On the present disc, Mengelberg conducts the two orchestras with which he was closely associated during his distinguished career. A fervent supporter of Mahler, Mengelberg’s reading of the Adagietto from Mahler’s Fifth Symphony is of great importance, coming only 25 years after the work’s première, and remains one of the best versions on record. Almost all the recordings of Mengelberg conducting Wagner are to be heard on this disc, their characteristic intensity and drama brought to the fore in restorations of the highest quality.