Well, first of all, I want to support Pentatone in their decision to record Mahler symphonies with Bychkov and the Czech Phil. at this bleak time in our world history. I also want to help support Europdisc too - one of the few good places left. With the shipping charge, my 'pre-order' came out to just over $18, which isn't bad. I'm going to forgo the wonderful Vanska/Minnesota/BIS M9 for now, as I'm planning to buy the eventual box set of the complete symphonies (which should be made available in late 2024). For one thing, I just got the very good Simon Rattle/BRSO/BR Klassik M9 - just this last month!
Yes, I do like Bychkov's M2 enough to add it to my already saturated arsenal. But I have a feeling that the Bychkov may become my new 'go to' for a 'redbook' CD version (while the Vanska will remain my first choice for SACD). For one thing, Pentatone at least broke the finale up into two, somewhat equal tracks (I'd like another track that skips the slow, soft choral stuff). Anyway . . . . .