Bernstein conducts Mahler: Symphony No. 10 – Adagio (1974)

Leonard Bernstein was among those conductors skeptical of the various five-movement performing versions of Mahler's unfinished Tenth Symphony. He confined himself instead to the first movement, an Adagio of almost unearthly beauty and near unbearable expressive intensity. It is a work of farewell – Mahler knew about the seriousness of his final illness – and of departure at the same time: the movement contains some of the most radical and modern passages to be found in the composer's oeuvre. As with all but one of the audio-visual recordings of his great Mahler cycle, Bernstein here had the Wiener Philharmoniker at his disposal – Mahler's own orchestra at the turn of the 20th century.

Ensemble: 

Wiener Philharmoniker

Conductor: 

Leonard Bernstein