Mahler, G.: Symphony No. 2

Featuring

Bernard Haitink
Miah Persson
Christianne Stotijn
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Gustav Mahler

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Notable Performances

The premiere of Mahler's Symphony No. 2 on December 13, 1894, was his first major public sensation as a composer, despite some audience hostility.

Composition History

The idea for the choral finale of Mahler's Symphony No. 2 came to him at the funeral of Hans von Bülow, an influential conductor who had previously disliked the first movement.

Compositional Technique

The third movement of Mahler's Symphony No. 2 is a symphonic expansion of his Des Knaben Wunderhorn song about Saint Anthony of Padua's sermon to the fishes.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Mahler stated that the first movement of his Symphony No. 2 asks 'the great question: Why did you live? Why did you suffer? Is it all nothing but a huge, cruel jest?'

Composition History

Mahler initially conceived the first movement of his Symphony No. 2 as a standalone piece called Todtenfeier (Funeral rite).

Composition History

Gustav Mahler began his Symphony No. 2 with a funeral march after dreaming he was lying on a funeral bier.

Performer Biography

Bernard Haitink, the conductor on this album, has had an international conducting career spanning more than five decades and was music director of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam for twenty-five years.