening. I would even take whichever other 6 was in the CD player, and switch Bernstein’s 6 in (especially with Barbirolli). I liked Bernstein’s 2, 5, 7, and 9 on DG. I love Abbado’s 3 (Vienna) and 7 (Chicago). Klemperer’s 2. My favorite symphonies, no matter by whom, are Nos. 2, 3, 6, and 8. 5 and 9 are on the next level, and 1, 4, and 7 make up my third third. I still love listening to them-just not as much as the others. I’ve never fallen in love with Das Lied.

I followed my parents’ somewhat staid tastes in classical music for much of my life. Mahler isn’t big with either of them, though my mom likes the 1st and 4th well enough (I don’t think it’s coincidental that those are the “smallest” of his numbered symphonies). But I read Requiem For a Dream by Hubert Selby Jr, and one of the characters loved the Resurrection Symphony. I saw the Bernstein VPO CD used and picked it up because of that. It was larger than I was really accustomed to, which hindered my ability to appreciate it then. I found Mahler on the whole to be intimidating, so although I acquired the Bernstein/Mahler/Sony set a few years later, it really wasn’t until I found this channel and tried Mahler via your recommended recordings that I fully got into his works. (I also now have the patience for big, long works.) So I owe you thanks because I find myself in agreement with nearly all your recommendations, and those rare times that I don’t, one of the other, non-“however” choices works well. Because with Mahler one can’t mess around with a recording that misses the mark, not when one wants to see if they actually like the work first.

At the age of thirteen or so, the UK Sunday Times offered a box of CBS (now Sony) recordings of Bernstein conducting symphonies 1 and 4 and Bruno Walter conducting Das Lied von der Erde. This certainly sparked by interest. The real turning point was hearing Lorin Maazel conducting the BBCSO in Mahler 2 at the Royal Festival Hall. That was a real knock out performance and the audience really erupted into incredible applause. I was in my middle teens and went with my late mother. Mahler was beginning to emerge into the mainstream. The first complete cycles by Bernstein and Kubelik were still coming out. A book of my mother's from the wartime era said Mahler's songs were great, but that his symphonies required such large forces because of his inherent meglomania. Times have changed.

Neitzsche led me to Mahler through Also Sprach Zarathustra. The song O Mensch Gib Acht, from Zarathustra, I had learned was used in Mahler's 3 symphony, I listened and was hooked thereafter to every Mahler piece. My desert island disc would be Das leid von der Erde.

I was in college with the fellow who later became the local music critic for the newspaper. He suggested i start with #1, and I bought Ancerl's recording. I went on to #4 with Kletzki, and the rest is collector-mania history.

Mahler 4 - Szell, 1979. A 16th birthday present from my uncle who knew I liked late romantic symphonies. He was probably trying to move me on from Tchaikovsky and Dvorak. For many years no other recording sounded as good until I realised that this music doesn't have to sound uptight and spiky as it does with Szell. Now I like the 3 'K's in the fourth: Kubelik, Kletzki and Klemperer.

My classmate lent me Mahler 2nd (Neumann, Czech Phil) on 2 LPs when I was 16. I started with the second LP and listened to it about 20 times before trying also the first one. You may imagine how huge was then my musical shock when listening to the end of the 3rd movement for the first time :-)

For me - 1963 in the band room, 9th grade, Mahler 1/Leinsdorf/BSO later that year 2 with Klemperer/Vienna Sym. I still think it's great stuff 😃

I first encountered Mahler about 1969 at a Chicago Symphony performance of the 3rd Symphony conducted by one of your apparently least favorite conductors, Claudio Abbado. It was one of those performances where everything just "clicked" - it was magic - and I was hooked for life. A friend at the time, who would later play with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, felt exactly the same way. I've never found a recoding that comes anywhere close to that performance - and I have a bunch of them that I enjoy.

In my comments to your video on discovering Janácek, I'd mentioned that my polymath German teacher in high school introduced me to him. It was the same with Mahler. He loaned me his CD of Haitink's Concertgebouw recording of Mahler 5. Over the months, he loaned me other Mahler Symphonies as well. I genuinely enjoyed most of them, but didn't get some of them at all. I grappled on & off with Mahler for another 15 years or so before I became a real Mahler diehard.

I discovered Mahler by recommendation... funny cuz it is literally my first symphony. Not beethoven, not Mozart, but Mahler, and the recommender pressed me into listening mahler 2 until I showed appreciation

My first experience with Mahler's music (during the late 60s) was Bernstein's first recording of Symphony No. 6 because it was a recommendation by a classical music critic. But the symphony I was most impressed with was the fifth performed by Kubelik and later Karajan.

I was a teenager in the mid-70s in the UK, and remember my fathers Mahler 1 and 2 records (dont remember the conductor/orchestra). I thought it was cool, but I dont think I listened to them all the way through. When I was at University, Punk happened and I was into that. Then after university, in around 1983, I worked with someone who loved Bruckner and Mahler, and went to some concerts with him. I also went to the public library and borrowed LPs, I think Bruno Walter's 1 and 2, and recorded them onto cassette (which we did in those days). Later, when CDs came out, I acquired all the Mahler symphonies. I now collect versions of them - I have 9 1s, 14 2s, etc, several purchased after watching your videos.

When I was a teenager a friend played the Mahler 1st by Walter/NYPhil for me and I was hooked.

I'll drop an observation here about how Mahler symphonies seemed particularly prone to wearing out vinyl records. I think I noted before that I liked the Kubelik/Bavarian recording of the 2nd, in part because it was a DG and hence a better pressing than Walter on Odyssey. I also made the mistake of getting Berstein in "quad." Anyway, I wore out my first Kubleik , developed scratch on the second and ending up having to buy a third. This also happened with the Ozawa/Boston 1st, which my college roommate and I decided was the best available at the time. We wore out the first one and then were very careful with the second. It was an event when we took it out. Same thing with the Giulini/Chicago Nineth. Now that I look back, maybe DGs didn't hold up as well as I thought.

My own first encounter was at the end of following some breadcrumbs : Händel's Watermusic with the ASMF and Sir Neville (1978), Kiri Te Kanawa's singing "Let the bright Seraphim" at the big event (1981), and at last Solti's 4th Mahler with the Chicago (1989). Not bad for a teenager growing up

Response from ChatGPT AI to a query about the connections between Belle Barth and Gustav Mahler: "There do not appear to be any significant connections between Belle Barth and Gustav Mahler. Belle Barth (1911-1971) was an American comedian and vaudeville performer known for her risqué humor and bawdy songs. She was popular in the mid-20th century and performed on radio, television, and in clubs. Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) was an Austrian composer and conductor known for his symphonies and songs. He was a leading figure in late Romanticism and his music is still widely performed today. There is no evidence that Belle Barth and Gustav Mahler ever met or had any direct interaction with each other. It is possible that Barth may have been familiar with Mahler's music, but there is no indication that Mahler was aware of or influenced by Barth's comedy.

I discovered Mahler through Eugene Ormandy's Mahler 2, Solti's Mahler 8 but also when I was 16 through Visconti's 'Death in Venice.'

Stokowski… OUR Stokowski… omitting half of a tam tam part???? OK… Equally strange was what happened at the end of a performance Stokowski gave of the Mahler 2 that my friend sang in. Stoki cut the whole brief organ solo just before the final full orchestral bash. Strange!

If you grew up in the UK in the 1980s like I did, it's likely your first encounter with Mahler would have been the moody, abstract Castrol GTX commercials on the telly, featuring the beginning of Nachtmusik I from the 7th symphony.

the new music director of the montreal symphony orchestra rafael payare has just recorded the 5th symphonies by mahler (presented in concert yesterday or the day before yesterday at canergie hall)....the cd is out and i was able to listen to it thanks to the streaming. that seems good to me given that this is his first cd with the osm, in other words I '' embarked '' in his interpretation very felt in my opinion .... it would be interesting to know your opinion. .....in the near future

The movie THEIF (James Caan) has Mahler's 1st in the soundtrack at some point.

In less than 2 weeks I will join a Mahler 2 concert with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. I'm nervous cause its even very difficult to control my emotions while listening to a record. My whole body will be flooded with adrenaline during the finale and surely I won't left the venue without having tears in my eyes. This symphony 2 kills me. There's nothing comparable in entire music history. Or do you now something similar?

Our introductions to Mahler were very similar but with different outcomes. The review of the month for me was Gilbert Kaplan’s Resurrection Symphony on MCA. The performance wasn’t terribly gripping and the sound poor. After a period of recovery, I bought a budget copy of Maazel’s 4th w/Battle and started focusing on the shorter symphonies (1, 4, and 5). I then went back to the longer ones (2, 3, 8, and 9) but still haven’t really sat down and listened to 6 and 7 (though I have plenty of versions). I’ll get there eventually. In the meantime, I’ve travelled up and down I-95 to hear the 8th (Eschenbach and Slatkin) and saw Temarikanov perform Resurrection in Baltimore (that was quite a contrast to Kaplan). Slatkin did a pretty good 9th while he was still in DC too.

I started to listen to Mahler 7 aged 11 in 1969 at prep school. I could stand most of the first movement but the more intense bits were too much at the time. I think only Ingo Metzmacher can do it well. The best of Mahler is no 9. He is one of the greatest.

Utter classical dilettante over here, but I got into Mahler back in high school. about a decade ago. As a budding foreign film buff, I was blown away by many things about Kurosawa's Ran, but one of them was the score composed by Toru Takemitsu. I found a review of it somewhere that compared parts of it to Mahler (look up "Hell's Picture Scroll" for an example, if you're curious), and I found a CD of the First Symphony at a thrift store soon after. Classical music still has yet to become a primary part of my musical diet, but I've gotten a bit deeper into Mahler a few years at a time. Your videos have helped me there, as I recently heard (and promptly ordered) Das Lied for the first time. (Klemperer 66)