“Bernstein turned Mahler into kitsch”

Do you remember the first time you heard Mahler’s music?

Gielen: I remember very well. It was around 1956 in Vienna; Mitropoulos performed the 6th with the Vienna Philharmonic. I admired Mitropoulos very much; I was also his assistant at the opera.

I had read through the 6th, but I wouldn’t say that I knew it. As a conductor, I was still a beginner, but it was clear to me that the symphony was so under-rehearsed that it was barely recognisable. Of course it is a very complex work – the third movement was wonderful, but the second turned out to be very problematic, due to the changes in metre and the syncopations – and I would describe the finale as noise.

[...]

Find the full interview in Gustav Mahler: The Conductors’ Interviews
Edited by Wolfgang Schaufler
ISBN: 978-3-7024-7162-0
ISMN: 979-0-008-08493-5
Order number: UE26311 (German Edition: UE26310)