I have this version by Hanssler records
Symphony No. 7 in E minor
South West German Radio Symphony Orchestra, Baden-Baden
Gielen, Michael - Conductor


1. » I. Langsam - Allegro risoluto, ma non troppo 00:21:53

2. » II. Nachtmusik I - Allegro moderato 00:16:42

3. » III. Scherzo. Schatternhaft 00:09:41

4. » IV. Nachtmusik II - Andante amoroso 00:12:55

5. » V. Rondo - Finale 00:18:14

His music is complex and I enjoy listening to him but in all honesty i have to say , when in dark moods, no.

The whole thing? Lordy, most regional orchestras wouldn't take this
thing on. The finale I can easily imagine in an arrangement for wind
ensemble--perhaps transposed from C to Bb, or even up a step to
Db (that would probably work better given the key structure
of the piece)--the rest not so much.

It's a great piece. My favorite recordings are Levine, Solti (just because
that's the one I grew up with) and if you want to hear every little note,
Boulez. It's a horn players dream: they play almost continuously through
the first thirty bars (of the Finale) behaving like French Horns the entire
time then bring the whole thing to a close with a lot to do in between.
Short of the Scerzo of the Fifth the Finale of the Seventh would be the
Mahler movement I'd associate with the French Horn, so you should
have a lot of fun. (The first trumpet will also have fun, as he or she
has a whole bunch of high Ds (concert C's) fortissimo to look
forward to. Great for the brasses all around, the Finale. In fact,
all three trumpets get to play that note at the end.)

The Solti recording is kind of old and a bit controlled, compared to say
a recording by Bernstein or Levine, but the Chicago brass section in
the seventies is still in my opinion one of the best ever, so I'd say, if
you're a horn player, listen to the Finale of the Solti/Chicago recording
and let yourself get all excited. The second movement also starts out with
horn solos.

The entire symphony is the most "suite" like of the Mahlers after the Third,
with which it has much in common. The tonal architecture is obscure
and the delicacy of the "Nocturnes" incongruous. There is some question, especially
in light of the Sixth and what was going on in his life at the time, as to
whether the Finale, which suddenly out of nowhere blazes forth with
all those fanfares in C major, is "serious" (i.e., seriously as joyful
as it acts), whether there is a forced quality to it all, or whether it was
simply a miscalculation on Mahler's part. This can depend on the
conductor and listener's mood that day.

Enjoy!