Among the musical institutions that fought the good fight for the not-yet-canonical symphonies of Gustav Mahler (1860–1911), none stands taller than Amsterdam’s hallowed Concertgebouw. The Mahler Festival in 1920, honoring Willem Mengelberg’s 25th anniversary as music director of the hall’s orchestra, made history by performing the master’s nine symphonies as a cycle, all under the baton of Mengelberg, one of his most impassioned and most cherished advocates. Strange to say, the festival established no tradition; the next blue moon was not to roll around until 1995, at which time the home team took turns in the limelight with the flagship orchestras of Berlin and Vienna. This year’s third iteration is even more of an international affair. Klaus Mäkelä and the Concertgebouw are on deck for Symphonies 1 (“Titan”) and 8 (“Symphony of a Thousand”), Iván Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra for Symphonies 2 (“Resurrection”) and 5, Fabio Luisi and the NHK Symphony Orchestra for Symphonies No. 3 and 4, Jaap van Zweden and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for Symphonies 6 (“Tragic”) and 7 (“Song of the Night”). At the very end, the Berlin Philharmonic moves in for Symphony No. 9, led by Kirill Petrenko, as well as the Symphony No. 10 (completed by Deryck Cooke) and the symphonic song cycle Das Lied von der Erde, superintended by Daniel Barenboim. As you might expect, the series sold out more or less instantaneously. Annual editions are long overdue. —Matthew Gurewitsch