Robert Dean Smith is a strong heroic-tenor; the awkward middle-to-upper range writing seems no problem or strain for him, though he’s not the most expressive of interpreters...Fischer’s mezzo, Gerhild Romberger, is possessed of a worldclass instrument, and makes a luminous, disembodied sound in her many meditative moments, slightly at the cost of articulating her native language.

Fischer is on a par with Haitink’s great Concertgebouw reading. The silkiness of the strings, weighted down by Mahler’s surrounding harmonies immediately after “Ich suche ruhe für mein einsam Herz,” is unutterably touching... Romberger’s breath control, so vital in this finale, is perfect.

Here’s a must-have for Mahler fans...The BFO’s playing makes this a standout performance. It’s fresh and irrepressible, woodwind reedy and nasal, horns bright and heroic, strings brilliant, with the final “Der Abschied” a half-hour’s music of draining intensity...Romberger and Smith are powerful and expressive.