Biography (read more)

Gustav Mahler was an Austro-Bohemian late-Romantic composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation, celebrated in his lifetime primarily for his conducting while his ten symphonies and song cycles gained wider recognition only after his death. Major works include his ten symphonies, the song cycles “Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen” and “Kindertotenlieder,” and the symphonic song cycle “Das Lied von der Erde.” His music forms a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German symphonic tradition and the modernism of the early 20th century.

Mahler’s compositions, suppressed under the Nazi regime, experienced a major revival after 1945 and directly influenced the Second Viennese School (Schoenberg, Berg, Webern) as well as later composers such as Shostakovich, Britten, and Bernstein; he is today among the most frequently performed and recorded of all classical composers.

Sources:

Repertoire

Symphony No. 2 “Resurrection”: V. Finale (Excerpt)

Performed by Leonard Bernstein

Symphony No. 4: IV. Sehr behaglich (Excerpt)

Performed by Edith Mathis

Symphony No. 8: “Alles Vergängliche”

Performed by Gustavo Dudamel

Adagietto from Symphony No. 5 (Arr. Iain Farrington)

Performed by Esther Yoo

Symphony No. 10 (Ed. Deryck Cooke): I. Adagio: a. Andante
Symphony No. 2 in C Minor “Resurrection”: IV. “Urlicht”
Symphony No. 9 in D Major, IV. Adagio (Excerpt)
Das Lied von der Erde: III. Von der Jugend

Performed by Leonard Bernstein

V.Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen [Rückert-Lieder]

Performed by Elīna Garanča

Symphony No. 5 in C Sharp Minor: IV. Adagietto. Sehr Langsam (excerpt)
Symphony No. 2 ‘Resurrection’: O Schmerz! … Aufersteh’n (excerpt)
Symphony No. 1 in D Major, 2nd movement (Excerpt)
Symphony No. 5 in C-Sharp Minor: I. Trauermarsch (excerpt)1902
Symphony No. 7 in E minor (excerpt)1905