Czech Philharmonic

Mahler’s epic Symphony No. 2 is a magnificent meditation on life, death, and the beyond. Scored for vocal soloists, chorus, organ, and colossal orchestra, its viscerally powerful music shapes a dramatic arc that begins with a funeral rite, looks back on life’s joys, aspires to the almighty in the gorgeous alto solo “Urlicht” ("Primal Light"), and is shattered by a depiction of the last judgment—including a harrowing march of the dead—before soaring heavenward in one of the most resplendent choral finales ever composed.

Boston Symphony Orchestra

Håkan Hardenberger is called on to play trumpet, piccolo trumpet, and cow horn—as well as sing and play simultaneously—in HK Gruber’s marvelously eclectic showpiece that opens the program. Mahler’s Fifth Symphony, a magnificent five-movement journey from despair to joy, is one of his most popular works. He believed that a symphony should embrace the world, and it’s all here: an opening funeral march, folk-inspired dances, a waltz, and exuberantly high spirits in the finale. The unforgettable and unsurpassable heart of the work is the Adagietto, a sublime love letter for strings and harp Mahler wrote for his wife, Alma.

The MET Orchestra

Mahler's and Bruckner’s deep personal emotions are masterfully expressed with gestures both large and small. Mahler’s Rückert Lieder contemplate love, life, and death with delicate scoring—solo instruments are used sparingly for effect—and subtle vocal writing. Bruckner emotes on a larger scale in a superbly crafted symphony that awes with its sweeping breadth, drama, and soaring lyricism. The work energizes with its robust Scherzo and jubilant finale, but its emotional core is the second-movement Adagio, a breathtaking memorial to his idol, Wagner.