Grand Teton Music Festival to Release Mahler 5 Recording Led By Sir Donald Runnicles

The Grand Teton Music Festival will release of Mahler: Symphony No. 5, available worldwide on Friday, March 13, 2026 on Reference Recordings. Featuring Sir Donald Runnicles leading the Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra in Walk Festival Hall in Teton Village, Wyoming, this release marks the Festival Orchestra's second album for the label, following its acclaimed Beethoven Piano Concertos with Garrick Ohlsson.

Widely regarded as one of today's pre-eminent interpreters of Mahler, Sir Donald Runnicles brings decades of experience, deep structural insight, and emotional clarity to this towering symphony. From the stark severity of the opening Trauermarsch to the radiant confidence of the final Rondo-Finale, the performance traces Mahler's epic journey from darkness into light with unflinching intensity and luminous orchestral color

Recorded in July 2024, the album captures the Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra at the height of its summer residency - an ensemble of more than 250 elite musicians drawn from leading orchestras and institutions across North America and Europe, united annually under Runnicles' artistic leadership. This recording features the celebrated hornist and brass pedagogue Gail Williams and preeminent trumpet player Thomas Hooten, leading the GTMF Festival Orchestra brass.

The natural acoustics of Walk Festival Hall, combined with Reference Recordings' meticulous production values, result in a vivid, expansive soundstage available on Hybrid SACD discs (5.1 surround and stereo), as well as standard, high-resolution and Dolby Atmos digital formats.

Mahler Symphony No. 5 Tracklist

Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) - Symphony No. 5 in C-sharp Minor (1901-1902)

I. Trauermarsch. In gemessenem Schritt. Streng. Wie ein Kondukt 13:38

II. Stürmisch bewegt. Mit grösster Vehemenz 15:45

III. Scherzo. Kräftig, nicht zu schnell 17:51

IV. Adagietto. Sehr langsam 10:05

V. Rondo-Finale. Allegro 15:35

Total Time: 72:57

Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra

Sir Donald Runnicles, Conductor

Reference Recordings FR-763SACD

RECORDED: July 26-27, 2024

RECORDING LOCATION: The Grand Teton Music Festival, Walk Festival Hall - Teton Village, Wyoming, USA

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Emma Kail

PRODUCER: Vic Muenzer

SOUND ENGINEERS: Kevin Harbison, Vic Muenzer

MASTERING ENGINEER: Graemme Brown, Zen Mastering

ALBUM ART DIRECTOR: JoAnn Nunes

FRONT/BACK COVER PHOTOS: Courtesy of Visit Jackson Hole

CONCERT PHOTOS: © 2024 Cody Downard

THOMAS HOOTEN PHOTO: © 2016 Rob Shanahan