Above all, Stenz makes no moves unlicensed by the demanding score, and his ear for immaculate balances is reflected in a recording which keeps everything in natural perspectives...You need more than one recording of this extraordinary Janus-headed work in your library, and this should be among them.

The speeds that make Markus Stenz's new recording such a jolly romp are further italicised by the heavy tread of the first movement's idyllic interlude and a massive allargando for the finale's peroration, placing the entire symphony within quotation marks.

Stenz is unapologetic about the music and there are no half measures in his reading but, equally, he’s alive to the frequent changes in mood, often fleeting, that crop up in the movement...This is a pretty impressive reading of the Seventh and it’s a very good addition to Stenz’s Mahler cycle.

This live performance is marvellous in many ways – fast-paced and brilliantly played. Listen straight through and you’ll be exhausted but not drained, anxious to relieve the best bits