Gustav Mahler:
- Symphony No. 9 in D major
Performed by the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Valery Gergiev
Mahler wrote his Ninth Symphony during a time of great personal sadness and suffering. His beloved little daughter had died of Diphtheria, and soon afterwards he was diagnosed with a serious heart ailment.
All of this tragedy is reflected in the music of this final completed symphony #9.
At times these sounds are horrible, at other instances delicate and serene. Even though the symphony begins with a slow movement full of the sounds of sighs, it seems to me that at the end there is an acceptance of the impending end of Mahler’s life.
This symphony was composed between 1908 and 1909; Gustav Mahler died in May, 1911 in Vienna. He did spend a few earlier years as Director of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, and also as conductor of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.
The tracks on this CD are:
1. Symphony No. 9: I. Andante Comodo
2. Symphony No. 9: II. Im Tempio eines gemaechlichen Laendlers. Etwas taeppisch und sehr derb
3. Symphony No. 9: III. Rondo – Burleske: Allergro assai. Sehr trotzig
4. Symphony No. 9: IV. Adagio Sehr langsam und noch zurueckhaltend
Here are some British press reviews:
The Guardian:
“…from the rosy vein struck by the strings to the honed gestures of the woodwind, here was an orchestra at one with itself and its Director”
Evening Standard:
“Gergiev’s reading was both valid and deeply moving. Finally all tears were wiped away, all coughing silenced, in a breathless, peerlessly executed coda [Adagio]”
Here is Valery Gergiev directing the London Symphony Orchestra in the opening sighs of the Mahler 9th symphony:
http://youtu.be/Dckwnmeuyvo
Tags: Gustav Mahler, Symphony #9, Valery Gergiev, London Symphony Orchestra