It’s the most lightly, as in ineffably, characterised Mahler One I’ve heard since Kubelík’s. Everything flows, moves forward without rush…And when he needs to, Fischer pulls out the stops – a whole sequence of them as he magnificently marshals the final triumph. I don’t know a more convincing interpretation of those last pages…Masterly.

This is a terrific account of Mahler’s fledgling symphony – full of the rashness and impetuosity of youth and the wild imaginings that go hand in hand with it… There is an extraordinary kinship and telepathy between Fischer and his Düsseldorf orchestra… This is shaping up to be the most idiomatic and exciting cycle of Mahler symphonies since Kubelík and Bernstein.

More lyrical and less overtly rustic than his brother Iván's account on Channel Classics, the elder Fischer's Mahler One is just as captivating on its own terms. Spring unfolds with leisurely charm, and his way with the middle movements are especially illuminating: the second's trio is almost Rosenkavalier-esque, and there are some delicious flirtations with cabaret in the third.