April 2025

“[...] so great, that the world reflects itself in it - one oneself is only an instrument on which the universe plays... In my [latest] symphony the whole of nature is given a voice.”

 

This is what composer Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) wrote to his lover and soprano Anna von Mildenburg in 1896 regarding his Third Symphony. In the summer of that year, he would put the finishing touches on the work, to which many superlatives can be attributed. Indeed, it became his longest symphony and to this day one of the longest-lasting compositions in the standard orchestral repertoire. Thereby, the Third with its large instrumentation (exuberant large orchestra, alto solo and female and children's choir) is also Mahler's most extensive symphony - with the exception of the Eighth.

 

Yet, it is also important to note that this work primarily reflects Mahler's vision of the symphony genre and of the world. Whereas his First and Second symphonies refer primarily to more melancholy themes such as death and resurrection, the composer's Third is a paean to the creation of the world and nature. Not only does he refer to flora and fauna, but also to humanity and the contradiction between man's spiritual and earthly existence. All this adds up to a mastodon of a symphony of almost an hour and three-quarters that meanders past the dark beginnings of everything and the wonderful nature, past humanity and the heavenly paradise. 

 

After Mahler's Second and Ninth symphonies in previous seasons, principal conductor Lars Corijn, together with the young and energetic Mahler Student Festival Orchestra, ventures into this very challenging masterpiece. A musical rollercoaster along the human affections that is absolutely not to be missed! 

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Dries de Haas, 2025