Pre-Owned Mahler: Symphony No.2/ Schmidt: Symphony No.4 (CD 0028944061529) by Christa Ludwig (alto), Ileana Cotrubas (soprano), Vienna State Opera Chorus (choir, chorus), Wiener Philharmoniker;...

0028944061529. Pre-owned: Good condition. CD. Zubin Mehta was once -- or, to be more specific, twice -- a great conductor. Not uncoincidentally, both times were with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1971, Mehta and the VPO made a recording of the Symphony No. 4 of Franz Schmidt, which was then and remains now the best recorded performance of the work. And, proving that lightning can strike twice in the same place, in 1975 Mehta and the VPO made a recording of the Symphony No. 2 of Gustav Mahler, which was then and remains now one of the best recorded performances of the work.Of course, there are only eight recordings of Schmidt's Fourth, so Mehta's competition isn't exactly stiff. But one suspects that even had there been 80 recordings of the work, Mehta's would still be at or near the top. With the superb and soulful playing of the VPO, Mehta created a performance plumbing the abyss of grief that is Schmidt's Fourth, finding depths of suffering and transcendence that made his performance one of the most moving testimonies to sorrow and loss...