Class 9: The Symphony of Nature - Recommended Recordings

Mahler: Symphony no. 1

Gold: San Francisco Symphony/Michael Tilson Thomas
Silver: Minneapolis Symphony/Dmitri Mitropoulos (1940)
Bronze: Bavarian Radio Symphony/Rafael Kubelik (there's a live version of this performance that is the greatest performances of anything I've ever heard)
Place:
Chicago Symphony/Claudio Abbado
NDR Symphony/Thomas Hengelbrock (the second version that has the movement Mahler removed, as the deleted movement is beautiful and gives the rest of the music context that a four-movement structure lacks, I believe this was a mistake, even if nobody else does)
Spanish Radio & Television Orchestra/Eliahu Inbal
Honorable Mention:
Columbia Symphony/Bruno Walter
Budapest Festival Orchestra/Ivan Fischer
Concertgebouw Orchestra/Leonard Bernstein

Mahler: Symphony no. 3

Gold: New York Philharmonic/Leonard Bernstein
Silver: Bavarian Radio Symphony/Rafael Kubelik
Bronze: Concertgebouw/Bernard Haitink and Minnesota Orchestra/Klaus Tennstedt
Place:
 City of Birmingham Symphony/Simon Rattle
New York Philharmonic/Dmitri Mitropoulos (1956 radio and cut)
Boston Symphony/Erich Leinsdorf
Honorable Mention:
Frankfurt Radio Symphony/Eliahu Inbal
Vienna Symphony/Hermann Scherchen (1950)
Chicago Symphony/Jean Martinon

Mahler: Symphony no. 7

Gold: Lucerne Festival Orchestra/Claudio Abbado
Silver: New York Philharmonic/Leonard Bernstein
Bronze: New Philharmonia/Jascha Horenstein
Place:
Vienna Philharmonic/Simon Rattle
London Philharmonic/Klaus Tennstedt
Honorable Mention:
Concertgebouw Orchestra/Kirill Kondrashin
Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra/Gustavo Dudamel

Nielsen: Symphony no. 3 - 'Sinfonia Espansiva'

Gold: San Francisco Symphony/Herbert Blomstedt
Silver: Danish Radio Symphony/Michael Schonwandt
Bronze: Royal Danish Orchestra/Leonard Bernstein

Sibelius: Symphony no. 5

Gold: Philadelphia Orchestra/Eugene Ormandy
Silver: London Symphony/Anthony Collins
Bronze: BBC National Orchestra of Wales/Thomas Sondergard

Honorable Mention:
 City of Birmingham Symphony/Simon Rattle
London Philharmonic/Osmo Vanska
Chamber Orchestra of Europe/Paavo Berglund
Oslo Philharmonic/Jukka-Pekka Saraste