2010 marked the 150th anniversary of Gustav Mahler’s birth and his followers will commemorate the centenary of his death in 2011.

Magdalen marks the event with the timely reissue of Eduard van Beinum’s glorious reading of Mahler’s most accessible symphony; every tempo is just right and the (Royal) Concertgebouw Orchestra, who have this music in their blood, display their love for the Fourth Symphony through their reading in particular of the sublime third movement.

As a bonus there are six songs from Vanguard’s landmark 1950 recording of Des Knaben Wunderhorn with Alfred Poell, a leading baritone at the Vienna State Opera and Lorna Sydney of the Volksoper. Felix Prohaska, perhaps better known as a baroque conductor, provides the perfect accompaniment to songs which encapsulate Mahler’s first period.