Johann Friedrich Gülich

For Gustav Mahler's 150th birthday, EMI has assembled a 16-disc box set of his complete works, including not only the ten symphonies, Das Lied von der Erde, and the song cycles, but also the early cantata, Das klagende Lied, and the extant movement from the Piano Quartet in A minor, two works which arguably can be called Mahler rarities. Having all these pieces together in one large collection is undeniably a great convenience, and many will consider buying this set not only for that reason, but also for the historic nature of the recordings. The roster of conductors features such legends as Sir John Barbirolli, Otto Klemperer, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Bruno Walter, George Szell, and Jascha Horenstein, along with later Mahlerians, Klaus Tennstedt, Sir Simon Rattle, and Carlo Maria Giulini, all of whom left remarkable recordings that still are essential listening.