I don't know if there are any classical music lovers aboot, but
here's an article by Terry Teachout (it took a while to load the page) about Toscanini, whose expressed opinion of Mahler's music is temerarious, and ignorant, too. At his best, he was a great conductor, but I don't care for the way he'd sometimes change the composer's orchestrations to streamline the music, and some of his performances are 'WAY too streamlined. He could be awfully mean to his players, too, but I suppose that's how you get those slick performances. Oh, well, orchestra members (who in most orchestras don't get paid well) are now protected by lots of lovely union rules.