Two single LPs and six gatefold albums (15 LPs total) on 180-gram vinyl
Individual LPs mirror the original artwork and labels of the original releases

Additional leaflet with the essay on Bernstein’s Mahler by Klaus Geitel
High quality heavyweight slipcase packaging

“Upon reflection, Mahler’s music was one of the most successful revivals of the 20th century. Bernstein was the perfect exponent, for his deep affinity for Mahler’s music was obvious to anyone. There can be no doubt that Bernstein empathized with Mahler on a profoundly personal level. Both were complicated men, their musical ambitions forever conflicted between conducting and composing. Both men were omnivorous intellectuals; both were subject to tremendous mood swings that could be all but incapacitating. Most important, though, is the
fact that both Bernstein and Mahler distilled their joys and sufferings into art, the proof of which may be
found in this set.” — Tim Page

Leonard Bernstein became Mahler’s ambassador in the post-war world. He did more than just unveil the masterly craftsmanship of Mahler’s music. His performances situated Mahler in a full-blown universe of action, thought, feeling and music making never previously explored on this scale by a creative musician. The discovery was new and staggering. It catapulted Mahler to the pinnacle of worldwide recognition. It turned this ever-inquisitive, rambling composer into a classical figure of a stature that had hardly existed before. At the same time, Bernstein found, in Mahler’s uniqueness, a secret rapport with his own artistic inclinations, which Mahler’s music seemed virtually to foreshadow. He simply had to serve this composer, a man cut from the same cloth as himself.

Sony Classical is now releasing Bernstein’s legendary recordings of the complete Mahler Symphonies with the New York Philharmonic and the London Symphony Orchestra (plus the Kindertotenlieder with Jennie Tourel and Janet Baker) on LP, the format these recordings were made for, on 180-gram audiophile vinyl. The set comes with the original facsimile sleeves and labels and the original liner notes plus an essay by the famous German writer on music, Klaus Geitel.

Musicians:
Leonard Bernstein, conductor
New York Philharmonic
London Symphony Orchestra