Symphony No. 1 in D major, Bernard Haitink, Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO Resound) 'Superbly played, but the Mahler First needs raw energy, not just nuance'

Symphony No. 7 in E minor, Eduard van Beinum, Concertgebouw Orchestra (GMSN) 'Eduard van Beinum's Mahler Seventh is one of the great ones'

Symphony No. 9 in D major, Valery Gergiev, London Symphony Orchestra (LSO Live) 'A daring performance that takes Mahler's extremism seriously'

Complete symphonies, Various artists, Edo de Waart, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic (RCA) 'Sensible, well balanced and detailed middle-of-the-road Mahler'

Symphony No. 6 in A minor, Kirill Kondrashin, SWR Symphony Orchestra (Hänssler) 'A brisk, propulsive Sixth with no pauses along the way'

Symphony No. 2 in C minor 'Resurrection', Christiane Oelze, Michaela Schuster, Marcus Stenz, Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne (Oehms Classics) 'A literalist reading without any glitches but no inspiration'

Symphony No. 3 in D minor, Mihoko Fujimura, Jonathan Nott, Bamberg Symphony Orchestra (Tudor) 'Restrained, dignified Mahler is a change of pace'

Symphony No. 9 in D major, Daniel Barenboim, Staatskapelle Berlin (Warner Classics) 'A robust Ninth paced for excitement but not depth'

Symphony No. 2 in C minor 'Resurrection', Lisa Milne, Birgit Remmert, Christa Ludwig, Ivan Fischer,
Budapest Festival Orchestra (Channel Classics) 'One of Fischer's strongest stands in Mahler, with ear-catching sonics'

Symphony No. 2 in C minor 'Resurrection', Stefania Woytowicz, Anny Delorie, William Steinberg, Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra (ICA Classics) 'Unusually breezy, quick-paced Mahler, with a nice sense of occasion'

Symphony No. 7 in E minor, Riccardo Chailly, Concertgebouw Orchestra (Decca) 'Faceless, infuriatingly dull Mahler from Chailly'

The complete symphonies, Various artists, Leonard Bernstein, New York Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic (Sony) 'A magnificent remastering of a historic and groundbreaking favourite'

Symphony No. 9 in D major, John Barbirolli, Berlin Philharmonic (EMI) 'An unusually gentle Ninth but a moving one'

Symphony No. 3 in D minor, Waltraud Meier, Klaus Tennstedt, London Philharmonic (ICA Classics) 'One of the great Mahler Thirds on disc'

Symphony No. 6 in A minor, Antonio Pappano, Orchestra dell' Accademia Nazional di Santa Cecilia (EMI) 'Superb Mahler from Italy... really?'

Das Lied von der Erde, Janet Baker, Ludovic Spiess, Rudolf Kempe, BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC) 'A weak tenor, but that hardly diminished the great Janet Baker in a signature role'

Symphony No. 9 in D major, Kurt Sanderling, BBC Philharmonic (BBC) 'A goodish Mahler Ninth of no special moment'

Symphonies Nos. 2, 4, 7, 9, Das Lied von der Erde, Songs, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Hilde Rössl-Majdan, Christa Ludwig, Fritz Wunderlich, Otto Klemperer, Philharmonia Orchestra (EMI) 'A small Mahler collection low on budget, high on performance'

Symphony No. 2 in C minor 'Resurrection', Kate Royal, Magdalena Kozená, Simon Rattle, Berlin Philharmonic (EMI) 'Rattle misjudges the first movement, but there are many beautiful things to hear everywhere'

Symphony No. 9 in D major, Christoph von Dohnanyi, Cleveland Orchestra (Decca) 'The filler by Hartmann is engrossing, but the Mahler is a trudge'

Das klagende Lied, Werner Hollweg, Markus Baur, Andreas Schmidt, Brigitte Fassbaender, Susan Dunn, Riccardo Chailly, Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra (Decca) 'A polished, beautifully recorded reading that is just shy of the best'

Symphony No. 3 in D minor, Anna Larsson, Valery Gergiev, London Symphony Orchestra (LSO Live) 'Propulsive, at times feverish, always riveting - but Gergiev isn't a complete Mahlerian here'

Das Lied von der Erde, Mildred Miller, Ernst Haefliger, Bruno Walter, New York Philharmonic (Sony) 'A great Mahlerian saddled with a mediocre mezzo'

Symphony No. 6 in A minor, David Zinman, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich (RCA) 'Very ordinary on all counts'

Das Lied von der Erde, Violeta Urmana, Michael Schade, Pierre Boulez, Vienna Philharmonic (Deutsche Grammophon) 'Inferior singers and over-calculated conducting'

Symphony No. 5 in C sharp minor, Daniele Gatti, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RCA) 'A young man's Mahler, fresh and often impetuous'

Symphony No. 10 (Completion by Wheeler), Robert Olson, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra (Naxos) 'A sub-par performance of a sketchy Mahler completion'

Symphony No. 1 in D major, Michael Gielen, SWF Symphony Orchestra Baden-Baden (Hänssler)
'A refreshing Mahler First in the Kubelik mould, plus some imaginative Ives'

Symphony No. 7 in E minor, Valery Gergiev, London Symphony Orchestra (LSO Live) 'Gergiev proves that you can be new to Mahler and great, too'

Adagio from Symphony No. 10, Kindertotenlieder
Cornelia Kallisch, Michael Gielen, SWF Symphony Orchestra Baden-Baden (Hänssler) 'Lovely, soft-grained Webern, but the Mahler lacks any passion'