The second – the ‘Resurrection’ – was the first Mahler symphony ever to be recorded, and it is still today an essential work in any conductor’s catalogue. But with hundreds of recordings, from Ormandy to Bernstein and Rattle, which does our reviewer recommend?

Is it something in the water? Or is it simply that triumph over adversity sells in today’s uncertain world? Whatever the reason, Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony has already received four major UK performances this year: a season finale for the BBC Philharmonic in Manchester, a season opener for both the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the London Symphony Orchestra, and an 80th season celebratory concert for the Philharmonia Orchestra in London. Next month the London City Orchestra perform it in Croydon’s Fairfield Halls.

On disc, the field of Mahler 2s is even more crowded. Apple Music Classical currently throws up 222 listings; Presto Music’s search engine returns 260 results, many of them complete recordings to download or buy on CD or vinyl (some of these, of course, are reissues of recognised classic accounts).

Hoare/Briscein/Crowe/LSO/Rattle
(LSO Live)
In this beautifully balanced live recording Simon Rattle, the London Symphony Orchestra and an outstanding cast make the music sing and dance

Janáček’s comedy can be a charmer on stage but it’s a devil to get your head around on disc. Based on satirical stories by Svatopluk Čech – who even puts in an appearance in Act II – Mr Brouček (or Mr Beetle in Czech) is a petty minded, puffed-up landlord with an insatiable appetite for beer and sausages. The first half propels our sozzled antihero on an imaginary flight to the moon where he proceeds to puncture the pretensions of the artsy-fartsy inhabitants. The second half deposits him in the thick of the 15th-century Hussite wars where, cowardly to the core, he singularly fails to cover himself in glory. Amid the fun and games, the conversational text flies by at a discombobulating rate of knots.

This recording takes pride of place in the catalogue thanks in part to Simon Rattle’s illuminating way with the music. Not only does he make it sing and dance – bagpipes and all – he brings out every quirk and colour of Janáček’s imaginative score. By giving the opera room to breathe, listeners have the best chance yet of appreciating the composer’s fertile wit and gift for musical storytelling.

Größen der Klassikszene kommen zum Jubiläumsfestival nach Bad Kissingen, wo man in diesem Jahr die jüdische Geschichte und Kultur in der Kurstadt feiert.

Kirill Gerstein interpretiert das ihm gewidmete „Piano Concerto“ von Francisco Coll – ein ekstatisches Erlebnis mit dem BR-Symphonieorchester im Herkulessaal in München.