Mahler: Symphony No. 6

The two interpretations of Mahler's Sixth Symphony presented here are 42 years apart and differ greatly in their conception and tempi. This is precisely why it makes sense and is appropriate to release these two recordings of Michael Gielen's most frequently conducted concert work together. The order of the inner movements – Scherzo/Andante or Andante/Scherzo – had been controversial from the very beginning of the history of the Sixth Symphony and had resulted in ongoing editorial problems. In this matter, Gielen opted for the Scherzo/Andante order in 1971. Shortly after the publication of the revised International Gustav Mahler Society score in 1998, a research paper conclusively proved that Mahler had changed the order to Andante/Scherzo and had remained with it until the end. Once Gielen had familiarized himself with the evidence regarding the order of the movements, he wanted to submit to Mahler's wishes in the future. In any case, he wanted to perform the Sixth Symphony with his orchestra once more in this new form for him. The opportunity arose in 2013 with an invitation to the Salzburg Festival. Thus, the concert on August 21, 2013, marked Gielen's final appearance at the Salzburg Festival and Gielen's final performance of Mahler's Sixth Symphony. The tempi differ considerably from the 1971 recording. Indeed, one can hardly imagine a greater contrast between two performances by the same conductor of the same work!