“Mahler’s Ninth Symphony has found a new and unexpected soulmate.  Elder’s direction was both diffident and purposeful, as though he were shaping a beauty almost too fragile to contemplate.” The Times review of Hallé concert performance, May 2014

Sir Mark Elder and Hallé’s latest release is a live recording of the acclaimed concert performance of Mahler’s landmark symphonic work, which closed the 2014 season.

Begun in 1909 in the composer’s idyllic Austrian mountain retreat, at a time when Mahler was preoccupied by thoughts of his own mortality, his last completed symphony has been described as his most death-haunted work.

Scored for forces which are modest, by Mahlerian standards, this extended  work is characterized by its unusual construction, with often soloistic orchestral writing, evocative use of keys and haunting use of motives and references to traditional Austrian folk dance.

This release is a valuable addition to the Hallé canon of great symphonies, including recent releases devoted to Vaughan Williams: Nos 5&8 CD HLL 7533 - Sunday Times Album of the Week and Music Web Recording of the Month; and No 3 CD HLL 7540 – Gramophone Editor’s Choice Feb 2015

Recorded live in concert and in rehearsal at The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester 22nd May 2014.  Producer and Editor Steve Portnoi; Assistant engineers Niall Gault and Dermot Gault.