The London Philharmonic Orchestra and principal conductor Vladimir Jurowski's account of Mahler's beautiful Fourth Symphony was recorded live at the Royal Festival Hall in 2016. The symphony, Mahler's shortest, combines child-like innocence with mystic elements, and culminates with a glorious setting of the poem 'The Heavenly Life' from Des Knaben Wunderhorn – here sung by soprano Sofia Fomina.
Featuring
Vladimir Jurowski
Sofia Fomina
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Gustav Mahler
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Performer Biography
Sofia Fomina, the soprano on this recording, made her international operatic debut in 2012 at the Royal Opera House as Isabelle in Meyerbeer's Robert le Diable.
Compositional Technique
The second movement of Mahler's Fourth Symphony features a violin tuned a tone higher than normal to evoke 'Freund Hain,' a sinister fiddler from German folklore.
Composition History
Mahler initially conceived his Fourth Symphony as a light, cheerful "humoresque" in contrast to his ambitious Second and Third Symphonies.
Performer Biography
Vladimir Jurowski, the conductor, was born in Moscow in 1972 and relocated with his family to Germany in 1990.
Composition History
The song-finale, titled 'Das himmlische Leben' ('The Heavenly Life'), was composed before the preceding three orchestral movements and served as the starting point for the entire symphony.
Compositional Technique
Mahler's Fourth Symphony incorporates disturbing imagery, such as 'the butcher Herod' and a 'lambkin to death,' into its child's vision of Heaven.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Mahler described the opening string theme of the slow movement as inspired by a vision of a tombstone with an image of the departed in eternal sleep, conveying both consolation and sadness.
