Bruno Walter recorded Das Lied three times, and the most famous recording is his second one, recorded in the 1950s for London and featuring Kathleen Ferrier and Julius Patzak. That record has enormous sentimental value for the British, because they can't get enough of Ferrier, who died tragically of cancer in 1953 at the age of 41. But the fact is, she sounds terrible on the recording, and Patzak was well past his prime, too. Also, the postwar Vienna Philharmonic was no match for the New York Philharmonic in performing this music; the New York orchestra has an even more authentic Mahlerian pedigree than do the Viennese. This final stereo performance, then-- Walter's last thoughts on the piece that he premiered 50 years earlier--is the one to own. --David Hurwitz