Jessye Norman, Seiji Ozawa, Boston Symphony Orchestra - Mahler: Symphonies Nos. 3 & 6 (1993)

As others have stated, the 3rd is not so bad. I thought the playing excellent and that Ozawa had control of what was happening in the orchestra. Norman, well, could you ask for better? I think not. I really don't understand the trepidation here regarding this cycle. The BSO, could you ask for a better orchestra to perform these works? I really am sad to learn that there were apparently "hostilities" between Ozawa and the BSO. I recall here in St. Louis the local radio station announcing the fact that Ozawa had signed up with the BSO and it was thought to be a good union. I would believe that since every one is a professional, everyone did his/her job in the recordings of these symphonies. Mahler is not someone you gloss over. His music is intense and has to be played well. I don't see anything less than this going on here. SInce I have several cycles of these symphonies, I can say for a fact that no one conductor can possible get it right 11 times per set. With that stated, I enjoyed both symphonies and actually came to the 6th timidly based on the previous "critiques". Don't know why Philips handled the release of the cycle the way it did and frankly, I don't really care. I do care that I was able to lcoate all the symphonies and can add them to my collection of cycles.
Is the problem here that he(Ozawa) is non-european and could not be able to understand Mahler? I see no reason why his interpretations of these works any less valid than Chailly or Mehta. He was trained by Karajan. That should mean something.
Go and listen to this cycle. I am sure you can find excellent readings done by Ozawa and the BSO.