Mahler's Sixth Symphony uses hammers in the Finale, with three dull, echoing blows that Alma Mahler said anticipated three grievous strokes of fate for Mahler.
Compositional Technique
The symphony features a tragic 'fate motif' with a relentless kettle drum rhythm and a major triad that sinks to a minor third, symbolizing hope turning to suffering.
Recording & Production
This recording of Mahler's Sixth Symphony was made in January 1981, less than two months before Kirill Kondrashin's death, remedying its omission from his earlier Mahler series.
Performer Biography
Kirill Kondrashin premiered Dmitri Shostakovich's Fourth Symphony, which the composer had withdrawn 25 years earlier, and also the Thirteenth Symphony after Yevtushenko's 'Babi Yar'.
Performer Biography
Kirill Kondrashin was the first Soviet conductor invited to the U.S.A. in 1958, after accompanying American pianist Van Cliburn, the winner of the Tchaikovsky Competition.
Performer Biography
Kirill Kondrashin, a prominent Russian conductor, was called 'probably the best concert accompanist of the twentieth century' by Tully Potter.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Gustav Mahler's Sixth Symphony, considered his most personal, is an autobiographical 'Heldenleben' (hero's life) that ends in downfall and death, unlike Richard Strauss's work of the same name.
