This week’s musician is my husband’s favourite composer, Gustav Mahler; we go to see the VSO every time they play a symphony by Mahler! Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, nicknamed “Resurrection” is timely for Easter this past weekend.
Some of his famous works:
– Symphony No. 2 “Resurrection” (Read 9 fun facts about it, or the more detailed overview of the movements.)
– Symphony No. 6 “Tragic” (Known for its use of a hammer, see the variations here)
– Symphony No. 5
– Das Lied Von Der Erde (Song Of The Earth) (text based on Hans Bethge’s Chinese Flute, an adaptation of poems by Chinese poet Li Bai)
– Symphony No. 8, ‘Symphony Of A Thousand’ (Nicknamed because it requires many musicians to play)
– Symphony No. 9
– Kindertotenlieder (Songs On The Death Of Children) (written out of grief for his daughter who died from Scarlet Fever)
– Symphony No. 1, ‘Titan’
– Piano Quartet In A Minor
– Symphony No. 3 (the longest symphony performed – approximately 95 minutes)