Symphony No. 2 in C minor
Gustav Mahler
Symphony No. 2 in C minor
Mariss Jansons, Conductor
Ricarda Merbeth, Soprano
Bernarda Fink, Mezzo-soprano
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Netherlands Radio Choir
Concertgebouw Amsterdam
Recorded in 2009
Gustav Mahler wanted his Second Symphony to exceed any known format – and he also wanted it to tackle the key questions of existence: “Why have you lived? Why have you suffered? Is everything just one enormous, terrible joke? We have to solve these questions in some way if we want to carry on living". Similar questions preoccupied him throughout his life, and with a special intensity during his time as an opera conductor in Hamburg. Gustav Mahler's Second Symphony, also referred to as the "Resurrection Symphony", is a complete expression of Mahler’s existential struggle; both its form and its overpowering sound make this utterly clear.
This broadcast from 2009 is performed by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Netherlands Radio Choir and conducted by Mariss Jansons with the two singers Ricarda Merbeth and Bernarda Fink.