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.