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 unleashes in the first movement (a collision between two marches of very different character), and the New York Philharmonic is one of the few orchestras in the world with the stamina to carry the whole thing off. This is the longest symphony ever written that's in the international repertoire, but listening to Bernstein's way with it, you'd never guess. This recording is also included in DG's magnificent box set of the complete Mahler symphonies. --David Hurwitz