“For Mahler,” Sir Simon Rattle has said, "the symphony is where you can tell the most important truths.” The composer’s works have been crucial to his career – indeed, it was the epic Symphony No. 2 that first inspired him to become a musician. Spanning nearly two decades, these recordings of the complete symphonies, including Deryck Cooke’s completion of No. 10, were made with the two ensembles most closely identified with Rattle’s name: the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the Berliner Philharmoniker.

Artists

Arleen Augér (soprano - Symphony No. 2), Dame Janet Baker (mezzo -Symphony No. 2), Birgit Remmert (contralto - Symphony No. 3), Amanda Roocroft (soprano - Symphony No. 4), Christine Brewer (soprano), Soile Isokoski (soprano), Juliane Banse (mezzo-soprano), Birgit Remmert (mezzo-soprano), Jane Henschel (mezzo-soprano), Jon Villars (tenor), David Wilson-Johnson (baritone) & John Relyea (bass) (Symphony No. 8)

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (Symphonies Nos. 1-4, 6-8), Berliner Philharmoniker (Symphonies Nos. 5, 9 & 10), Sir Simon Rattle