Christoph Eschenbach Mahler - FULL streaming cycle

At last, a truly superb tribute to Gustav Mahler! Christoph Eschenbach is presenting a cycle of the symphonies for free video and audio download on his site HERE.  "Each symphony was recorded with the Orchestre de Paris under the direction of Christoph Eschenbach and filmed by the director François Goetghebeur. By October 15th, 2010 the complete symphonies will be online for streaming and remain accessible until at least July 2011"

This series was developed over many years. I've been to several Eschenbach Mahler performances (not necessarily the same as the ones in these downloads)  It's a very mature, thoughtful cycle that genuinely makes a contribution to a deeper understanding of Mahler's music.  Throughout Mahler's work, there's a powerful sense of trajectory.  Eschenbach's Mahler is intelligent, stressing the architecture of each symphony and its place in the panorama of the whole. With Eschenbach, you feel that you're engaged on a journey, intellectually as well as musically.  Listen to the Second Symphony, already online. It's wonderful, structurally very clearly defined, yet with powerful emotional kick that's hard to put into words. This year there'll be much flash-in-the-pan Mahler, but this Eschenbach/Paris series is outstanding. When these are released for sale, they'll be collectors' items. For now, Eschenbach's making them available for free.
photo credit: Eric Brissaud 

Hoho! I've got excellent tickets to the Proms Mahler 8!