Mahler's Symphony No.2 'Resurrection'

Mahler’s ode to life may end in glory, but the route there is full of twists and turns. Burlesque folk tunes sit alongside funeral marches, gentle nocturnes alongside storms. In Mahler’s deft hands, what might otherwise be jarring juxtapositions become vital pieces of the overall jigsaw. His Second Symphony is a panorama of life, death and resurrection, the musical equivalent of a vast Michelangelo mural.

With the glorious choral finale, Mahler provides his own unique response to the challenge set by Beethoven in his Ninth Symphony: how to bring voices into the symphonic ideal. Having been through the twisting journey, we find ourselves, as Mahler wrote in his own programme notes, in a place where there is ‘no judgement… no punishment and no reward. Just an overwhelming love illuminates our being. We know, and are.’

Large print versions of the programme for this concert are available on request. Please email your request to Doran Crowhurst crowhurstd@rpo.co.uk at least one full week before the performance.