A Cartoon of Mahler

Symphony No. 2: selected historic recordings

For a comprehensive listing of recordings of Mahler’s music to 2009, see Péter Fülöp, Mahler Discography, second edition (Toronto: Mikrokosmos Comp. Ltd, 2010). The Fülöp numbers are those assigned in the second edition of this reference work, and supersede those of the 1995 edition. The selective list below focuses on recordings by conductors who heard Mahler, or have other significance in the performing history of the work.

Recording Date	Performers	First Release	Notes	Timings Mvt I	Mvt II	Mvt III	Mvt IV	Mvt V	Total
1924.??.??	Oskar Fried Gertrud Bindernagel sop Emmi Leisner alto Berlin Cathedral Chorus Berlin State Opera Orchestra	Polydor, 1925	Fülöp 2.0010 An acoustic recording	21.50	10.13	12.32	6.03	33.16	84.04¹
1930.10.01	Selmar Meyrowitz Sara Charles-Cahier	Ultraphon,1930?	Fülöp 2.1010 Urlicht only				4:47¹
1934.04.08	Cadillac Symphony Orchestra Arnold Schoenberg	Pristine Audio, 2016	Not in Fülöp An transcription recording of a live NBC Broadcast.² Movement 2 only		10:10
1935.01.06	Eugene Ormandy Corinne Frank Bowen sop Ann O’Malley Gallogly alto Twin City Chorus Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra	Victor, 1935?	Fülöp 2.0020 A live performance at the Cyrus Northrup Auditorium, Minneapolis³	19:28	8:59	9:38	5:29	32:58	76:32
1948.05.15	Bruno Walter Maria Cebotari sop Rosette Anday alto Vienna State Opera Chorus Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra	Bruno Walter Society, 1976	Fülöp 2.0030 A live performance at the Musikvereinsaal, Vienna	21:21	10:19	10:31	4:30	33:05	79:46
1948.12.05	Bruno Walter Nadine Conner sop Joan Watson alto Westminster Choir New York Philharmonic	Bruno Walter Society, 1990	Fülöp 2.0035 A live performance, sung in English	21:05	10:28	10:18	4:50	33:33	80:14
1950.09.23	Otto Klemperer Valda Bagnall sop Florence Taylor mez Hurlstone Choral Society Sydney Symphony Orchestra	Doremi, c. 1999	Fülöp 2.0038 A live performance, sung in English, at the Town Hall, Sydney	16:43	9:11	10:13	3:49	27:04	67:00
1951.05.??	Otto Klemperer Ilona Steinguber sop Hilde Rössl-Majdan alto Vienna Academy Chamber Choir Singverein der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde Vienna Symphony Orchestra	Vox, 1951.10	Fülöp 2.0040	18:58	9:58	11:40	4:13	30:31	75:20
1951.07.12	Otto Klemperer Jo Vincent sop Kathleen Ferrier alto Concertgebouw Chorus and Orchestra	Decca, 1982 (Guild, 2005)	Fülöp 2.0050 A live performance at the Holland Festival⁴	17.42 (17.46)	9.28 (9.21)	10.35 (10.28)	4.05 (4.03)	29.51 (29.52)	70.41
1957.02.17	Bruno Walter Maria Stader, sop Maureen Forrester alto Westminster Choir New York Philharmonic	Music & Arts, 2007	Fülöp 2.0059 A live performance at the Carnegie Hall	21:00	10:36	10:41	4:19	32:51	79:27
1957.02.?? 1958.02.17 1958.02.18 1958.02.21	Bruno Walter Emilia Cundari, sop Maureen Forrester alto Westminster Choir New York Philharmonic	Columbia, 1958.09	Fülöp 2.0060⁵	21.37	10.35	10.43	4.11	32.26	79.42
1961.11.22 1961.11.23 1961.11.24 1962.03.15 1962.03.24	Otto Klemperer Elisabeth Schwarzkopf sop Hilde Rössl-Majdan alto Philharmonia Chorus and Orchestra	Angel, 1963.04	Fülöp 2.0090	19.02	10.30	11.40	4.01	34.06	80.19
1963.06.13	Otto Klemperer Galina Vishnevskaya sop Hilde Rössl-Majdan alto Vienna Singverein Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra	Disques Refrain, 1991	Fülöp 2.0095 Live concert at the Vienna Festival	19.18	10.10	11.20	4.00	32.51	77.39
1963.12.19	Otto Klemperer Heather Harper sop Janet Baker mez Philharmonia Chorus & Philharmonia Orchestra	Testament, 2004	Fülöp 2.0115 Live Concert in Royal Festival Hall, London	19.51	10.24	11.29	4.23	33.17	79.24
1965.01.28	Otto Klemperer Heather Harper sop Janet Baker mez Bavarian Radio Chorus & Symphony Orchestra	Nuova Era, 1988	Fülöp 2.0120 Live Concert in Munich	20.26	10.42	11.59	4.07	32.32	79.46
1971.05.16	Otto Klemperer Anne Finley sop Alfreda Hodgson mez New Philharmonia Chorus & Orchestra	Arcadia, 1991	Fülöp 2.0185 Live concert at the Royal Festival Hall, London	25:36	12:51	13:49	5:11	41:23	98:50

1	The timings are averages from the Nimbus (Colin Attwell: GEMM CDS 9929) and Naxos (Ward Marston: 8.110152-3) transfers
2	This fascinating recording was taken from a live broadcast given as part of the Cadillac Symphony Orchestra series broadcast from New York on Sunday nights at 20:00 by the NBC-owned Blue Network. The orchestra may have been an ad hoc band, but Mark Obert-Thorn believes it was actually NBC's in-house Blue Network Orchestra renamed to reflect the commercial sponsorship of the broadcast series by the Cadillac Motor Company. (By 1934 the firm was part of General Motors and as the conglomerate's high-end division, was seeking to rebuild sales in the wake of the Wall Street crash.) Obert-Thorn reports that the recording 'stems from a unique radio transcription recording, probably taken down on a pre-grooved aluminum disc.' It is not quite complete, lacking bb. 86–100 'most likely lost during a changeover to another record while using a single cutter.'
3	Sides 1 and 16 were re-recorded on 7 January 1935.
4	The date is taken from the current DECCA release; Fülöp gives 1951.07.06
5	The last two movements were recorded in 1957; the break in the recording process was caused by Walter's heart attack in March of that year.