Mahler’s 6th

Mahler’s Symphony No. 6, also known as the “Tragic symphony”, seems to express the weight with which the composer suffused the score, presciently foreseeing the events that would overtake his own life. Overcome by a deep sorrow that Mahler would soon come to experience himself, the entire symphony edges towards a truly tragic conclusion. In the space of a year, one of his daughters would die while still a child, the composer would be diagnosed with a deadly illness and his connection with the Vienna Opera would come to an end. Composer Aaron Copland wrote in 1941 that this work, performed here with conductor Lorenzo Viotti’s usual passion, “is full of human weaknesses”. As enigmatic as it is thrilling.

Programme

Gustav Mahler
Symphony Nº. 6 in A minor