Mahler: Symphony No. 6

The Concertgebouworkest performs Gustav Mahler’s powerful Symphony No. 6, led by Lorin Maazel. According to conductor Bruno Walter, the nickname ‘Tragic’ originated with Mahler himself.

Mahler’s Symphony No. 6

The Symphony No. 6 is Gustav Mahler’s most personal work according to his wife Alma. The composer would have said to her about the first movement of the Sixth Symphony: “I have tried to capture you in a theme; I don’t know whether I have succeeded, but you will have to deal with it.” The final movement would depict his downfall – or the downfall of his hero: “The hero is stricken by Fate three times; the last of these blows fells the hero as a tree is felled.”

Lorin Maazel, conductor

Lorin Maazel conducted the Concertgebouworkest for the first time in 1968 and returned to the orchestra several times. He made his conducting debut at the age of eight. Maazel worked with the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Vienna State Opera, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in Munich, the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and the Munich Philharmonic, among others. He passed away in 2014.

 

Mahler’s Symphony No. 6

The Symphony No. 6 is Gustav Mahler’s most personal work according to his wife Alma. The composer would have said to her about the first movement of the Sixth Symphony: “I have tried to capture you in a theme; I don’t know whether I have succeeded, but you will have to deal with it.” The final movement would depict his downfall – or the downfall of his hero: “The hero is stricken by Fate three times; the last of these blows fells the hero as a tree is felled.”

Lorin Maazel, conductor

Lorin Maazel conducted the Concertgebouworkest for the first time in 1968 and returned to the orchestra several times. He made his conducting debut at the age of eight. Maazel worked with the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Vienna State Opera, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in Munich, the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and the Munich Philharmonic, among others. He passed away in 2014.

 

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