Gustav Mahler premiered his Symphony No. 2 in C minor, also known as the “Resurrection Symphony,” on 13 December 1895 in Berlin. Reviews were mixed as critics were confused by the work’s complexity and vast scope, and Mahler’s use of innovative orchestration featuring dense textures and unconventional instruments was called problematic. However, everybody was struck by the depth and emotional power of the music, and the “Urlicht” (Primordial Light) movement, gained immediate praise.
Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 2, “Allegro Maestoso”
Background
Gustav Mahler, 1892
Gustav Mahler completed his First Symphony in March 1888 and immediately began work on a new symphonic project. It all started with a single movement titled “Totenfeier” (Funeral Rites). The idea for this composition came after Mahler staged his own funeral as a result of relationship troubles with Marion Mathilde von Weber. Mahler viewed this symphonic meditation on death as a direct continuation of his First Symphony.
He describes it as a “dirge” for the hero of his earlier work. However, his busy conducting career, first in Budapest and later in Hamburg, interrupted his compositional progress. In Hamburg, Mahler sought the advice of Hans von Bülow, who was highly critical of “Totenfeier,” calling it incomprehensible. This severe criticism nearly led Mahler to abandon composition altogether, but he soon found new inspiration in the Des Knaben Wunderhorn (The Youth’s Magic Horn), a collection of German folk poetry.
Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 2, “Andante moderato”
Completion
Marion Mathilde von Weber.
From the Wunderhorn collection, Mahler composed twelve songs, including “Des Antonius von Padua Fischpredigt” (St. Anthony of Padua’s Sermon to the Fish), which became the Scherzo movement of the symphony. By 1893, Mahler had completed the Andante movement but was still struggling with the symphony’s finale. The solution came to him in February 1894 at the funeral of Hans von Bülow, where the choir sang Friedrich Gottlieb Kopstock’s “Die Auferstehung” (Resurrection Ode).
Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 2, “In ruhig fließender Bewegung”
Conception
Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 manuscript
On a number of occasions, Mahler provided programmatic explanations for this work. Although he frequently changed his mind, an overarching narrative nevertheless emerges.
Mahler retained the original conception of the “Totenfeier,” suggesting that the real climax of the First Symphony is only reached in the funeral music of the Second.
Mahler explicitly specified in the score that there should be a pause “of at least five minutes” after the first movement so that the innocence and nostalgia expressed in the “Andante” are heard as a contrast and not as a mere irrelevance. Including an element of the grotesque, the third movement provides the transition towards the Last Judgment, redemption, and finally resurrection.
Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 2, “Urlicht”
The Music
Premiere announcement of Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony
The “Allegro Maestoso” opens with fierce and unsettled music, referencing Beethoven’s “Eroica” and foreshadowing the hero’s struggle with fate. Mahler contrasts this with a lyrical, hymn-like theme in the violins, followed by variations and a quote from the “Dies irae” (the Mass of the Dead) motif, which deepens the connection to fate and heroism. The second movement is a nostalgic, idyllic intermezzo that evokes memories of the hero’s happiness, set in a rustic “Ländler” style, but interrupted by restless Trios.
The “Scherzo” describes the return to life’s confusion after a melancholic dream, marked by a cry of horror and a descent into silence. In a spiritual reversal, Mahler introduces the human voice in “Urlicht,” offering intimacy and a transition to the symphony’s dramatic finale.
The final movement begins with the earlier “cry of horror” and leads to an apocalyptic atmosphere with distant horn calls, a resurrection theme, and the “march of the dead.” The chorus sings a hymn of resurrection, leading to a triumphant conclusion in E-flat major, transforming the symphony’s opening C minor into a sense of resolution and transcendence.
Mahler describes the work’s increasing tension, culminating in a monumental climax, as one of his greatest achievements in symphonic composition.
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Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 2, “Im Tempo des Scherzos” (Jennie Tourel, mezzo-soprano; Lee Venora, soprano; The Collegiate Chorale; New York Philharmonic Orchestra; Leonard Bernstein, cond.)
