Of course, this will take quite a bit of time, given the size of his whole body of work and the amount of time it takes to get familiar with each of the pieces of it. Having been a great fan of his since I was a kid (I won’t say how many years ago that was), I have had plenty of time to do this, so perhaps I am underestimating the task!

Also, one needn’t try to appreciate everything he did. I don’t particularly care for the 1st and 8th symphonies, but of course that doesn’t mean that I assume that everyone would share my preferences. I’m a tremendous fan of the 10th, but many Mahlerites refuse to have anything to do with it, because he left it incomplete, and the parts that were completed by others are “inauthentic,” in their opinion.

At any rate, my advice would be not to concentrate on trying to “master” one piece, like the 6th, at once before going on to another one. If there are parts of it you don’t get at first, just try some other things, and gradually get familiar with a number of them. Realize it will take you a few years, at least!

A lot of people find the 1st and 4th symphonies the easiest to approach at first. And don’t neglect the 5th — it’s a wild ride!

Another thing that occurs to me, especially concerning his “romanticism,” is that he was steeped in 19th-century German culture, of course, as his songs especially reveal, as well as his use of Goethe in the 8th. And that culture is almost the definition of “romantic.” For me, it was that connection that first attracted me to him, but I know that it turns other peoples’ stomachs and ultimately turns them off from Gustav. Whether you can appreciate that particular cultural world or not may finally govern your attitude toward him.

The first time I heard the start of Gielen’s version it sounded too slow, but after a couple of listens I like it a lot better than Bernstein. The whole thing sounds better with more breathing room, but I especially like the transitions into the drumrolls at that pace.

It’s definitely starting to catch – I woke up this morning with the first movement in my head and found myself humming it while at work: a very promising sign!

I think you’ll find the Gielen performance more to your taste than the Bernstein’s. Lenny also takes the opening march extremely fast, but I think it sounds much more compelling – and menacing – in Gielen’s slower pace. Barbirolli’s 1967 recording with the New Philharmonia Orchestra takes the opening at an even slower pace, and makes it sound like the angels of the Apocalypse trudging through the aftermath.

Keep on trucking! Treasures await.