Album: Mahler, Ninth Symphony – BPO/Simon Rattle (EMI)

George Hall
Sunday 06 April 2008 00:00 BST
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Mahler never heard his Ninth Symphony; when it was premiered in Vienna in June 1912, under his protégé Bruno Walter, he had been dead for a year.

Given Mahler's knowledge of his own heart disease, it's not surprising that the Ninth is seen as an extended farewell to life from a composer whose works are a kind of spiritual autobiography. Simon Rattle's performance with the Berlin Philharmonic seeks out its complex response to Mahler's mortality in highly sophisticated music-making, avoiding emotional overload while hitting the heights and depths of the work's fatalism and hard-won acceptance.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in