Known for his interpretation of the Austro-German repertoire, especially his sympathetic approaches towards Gustav Mahler, Tennstedt is widely considered one of the greatest and most influential conductors of the late 20th century.

In Norman Lebrecht's The Maestro Myth, the story was told that when the Boston management asked Tennstedt what he wanted to conduct, he replied: "You mean I get to choose?"

Due to ill-health he resigned in 1987, but was later named its conductor laureate,[1] returning to the LPO in 1986 to record Mahler's Symphony No.

His last guest appearance in the U.S. was with the New York Philharmonic in 1992, but on the advice of his physicians he retired from conducting altogether in October 1994.

The last time he conducted was in June 1994, at a rehearsal of a student orchestra at Oxford University, where he received an honorary doctorate a few days later.

[3] His recordings include a complete cycle of the symphonies of Gustav Mahler, and several of Tennstedt's concert performances have been reissued on CD.