Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 Recording

“Over the many years where it has been my privilege to be Music Director, the Grand Teton Music Festival has quietly yet assuredly established itself as one of the great American orchestras, nestled in the rarified beauty of the Teton Mountains. As we aspire to share the musical brilliance and versatility with the international world, may the release of the epic Fifth Symphony of Gustav Mahler burst upon the scene with the same joy and excitement that we experienced in performing this masterful work.” – Sir Donald Runnicles

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) in early May, as well as standard, high-resolution and Dolby Atmos digital formats on March 13.

reviews

“The Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra delivers a performance of Mahler’s Fifth Symphony as technically accomplished as any on record. As well as unanimity of ensemble and individual virtuosity, there’s a sense of collective enjoyment in the music-making that prompts comparisons with that of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra under Claudio Abbado.” – Gramophone

“Runnicles forms part of the panalopy of recordings that are almost as ‘superhuman’ in their achievements as the symphonies themselves.” – Classical Music Daily

“This recording enters into direct competition with rather massive precedent renderings by names like Bernstein, Barbirolli, or Kubelik…Well, in this dense and high-quality world, Sir Runnicles and the GTMF Orchestra enter with ease and often obtain far better results.” – EarRelevant

“This release also ranks as one of the very best Mahler 5s in terms of recorded sound.” – Music Web International

“Extremely well contoured and highly expressive” – Classical Music Sentinel

“What Runnicles and the Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra offer here is an unapologetic Mahler Fifth, one that delves deeply into emotion without wallowing in it unduly, and one that takes the audience along on a spiritual journey…” – TransCentury

“This is an exquisite recording that digs deep into the emotions Mahler put into this work… The whole orchestra seems to have coalesced around Runnicles’ vision for this performance and it pays off.” – Cultural Attache

“Warmly recorded and persuasively led” – Chimeo

“An exciting emotional roller coaster…The sound recording is exceptionally good, optimally spatial, broad, and very present, with a well-supported but clear bass foundation.” – Pizzicato

“This interpretation conveys with conviction the complex emotional and formal dialectic that defines this monumental work.” – Sonograma Magazine

“A solid outing from this veteran conductor and his orchestra from Walk Festival Hall at the base of Rendezvous Mountain.” – AllMusic

“The orchestra is a festival ensemble of top-tier players drawn from major orchestras, and sounds like it. What you hear is excellent musicianship with a slightly more “live” feel: less corporate perfection, more collective energy…To my ear, it’s among the best-sounding Mahler Fifths currently available.” – Positive Feedback

“The playing throughout is of a very high standard, remarkable for an ensemble that assembles only during the summer season. Woodwinds are incisive, brass confident, percussion brilliant, and the orchestra responds faultlessly to the conductor’s direction. Under Runnicles the 96 musicians clearly have been moulded into a cohesive force capable of realising his carefully considered vision of the symphony.” – HRAudio

“Exquisite…Anyone wishing to experience the Fifth Symphony in all its splendor—without being distracted by interpretive eccentricities—simply cannot overlook this audiophile gem from Wyoming.” – Online Merker

“Runnicles charters Mahler’s complex odyssey with a light hand, fervent and optimistic in tone.” – Audiophile Audition

press

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Katy Salomon | Primo Artists | VP, Public Relations
katy@primoartists.com | 646.801.9406