Mahler's Second Symphony is one of the lengthiest symphonies in the literature, clocking in at about 83 minutes, and is notable even among his own works for its scale.
Composition History
Gustav Mahler's Second Symphony, known as the 'Resurrection' Symphony, was worked on intermittently between 1888 and 1894, with revisions in 1903 and 1910.
Compositional Technique
Mahler's Second, Third, and Fourth Symphonies are known as the 'Wunderhorn Symphonies' because they are directly based on, or indirectly spring from, Des Knaben Wunderhorn, a collection of German folk poetry.
Composition History
The inspiration for the finale of Mahler's Second Symphony came to him at the funeral of conductor Hans von Bülow in 1894, where Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock's hymn Auferstehung (Resurrection ode) was performed.
Recording & Production
This recording of Mahler's Second Symphony was made live in the Eugene McDermott Concert Hall of the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas over four days in September 1998.
Compositional Technique
Mahler's Second Symphony features an enormous orchestra, including 4 flutes, 4 oboes, 3 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 E-flat clarinets, 4 bassoons, contrabassoon, 10 horns (some offstage), 8 trumpets (some offstage), 4 trombones, contrabass tuba, organ, 2 sets of timpani, various percussion, 2 harps, soprano and mezzo-soprano soloists, mixed chorus, and strings.
Composition History
The first movement of Mahler's Second Symphony was initially conceived as a standalone tone poem titled Todtenfeier (Funeral rite), which Mahler proposed for independent publication.
