Daniel Harding
Sabine Devieilhe
Marianne Crebassa
Oslo Philharmonic Choir Gustav Mahler

There is something profoundly human about the questions Gustav Mahler asked himself in his Symphony No. 2: What happens when we die? What is the meaning of life? In the Resurrection Symphony, he sought answers through the only language he believed powerful enough: music. The result is a monumental work that took him seven years to complete and still stirs deep emotions in audiences more than a century later. For many, the symphony has also gained new relevance through the film Maestro, in which Mahler's music plays a central role in the portrayal of conductor Leonard Bernstein.

Mahler: Symphony No. 2

Symphony No. 2 "Resurrection" was Gustav Mahler's first major attempt to express what words cannot say. Throughout his life, Mahler was fascinated by the concept of resurrection, and in Symphony No. 2 he tried, through music, to answer questions about death and the meaning of life.

It is worth noting that there is an extended pause between the first and second movements. This is specified in the score and was something Mahler considered necessary to bring out the significance of the second movement. It was meant to be "an echo from the final days of the one who was buried in the first movement."

The theme of Mahler's second symphony is somber, and the first four movements are largely concerned with death. The finale, however, offers hope and faith in a good life after death, as well as hope for humanity living together here and now.