Along with the many other exemplary Mahler recordings from this conductor, it's clearly obvious here that Latvian conductor Mariss Jansons (1943-2019) had a profound understanding of, and kinship with, the music of Gustav Mahler (1860-1911). From the hefty brass and percussion onslaught at the beginning, to the gloriously celestial conclusion more than 90 minutes later, he dots the i's and crosses all the t's as marked in the score, but with as much expressive freedom as possible. And all of the individual musicians of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra more than happy to oblige, provide a full range of sonic spendour from the faintest triangle ping to full-on orchestral swagger.

From the spine-tingling bravado ending of the first movement, to the beautiful off-stage post horn solos in the Scherzo movement, to goosebump inducing passages of utter beauty in the final movement. From moments of trivially commonplace melodies to true orchestral perfection, Jansons and the BRSO members connect all the dots and extreme contrasts of this sprawling work into a cohesive and singular entity.

One minor bump along the road ... contralto Nathalie Stutzmann, along with the orchestral members, delivers a deeply heartfelt rendition of Nietzsche's dark message within the symphony's inner slow movement. Unfortunately, now and then her voice takes on a glassy tinge that I find a bit distracting. Then again, maybe I need to have the shock absorbers on my car replaced.

I know I've said this before but I believe it deserves to be repeated: "The final movement of this symphony is one of those rare moments in music when, regardless of your musical stripes, regardless of your likes and dislikes, regardless of what you are doing when it's playing, you simply have to drop everything, stop what you were doing, and listen. It's evocative power and wondrous beauty create that instant effect. And I'm not talking about beauty as in a slow movement of a Mozart concerto or a Strauss waltz. The beauty, or rather the energy within this music is on a different scale, on a different level. It transcends musical notation and theory, it transcends the musical instruments performing it and even transcends the laws of music by making them seem non-existent. And, dare I say it, reaches heights of creativity that can only be a manifestation of God through the composer himself." And again, Mariss Jansons delivers a fluid account which doesn't dwell or dawdle along for dramatic effect, but rather sets its sights on the uplifting coda to come. At 22:32 minutes in duration, he is slightly quicker paced than most other performances. For comparison, let's take Haitink in Chicago at 24:39, and Tilson Thomas in San Francisco at a whopping 26:31. That 4 minute difference alters the pace quite noticeably and lends everything a forward momentum. And from the 19:00 mark onwards the orchestra just glows with energy, and wait 'til you hear the powerful brass section proclaim the final three chords.

This concert recording from December 2010, is released now to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in 2024.