When I made my remarks wondering about "THE" Mahler conductor I mentioned
Klemperer and Bernstein.  But neither I nor anyone I've seen has mentioned
Bruno Walter.  In fact he doesn't seem to get a lot of attention, yet he
was my first recorded introduction to Mahler (1st Symphony and Lied von
der Erde).  On the "Great Conductors" video, Klemperer compared himself
to Walter by calling him a "moralist" and himself a "complete A-moralist!"
It's true that Walter had some rather strong opinions, such as the idea
that no one who couldn't appreciate the beauty of nature and the country
could ever conduct Beethoven's Pastoral.  Maybe that's not so extreme, but
I suspect he was thinking of how HE appreciated nature and related it to
the music.  There was probably never a conductor who was more convinced
he was right at all times and in all things than Walter, and as a class
conductors are notorious for this personality trait!  So what did I think
of his recordings? I think he did make Mahler "sing" in a way that some
other conductors didn't, and don't.  Maybe he didn't bring out other
qualities as much, but it's wise to remember that Mahler started out as a
"songwriter." The question is, did he completely change to something else
in his later symphonies, starting with the 6th?

Chris Bonds