Organization

Conductor

Leonard Bernstein

Orchestra

Wiener Philharmoniker

Berliner Philharmoniker

Mahler-Symphony No. 9

Berlin

Germany

Berliner Philharmonie

The Austrian composer and conductor Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) brought the traditional genre of the symphony into the 20th century. Today his works form the standard repertoire of every major orchestra.

"I've been very busy and I'm just putting my hand on a new symphony. The work itself is a very favorable enrichment for my little family. It says something that I've had on the lips for a long time - perhaps (as a whole) most likely to put the 4th next to it (but completely different)", wrote Gustav Mahler.

The Ninth received its world premiere after Mahler's death in 1912 in Vienna under the baton of Bruno Walter. Loosely based on the titles that Mahler gave to his 3rd symphony, the title of the 9th symphony should be "What Death Tells Me". It seems as if Mahler foresaw the end of his own life.

"The first sentence is the most glorious thing Mahler wrote. It is the expression of an incredible love for this earth, the longing to live in peace on it, to pour it, nature, down to its deepest depths - before death comes." (Alban Berg)

Leonard Bernstein was the first conductor to record all of Gustav Mahler's symphonies not only on disc but also on video. The recordings, made between 1971 and 1985, are not only a unique musical document, but also contributed to a new understanding of Mahler's work.

"All Mahler symphonies, all Mahler works by the way, are full of extremes. Extremes in dynamics, in tempo, in emotional meaning. If the music is bare, then it is very bare; if it is dense and powerful, it is denser and more powerful than the Götterdämmerung as a whole; when it suffers, it suffers as has never been suffered in music." (Leonard Bernstein)

Mahler-Symphony No. 9 by Various, From (1971/1971), Conductor Leonard Bernstein, Berliner Philharmonie, Berlin, Germany

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Ensemble

Program, About & Synopsis

Photos

Further reading

Performance Dates & Venues

Venues