I have a soft spot for Mahler’s music, but it developed only in recent years. As a listener to classical music from a young age, Mahler forever seemed to baffle me; I could not get familiar with the music, no matter how often I heard it, and I still have no idea why. When I can listen to a piece and know what’s coming, that’s my measure of “familiarity.”
Certainly there were passages that bowled me over, that I found uncannily moving. The opening movement of his Eighth Symphony (the so-called Symphony of a Thousand, for massive orchestra, chorus, boys’ choir, organ, and eight vocal soloists) transfixed me in my teens, but the rest of the symphony was opaque.
It made no sense to me that a conductor could stand before an orchestra with no score in front of him and navigate this music. I felt that way as late as 2011, when I saw the aging Zubin Mehta do just that to lead the Berlin Philharmonic in Mahler’s First Symphony—arguably his most accessible work, but still hard for me to follow.
Only in my middle years did his music begin to make sense. I started listening to it more often, if only to challenge myself to fathom it in some way but also slowly growing to respond to it emotionally. I think (for me at least) the emotions come first when a piece of music “reaches” me, and the other faculties follow later—insights into structure (treatment and recurrence of a theme, for example) and appreciation of colors and larger drama. My only clue, so far, is that for decades I resisted the emotional response Mahler’s music calls for. And I repeat, I have no idea why.
The recent film Maestro, a biopic about the mercurial Leonard Bernstein, features Mahler pervasively, as it should. Whatever else the conductor did, whatever else drove him, he was devoted to Mahler’s music and led a revival of interest in it after decades of neglect, at least in the United States. It’s ironic that the composer was for years based in New York City where he led the Philharmonic and the Metropolitan Opera—and the country ignored his music for a half-century after his departure.
A crowning scene in the movie depicts the closing two or three minutes of a legendary performance Bernstein led in London of Mahler’s Second Symphony, known as the Resurrection Symphony—which I imagine is his most widely known work, if only by its title. All his symphonies are massive; the shortest takes about an hour, and the longest up to an hour and three quarters. The Second falls about midway in that range, but as its title may suggest, it follows an emotional trajectory that brings listeners in. For that matter, with its universal message of triumph in the face of death, it may be his most easily appreciated music.
I recommend the excellent program notes from the Los Angeles Philharmonic for an introduction and orientation. I’ll append the vocal texts at the end of this post to clarify who is singing what when—essential for following the words at any point—with English translation. If you’re on your phone, I hope that turning it sideways, into “landscape” mode, will make the two columns appear as intended; I cannot test that ahead of time, but even in “portrait” mode, the two languages can be disentangled.
There may be no better time than this moment in American history to offer an hour and a half of spiritual solace and exaltation. As a distinct bonus, this performance comes from the Berlin Philharmonic itself, under its most recently departed music director, Simon Rattle, an acknowledged master of Mahler’s music. (He waited until twenty years ago to first conduct the Symphony of a Thousand—I suspect, because it is so massive and challenging for both performers and audiences.)
The Berlin Phil has its own (paid) online service to present concerts, both live and via archived videos, so it is rare to find a complete performance offered freely on YouTube, and with no advertising interruptions. I’ll happily put up with the non-HD video in exchange for the superb sound quality. A final touch is that the two vocal soloists produce a highlight in their duet in the final movement: the voices match, and they tackle and surmount the call-and-response passage in a thrilling and powerful way.
You may need to either double-click the link below or else open it in a new tab. In the worst case, you can search it out on YouTube with the title shown below. Whatever it takes, I assure you that it is worth the trouble.
My hope is that this can be a relief from the labors and stresses of the day and that listeners and viewers will find refreshment and new strength here.
Mahler Symphony No 2 in C minor Resurrection • Rattle 2010 (video)
The texts, sung in the fourth and fifth movements:
IV. URLICHT PRIMAL LIGHT
[mezzo-soprano]
O Röschen rot! O little red rose!
Der Mensch liegt in grösster Not! Humankind lies in greatest need!
Der Mensch liegt in grösster Pein! Humankind lies in greatest pain!
Je lieber möcht ich im Himmel sein! Much rather would I be in Heaven!
Da kam ich auf einen breiten Weg, Then I came onto a broad way,
Da kam ein Engelein und wollt mich abweisen. And an angel came and wanted to
turn me away.
Ach nein! Ich liess mich nicht abweisen! But no, I would not let myself be
turned away!
Ich bin von Gott und will wieder zu Gott! I am from God and would return to
God!
Der liebe Gott wird mir ein Lichtchen geben, Dear God will give me a light,
Wird leuchten mir bis in das ewig selig Leben! Will light me to eternal, blissful life!
—From “Des Knaben Wunderhorn” (“The Boy’s Magic Horn”)
V. AUFERSTEHUNG RESURRECTION
[choir & soprano]
Aufersteh’n, ja aufersteh’n wirst du, Rise again, yes, you will rise again,
Mein Staub, nach kurzer Ruh! My dust, after brief rest!
Unsterblich Leben! Unsterblich Leben Immortal life! Immortal life
Wird der dich rief dir geben! Will He who called you grant you!
Wieder aufzublüh’n wirst du gesät! To bloom again you were sown!
Der Herr der Ernte geht The Lord of the Harvest goes
Und sammelt Garben And gathers sheaves,
Uns ein, die starben! Us, who died!
—Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock
[mezzo-soprano]
O glaube, mein Herz, o glaube: O believe, my heart, but believe:
Es geht dir nichts verloren! Nothing will be lost to you!
Dein ist, Dein, ja Dein, was du gesehnt! Yours is what you longed for,
Dein, was du geliebt, Yours what you loved,
Was du gestritten! What you fought for!
[soprano]
O glaube: O believe:
Du wards nicht umsonst geboren! You were not born in vain!
Hast nicht umsonst gelebt, gelitten! You have not lived nor
suffered in vain!
[choir & mezzo-soprano]
Was entstanden ist, das muss vergehen! What has come into being must
perish,
Was vergangen, auferstehen! What has perished must rise again!
Hör’ auf zu beben! Cease from trembling!
Bereite dich zu leben! Prepare to live!
[soprano & mezzo-soprano]
O Schmerz! Du Alldurchdringer! O Pain, piercer of all things,
Dir bin ich entrungen! From you I have been wrested!
O Tod! Du Allbezwinger! O Death, conqueror of all things,
Nun bist du bezwungen! Now you are conquered!
Mit Flügeln, die ich mir errungen, With wings I won for myself,
In heissem Liebesstreben In love’s ardent struggle,
Werd’ ich entschweben I shall fly upwards
Zum Licht, zu dem kein Aug’ gedrungen! To that light to which no eye has
penetrated!
[choir]
Mit Flügeln, die ich mir errungen, With wings I won for myself,
Werde ich entschweben! I shall fly upwards!
Sterben werd’ ich, um zu leben! I shall die so as to live!
Aufersteh’n, ja aufersteh’n wirst du, Rise again, yes, you will rise again,
Mein Herz, in einem Nu! My heart, in the twinkling of an eye!
Was du geschlagen, What you have conquered
Zu Gott wird es dich tragen! Will bear you to God!
—Gustav Mahler
Finally, the finale (a monumental slow movement) of his Third Symphony, the longest one — but it's hard to exceed as an extended example of his musical idiom. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M622tyRUYKg
Just found a wonderful introduction to Mahler's musical "language"—11 minutes of help for any newcomers or anyone apprehensive about "difficult" or "highbrow" music:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=GlFG8Ugj_1w