The Testament disc presents a live recording of a concert by the Berlin Philharmonic during the Berliner Festwochen on September 21, 1994. On short notice Michael Gielen replaced an ailing Klaus Tennstedt. The assessments of the evening were mixed, but the Berliner Morgenpost wrote that, ''The members of the Philharmonic were excellent partners for Gielen's precise, intelligent and extraordinarily gripping Mahler interpretation.'' The present recording documents the special quality of Gielen's cooperation with the Philharmonic and more than that: it is also a testimonial to the orchestra's rich Mahler tradition.