Andris Nelsons and the Wiener Philharmoniker have released Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 as a standalone Deutsche Grammophon album, available digitally and on 2 LPs from May 1, 2026. The recording previews a forthcoming complete Mahler symphony cycle from Nelsons and the orchestra, due digitally and as a 14-CD set on October 23, 2026.
The album centers on Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 in C sharp minor, written in 1901 and 1902 after the composer faced a serious health crisis and met Alma Schindler, whom he married in 1902. The symphony moves from its opening funeral march through a storm-driven second movement and a Scherzo before reaching the Adagietto, the work’s fourth movement for solo harp and strings.
The performance was recorded at the 2022 Salzburg Festival. BR Klassik praised the Wiener Philharmoniker horn section and wrote of Nelsons’ reading, “The famous Adagietto gets under your skin.” The complete Gustav Mahler: The Symphonies anthology will collect live recordings made between 2018 and 2026, with vocal and choral forces appearing in Mahler’s Nos. 2, 3, and 8. Featured soloists across the set include Lucy Crowe, Ying Fang, Christiane Karg, Ekaterina Gubanova, Benjamin Bruns, Michael Nagy, and Tareq Nazmi.
The announcement follows Nelsons’ Deutsche Grammophon Shostakovich cycle with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, a project that recently won a fifth Grammy Award. Nelsons also issued a Mendelssohn cycle with the Gewandhausorchester through Deutsche Grammophon before turning to Mahler with the Wiener Philharmoniker. Nelsons and the Wiener Philharmoniker previously recorded a Beethoven cycle for Deutsche Grammophon after building a working relationship over the last 15 years. Deutsche Grammophon will record Symphonies Nos. 3 and 8 later this season, during Nelsons and the Wiener Philharmoniker performances at Vienna’s Musikverein from May 1-3, 2026, and Konzerthaus from May 9-11, 2026. The May 11, 2026 performance of Symphony No. 8 will also stream live on Deutsche Grammophon’s STAGE+ platform.
