Permit me to enter this thread with a suggestion. I don't know whether Mahler should be viewed as "overrated" or not, but I would designate him (perhaps in a dead heat with Wagner) as "most overstated". By this, I refer the simple ratio of what is achieved to what is employed. Consider the following comparison of two works, and the means they employ. Mahler's Symphony #2: about 80 minutes, requring a large symphony orchestra, organ, chorus, soloists, bells, whistles, and if Mahler were composing today he would no doubt call in Stephen Spielberg for special effects. Bach's chaconne from the partita #2 in D minor: 14 minutes, one violin. Jon Gallant