This is a great Mahler 6th from an orchestra not typically associated with Mahler. Leinsdorf can be cold at times, but he was on fire in this recording. The transfer is generally excellent throughout.

I've heard many performances of Mahler's 6th. This one was my first recording, an LP I got when I was in high school back in the 60s with Berg's Le Vin as a filler. I never found another recording of the Andante that I liked as much. (I've told my wife several times to play that movement at my memorial service.) I got rid of my vinyl years ago. Apparently it was never transferred to CD. So I was thrilled to find that I could download it from highdeftapes (196/24). The digitalization is not the greatest -- the louder passages sound a bit constricted and the overall sound is a bit muddy. For instance, the cowbells don't stand out clearly and don't have their appropriate timbre; but it's not a bad transfer by any means. The performance is wonderful, though. I agree with the reviewer that the 3rd and 4th movements are especially good. The Andante is all that I remember it to be: lyrical, wistful, dolorous, incredibly poignant. Nobody I've ever heard does the great sob and following resignation at the end of this movement as well as Leinsdorf and the BSO. It's just unbearably sad and beautiful. So, 3 for the sound, but 5 for the performance. Thanks, highdeftransfers.com!!!

Excellent performance, especially last 2 movements--3rd = best ever. And the copy of the recording is the best.

I have a lot of recordings of Mahler's 6th Symphony, so I wondered if I really needed another. This transfer had already received a glowing review. I'm a fan of the BSO and I enjoy Erich Leinsdorfs conducting very much. What could go wrong? Very little it would seem. The original recording from RCA must have been exceptionally good as the results here a very fine. These days, if you asked music critics to list a handful of top recorded performances of this symphony, I bet this recording wouldn't rate a mention. Sadly, these days I think Leinsdorf gets overlooked. A pity, because this is a solid, engaging performance, very well played and recorded. Thank you HDDT's for making this available. Plenty of room for a performance of this calibre.