NY Philharmonic Releases THE COMPLETE MAHLER SYMPHONIES LIVE, Celebrates Maazel

In celebration of Lorin Maazel's tenure as Music Director, the New York Philharmonic is releasing a set of new digital recordings - The Complete Mahler Symphonies, Live - recorded at Philharmonic concerts at Avery Fisher Hall, led by Mr. Maazel, over the course of his seven years with the Orchestra. The release coincides with Mr. Maazel's performances of Mahler's Symphony No. 8, Symphony of a Thousand, June 24-27, 2009, in his final concerts as Music Director of the Philharmonic.

The first five symphonies are available today; four more, including the Adagio from Mahler's Symphony No. 10, will follow on July 7, 2009; and the final download - of Mahler's Eighth Symphony, from the live radio broadcast on The New York Philharmonic This Week, June 25 - will be available on August 25, 2009. The new recordings will be available for purchase from
iTunes, Amazon.com, eMusic.com, InstantEncore.com, and in high-quality formats from HDtracks.com; streaming on ClassicalArchives.com, a new classical music specialist site; and as ringtones on various mobile content provider sites.

The Complete Mahler Symphonies, Live will be accompanied by video interviews with Lorin Maazel; liner notes and biographies; extended audio samples; and a complete score of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 1, with markings by Mahler. Complete information, including bonus content and links to the online music stores, is available at nyphil.org/maazelmahler.

Lorin Maazel's performances of the complete Mahler symphonies, which he began in 2002-03 - his first season with the New York Philharmonic - have been critically acclaimed. Commenting on the June 2003 performance of the Symphony No. 2, Resurrection, The New York Times stated: "You could not have asked for a more commandingly conducted account of this daunting 90-minute symphony. The precision, radiance, incisiveness...of the playing was constantly impressive." Inwriting about Mahler's Symphony No. 6, The Financial Times noted that, "The Philharmonic played for [Maazel] with staggering brilliance." About Mahler's Symphony No. 5, which Mr. Maazel conducted on the New York Philharmonic's 75th Anniversary European Tour in November 2005, the Westdeutsche Zeitung in Du?sseldorf, Germany, stated: "What the New Yorkers offered [Maazel] and the audience in Mahler's Fifth Symphony...was simply an orchestral tour de force."

June 23, 2009:
Symphony No. 1
(Recorded live September 22-27, 2005)

Symphony No. 2, Resurrection
(Recorded live June 19-21, 2003)
Jessica Jones, Soprano
Cornelia Kallisch, mezzo-soprano
New York Choral Artists
Joseph Flummerfelt, director

Symphony No. 3
(Recorded live June 16-19, 2004)
Anna Larsson, contralto
Women of the Westminster Symphonic Choir
Joseph Flummerfelt, director
The American Boychoir
Vincent Metallo, director

Symphony No. 4
(Recorded live September 20-26, 2006)
Heidi Grant Murphy, soprano

Symphony No. 5
(Recorded live September 18-23, 2003)

July 7, 2009:
Symphony No. 6
(Recorded live June 22-25, 2005)

Symphony No. 7
(Recorded live June 20-23, 2007)

Symphony No. 9
(Recorded live June 4-13, 2008)

Adagio from Symphony No. 10
(Recorded live September 25-28, 2008)

August 25, 2009:
Symphony No. 8, Symphony of a Thousand
(Recording live June 24-27, 2009)
Christine Brewer, Nancy Gustafson, Jeanine De Bique, sopranos
Mary Phillips, Nancy Maultsby, mezzo- sopranos
Anthony Dean Griffey, tenor Wolfgang Scho?ne, bass Jason Grant, bass-baritone
New York Choral Artists
Joseph Flummerfelt, director
The Dessoff Symphonic Choir
James Bagwell, director
Brooklyn Youth Chorus
Dianne Berkun, director

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