This is the most imposing performance of this symphony currently available. The tempos are rather slow, but Leonard Bernstein sustains the music's tension superbly, and the climaxes are every bit as... read more »

Leonard Bernstein had a reputation for getting slower, heavier, and more portentous as his interpretations matured. Well, here's the disc that gives the lie to the myth. This sunny, superbly... read more »

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This, Leonard Bernstein's first recording of the Ninth Symphony, has held up very well over time. Although it lacks the searing intensity in the finale of his later version with the Royal... read more »

Leonard Bernstein more or less owned this symphony, and both this and his earlier Sony recording are superb. He was one of the few conductors who wasn't afraid of the musical insanity that Mahler... read more »

Herbert von Karajan made a studio recording of the Ninth with the Berlin Philharmonic that appeared in 1981, but he was apparently dissatisfied with it and pressed for this remake, recorded at a... read more »

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Leonard Bernstein's earlier recording of this symphony for Sony was, and remains, one of the best. This new one, however, really is something special. As in his recording of the First with this... read more »

Mstislav Rostropovich is the world's greatest cellist, and he has actually made at least five recordings of this greatest of all cello concertos. I have a certain preference for his later version,... read more »

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