The first recording of the Mahler Symphony No. 8 was conducted by which Jewish-Polish-Irish bandleader?
Mahler Symphony No. 8 discography The first complete recording of Gustav Mahler's Eighth Symphony was made on 9 April 1950, with Leopold Stokowski conducting the New York Philharmonic and combined New York choirs. The recording was of a live performance at the Carnegie Hall. Nearly two years earlier the Hungarian-born conductor Eugene Ormandy had recorded the "Veni Creator Spiritus" movement, with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra in a performance at the Hollywood Bowl in July 1948. Since Stokowski's version at least 70 recordings of the symphony have been made, by many of the world's leading orchestras and singers, mostly during live performances. This number includes recordings which were for private or limited distribution and were not issued under commercial record labels.
Gerard Willems Gerard Willems AM (born Gerardus Maria Willems, 19 August 1946) is an Australian classical pianist and teacher. He was the first Australian pianist to record on CD the complete series of 32 piano sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven. He also recorded Beethoven's five piano concertos and the "Diabelli Variations", and is the only pianist to do so using an Australian Stuart & Sons piano. This series of recordings constitutes the largest classical music recording project ever undertaken in Australia, and Willems became the best selling classical artist in Australia's recording history.