Mahler Symphony No 2

Majestic and profoundly moving, Mahler’s 2nd Symphony (‘Resurrection’) constitutes one of the towering monuments of late-19th-century symphonic music and one of the composer’s most popular works. It was therefore logical that Jean-Claude Casadesus, a living legend of the conductor’s art, chose this work, which has accompanied him for many years, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of his Orchestre National de Lille.

The Symphony No. 2 in C minor by Gustav Mahler, known as the Resurrection Symphony, was written between 1888 and 1894, and first performed in 1895. This symphony was one of Mahler's most popular and successful works during his lifetime. It was his first major work that established his lifelong view of the beauty of afterlife and resurrection. In this large work, the composer further developed the creativity of "sound of the distance" and creating a "world of its own", aspects already seen in his First Symphony. The work has a duration of 80 to 90 minutes, and is conventionally labelled as being in the key of C minor; the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians labels the work's tonality as C minor–E♭ major. It was voted the fifth-greatest symphony of all time in a survey of conductors carried out by the BBC Music Magazine.

The epic Symphony No. 2 brought Gustav Mahler and Otto Klemperer together in 1905, when the 20-year-old conductor took charge of the off-stage band for a performance in Berlin.

Gustav Mahler's Second Symphony started life as a single-movement tone poem called Todtenfeier (‘Funeral Rites’). Completed in 1888 – one year before Richard Strauss's Death and Transfiguration – it echoed the composer's vision of seeing himself lying dead in a funeral bier surrounded by flowers. Deciding to use it as his opening movement, Mahler didn't finish the complete five-movement symphony until more than six years later, the longest time he spent on any work.

Mahler attraction: with the "Gustav Mahler Fest Kassel" created by the then GMD Ádám Fischer, the city received another internationally important cultural attraction in addition to the art exhibition "documenta".

This recording of Mahler’s Ninth Symphony is an event, because it was made with period instruments of the kind the composer used in Vienna. The Mahler Academy Orchestra set itself the task of reconstructing this instrumentarium and researching how musicians of the time played it: ‘We were struck during our rehearsals by the incredibly distinctive characterisation of the woodwinds, the shattering blare of the brass, the perfect balance between the instruments, and the pure and warm sound of the strings.

This recording of Mahler’s Ninth Symphony is an event, because it was made with period instruments of the kind the composer used in Vienna. The Mahler Academy Orchestra set itself the task of reconstructing this instrumentarium and researching how musicians of the time played it: ‘We were struck during our rehearsals by the incredibly distinctive characterisation of the woodwinds, the shattering blare of the brass, the perfect balance between the instruments, and the pure and warm sound of the strings.

This recording of Mahler’s Ninth Symphony is an event, because it was made with period instruments of the kind the composer used in Vienna. The Mahler Academy Orchestra set itself the task of reconstructing this instrumentarium and researching how musicians of the time played it: ‘We were struck during our rehearsals by the incredibly distinctive characterisation of the woodwinds, the shattering blare of the brass, the perfect balance between the instruments, and the pure and warm sound of the strings.

Israeli conductor Eliahu Inbal has become known to many worldwide for both his concert performances and his numerous recordings, including the complete symphonies of several composers. From 2008 to 2014 he is served as the principal conductor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. This Exton release features Gustav Mahler's Sixth Symphony in A minor "Tragic". One point microphone recording!