Narodowa Orkiestra Symfoniczna Polskiego Radia NOSPR
Gustav Mahler
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Performer Biography
The Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra of Katowice (PNRSO) was founded in 1945 by eminent Polish conductor Witold Rowicki, replacing an earlier orchestra that existed from 1934 to 1939.
Composition History
Mahler completed his Fifth Symphony in 1902, during the summer following his marriage to Alma Schindler, daughter of landscape painter Anton Schindler.
Composer Biography
Mahler, born in Bohemia in 1860, came from a relatively humble Jewish family; his father, once a pedlar, later owned a successful business including a distillery and taverns.
Performer Biography
Antoni Wit, the conductor on this album, studied with Nadia Boulanger in Paris and was a prize-winner in the Herbert von Karajan Competition in 1971.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Gustav Mahler, the composer, revitalized the Austro-German symphony, imbuing it with a poignant expression of sorrow and a wide range of feelings.
Composer Biography
Mahler initially made his name as a conductor, eventually becoming director of the Vienna Court Opera in 1897, where he revived opera, particularly works by Mozart and Wagner.
Compositional Technique
The first movement of Mahler's Fifth Symphony, a Funeral March, recalls the song 'Der Tamboursg'sell' (The Drummer-Boy) from 'Des Knaben Wunderhorn' (The Boy's Magic Horn), a collection of German folk-songs.
