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Mahler Symphony #2

Posted: Saturday | 01.22.11

Symphony #2 by Gustav Mahler

Leonard Bernstein was nuts about Mahler. He connected with him; he even on occasion said that when performing Mahler’s music he felt that he WAS Mahler. And certainly they shared some common aspects: For a time in the early 1900’s, Mahler was the conductor of the New York Philharmonic. And… during different periods in their respective lives, both Mahler and Bernstein were connected with another great Philharmonic conductor: Bruno Walter.

Bernstein understood the message of Mahler and the universality of his music. Bernstein even spent a large amount of time working with the players of the Vienna Philharmonic to remind them that Mahler was one of *them*: Yet they had played his music in a lethargic, disinterested way that drove Bernstein to desperation, until he finally showed them the right way to perform the Passion in Mahler’s music. This is music filled with irony, with humor, with tenderness, and with agony and sadness.

There are countless recordings of this masterpiece. Explore the videos below to see how Bernstein performed it with the London Symphony Orchestra.
Symphony No. 2 in C minor, “Resurrection”, by Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)
• London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Leonard Bernstein

• Sheila Armstrong, soprano

• Janet Baker, mezzo-soprano

• Edinburgh Festival Chorus

Here is the Mahler, Symphony No. 2: First movement, as performed by Leonard Bernstein:

Here is Part 2 of the first movement:

And now, Part 3:

Tags: Gustav Mahler, Symphony #2, Bernstein, London Symphony Orchestra