I used to agree with another listmember that some works seems very difficult to get wrong. I have so never heard a bad recording of Beethovens 8. Sinfonie for example. Another work that often is performed very well is Mahler's 4th, although the quality can vary, I have never heard a downright bad recording of it. Which is then the best Mahler 4? hard to say. Haitinks live 1999 Berliner version is outstanding to me, but this one isn't officially out as commercial recording, so one can say it doesn't count. One criteria beside good conducting and orchestra playing is that the singer is good, and to have a singer in the symphonies mother tounge is important to me, as the diction usually comes out better. So; I'd suggest Klemperer's Philharmonia recordig from 1961. Teh schrezo really sounds much "mahlerian", with the Philharmonia Orchestra playing with a clear almost transparent sound, and besides, in this recording the siger has clear diction indeed. For example I could say that Elisabeth Schwarzkopf in this recording is the only singer I have heard in this symphony who actually sings the last syllable of "Freuden", in the first line "Wir geniessen die himmlische Freuden" so one can hear it. What are others favourites? Mats Norrman [log in to unmask]