I gave a listen to the Zubin Mehta recording of Mahler's 2nd Symphony today...
Damn! That thin was played at a white heat. Absolutely stunning. It was one of those musical experiences that left me so drained afterwards that I could only sit in silence for a while. When I eventually popped Vasily Petrenko's recording of Shostakovitch' 6th and 12th into the CD player it seemed so anti-climactic that I'll definitely need to give it another listen later... under different circumstances. Brian... you would surely love Mehta's performance. All fire and drama... no holds barred>