Mahler's Symphony No. 5 was composed between 1901 and 1903, during his summer holidays from his demanding role as director of the Vienna Hofoper.
Performer Biography
Jonathan Darlington, the conductor of this recording, is the music director of both the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra and the Vancouver Opera.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Mahler's Fifth Symphony marks a return to purely instrumental symphonies, departing from his previous four 'Wunderhorn' symphonies which incorporated vocal texts.
Compositional Technique
Mahler's Fifth Symphony is unusual because it begins with a funeral march, which functions as a massive introduction, and the actual main movement (in sonata form) only appears as the second movement.
Critical Reception
Gustav Mahler himself found his Fifth Symphony difficult for audiences to grasp, complaining in 1904, 'The fifth is a cursed work. No one understands it.'
Performer Biography
The Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra, established in 1877, is one of Germany's most traditional orchestras, having hosted renowned conductors like Paul Hindemith and Bruno Walter.
Composition History
The Adagietto movement of Mahler's Fifth Symphony was a declaration of love to Alma Schindler, whom he met and became engaged to in November 1901.
