Mahler: Symphony No. 8; Valery Gergiev, London Symphony Orchestra

"Thanks largely to the efforts of Leonard Bernstein at the Philharmonic, Mahler became a part of the ’60s sensibility, and, thanks to the later efforts of many others, he became a central figure in the musical mainstream. … That said, even now complete single-season cycles of the symphonies are not common. … Yet just recently, in the spring of 2009, Daniel Barenboim and Pierre Boulez led the Staatskapelle Berlin in all the symphonies at Carnegie Hall. And in the 2007-8 season Valery Gergiev conducted the London Symphony Orchestra in all the symphonies in London, performances that have mostly appeared on CDs from LSO Live. … In mid-October at Carnegie Hall, he conducts the Mariinsky Orchestra of St. Petersburg in six of the symphonies, Nos. 1, 2, 4-6 and 8. (The Eighth, the choral 'Symphony of a Thousand,' will also be performed at the Kennedy Center on Oct. 19.)" (James R. Oestreich, "Two Tributes for Mahler," New York Times, 9/12/10)

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