Mahler: Symphony No. 2 in C Minor "Resurrection" (Live)

Featuring

Ibolya Verebics
Marilyn Horne
Ádám Fischer
Rundfunkchor Berlin
Festspielorchester des "Gustav Mahler Fest Kassel"
Gustav Mahler

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Composition History

Mahler's Second Symphony, known as the 'Resurrection Symphony', was his first large-scale work to include a chorus and two vocal soloists, completed between 1888 and 1894.

Historical Context

The 'Gustav Mahler Fest Kassel', founded by Ádám Fischer in 1989, aimed to be a place of encounter between East and West through Mahler's music, as Kassel was near the border with the German Democratic Republic at the time.

Performer Biography

Marilyn Horne, the alto soloist on this recording, was initially considered a soprano but discovered her true calling as a coloratura mezzo-soprano in the 1960s, becoming a renowned Rossini interpreter.

Recording & Production

This recording is a live concert recording from July 7, 1991, featuring the Festival Orchestra of the 'Gustav Mahler Fest Kassel' conducted by Ádám Fischer.

Performer Biography

Ádám Fischer, the conductor, founded the 'Gustav Mahler Fest Kassel' in 1989 and also established the Austrian-Hungarian Haydn Philharmonic in 1987.

Composer Biography

Gustav Mahler worked as 'Musical and Choral Director' at the Royal Theatre in Kassel, Germany, from 1883 to 1885, a period crucial for his development as a composer and conductor.

Compositional Technique

Mahler expanded the traditional symphony structure to five movements and incorporated the human voice as a 'bearer of musical ideas' in his Second Symphony, following Beethoven's Ninth.