The 1986 performance of Mahler's Symphony No.3 from London's Royal Festival Hall differs from the studio recording made in the late 70's. As Michael McManus states in his booklet notes, 'Fine though the studio recording from 1979 was and is, this live performance has an intensity and integrity that few, if any, recordings of this work can match' and 'Tennstedt in concert was a very different creature from Tennstedt in the studio. Mahler in particular was a life-and-death experience in the concert hall'. The sound captured by the BBC engineers is state of the art and easily captures Mahler's huge dynamic range. As a bonus, there is a short interview from 1987 in which Tennstedt discusses Mahler interpretation.
