Mahler: Symphony No. 9 (Mariss Jansons) (CD, Br-Klassik)

Gustav Mahler’s Ninth Symphony in particular is seen as a reaction to a heart disease that he was diagnosed with in the summer of 1908, shortly before he wrote the first drafts. He was deeply desperate and had little idea how few years of his life would actually remain. The processing and dealing with the experienced and the topics of farewell to life, the meaning of existence, death, redemption, life after death and love happened with him as always in music and through music. The ninth symphony was written in Toblach between 1909 and 1910 in a kind of creative frenzy. The world premiere took place on June 26, 1912 in Vienna: the Vienna Philharmonic played the work under the direction of Bruno Walter. Mahler died on May 18, 1911 and could no longer witness the premiere of his last completed work. Willem Mengelberg, the first passionate Mahler conductor, wrote in his score: Mahler’s soul sings its farewell! Mahler’s ninth symphony represents the culmination of a development process. The compositional method of progressive chromatics and the exhaustion of tonal space are here pushed to their limits and, for the first time, beyond. Above all, the two framework movements leave the tonal space and clearly point to the beginning of a new musical era. Alban Berg even called this symphony the first work of new music. The Munich concert event from October 2016 is now being released as a CD by BR Klassik, the outstanding interpretation of one of the most important compositions of the international symphonic repertoire from the early 20th century.