Rafael Kubelik was born near Prague in 1914, the son of the world famous violinist Jan Kubelik. He studied at the Prague Conservatory and by 1937, he was leading the Czech Philharmonic on tours of Great Britain and Belgium. From 1939-1941, he was Musical Director of the Moravian State Opera in Brno and in 1942, he became Principal Conductor of the Czech Philharmonic. Kubelik, after stops in Chicago and Covent Garden, finally found his ideal workplace in Munich, where, as principal conductor of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra for 18 years, he left his mark on Munich's musical life and brought his orchestra international acclaim. Kubelik had become acquainted with the music of Gustav Mahler as a young man, inspired by the work of Bruno Walter, Erich Kleiber and Fritz Busch. He was fascinated from the start by its capacity for passion and sacrifice and its shrewd foreboding, but also as a compatriot by its Bohemian-Moravian roots. It was Kubelik's dedication to radio broadcasting which helped immeasurably in the revival of Mahler's work. Kubelik was the first conductor to perform a complete Mahler symphony cycle, which took place in Munich.

"Good stereo sound, light on the bass but otherwise warm and transparent, makes for a pleasant...listening experience." - ClassicsToday.com

"The opening of the last movement is superbly done with trenchancy and harsh detail unflinchingly presented. The main allegro passages emit the same white-hot intensity of the first two movements and yet there remains a controlling mind behind it to guard against the intensity turning into abandonment and so the tension is ratcheted up." - MusicWeb International