Embrace Everything - The World of Gustav Mahler Aaron Cohen

Mahler’s Second Symphony begins with the funeral for the hero of his First Symphony. The dramatic music rages with sorrow and anger...but also hope, for life after death.

For his Second Symphony, Mahler created a second movement he described as a memory, “a ray of sunlight, pure and cloudless, out of the hero’s life.” The music is bittersweet.

In the summer of 1893, Mahler wrote a song, entitled “St. Anthony of Padua’s Sermon to the Fish.” It turned out so well, he incorporated melodies from it into the third movement of his Second Symphony.

The fourth movement of Mahler’s Second Symphony is a delicate song for mezzo-soprano and orchestra. It’s a turning point in the symphony, where the protagonist’s spiritual wisdom blossoms.

Mahler described the last movement of his Second Symphony, which includes two soloists and a chorus, as a colossal fresco of The Day of Judgement. All of humanity meets its maker, and Mahler stretches his musical wings, soaring to glorious heights.

Gustav Mahler’s First Symphony is the story of a young man beginning his journey through life. In fact, it is Mahler himself, looking at the world with wide-eyed wonder. Originally, he titled the first movement “Spring Without End,” for its depiction of the joys of nature. 

Guests include Michael Tilson Thomas (San Francisco Symphony, New World Symphony), Kent Nagano (Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Hamburg State Opera and Philharmonic), William Hudgins (Principal Clarinet, Boston Symphony Orchestra), Marilyn McCoy (Columbia University) and Caroline Kita (Washington University in St. Louis). James Lurie is the voice of Mahler and Laura Gragtmans is the voice of Natalie Bauer-Lechner.