Groovy rhythms from the Middle East meet Mahler’s Heavenly Joy (Himmlische Freuden). The Turkish pianist and composer, Fazil Say, has written a new concert for his friend, the drum virtuoso Martin Grubinger, which will premiere in Basel, Switzerland. Although no Turkish instruments are used, the final movement in particular displays unmistakeable Anatolian characteristics with instructions such as “in Istanbul gypsy style”.
In contrast, while working on his Fourth Symphony, Gustav Mahler dreamed of starting from the beginning once more and drawing inspiration from the carefree and innocent. He avoided Blech's heavy music and instead drew more heavily from Haydn and his own Wunderhornsongs containing chamber music rather than from Wagner and the late Romantic-era composers when putting together his musical ideas. The result is a musical journey from earthly life to the “Heavenly Joy” between paradise and inner torment. In the finale of the Symphony, the Polish soprano Iwona Sobotka sings the song from Heavenly Joy.
