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Title: Neither Horenstein nor Mahler in the best light
Review: With a seismic crack on the very first note of the tenor horn solo, some badly garbled playing and insensitively rushed tempi, and murkier sound in this "official" release of a bootleg recording than the Music & Arts "unofficial" release of some years back, this one is strictly for Horenstein (and Mahler) completists who are willing to overlook a lot for the sake of an allegedly "legendary" live performance. Both the conductor's memory and the composer's music deserve more. For a showcase of what Horenstein could achieve in concert, check out his pairing of the Bruckner Eighth and Ninth Symphonies in this BBC series, from roughly the same time period (1969) as this comparatively dismal effort. As for the Mahler Seventh, it's better served by Bernstein, Inbal, Abbado and, especially, Gielen.
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