Gustav Mahler - Symphony No. 7 (Simon Rattle)

Information

Composer: Gustav Mahler

• Symphony No. 7

Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra

Simon Rattle, conductor

Date: 2025

Label: BR-Klassik

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Even before he took up his post as Chief Conductor of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Simon Rattle began a cycle of Mahler's symphonies in November 2021, starting with the Ninth (BR-KLASSIK 900205). In September 2023, the Sixth followed (BR-KLASSIK 900217), and now he is turning to the Seventh Symphony of the significant late-Romantic composer. This cycle marks the beginning of a new chapter in Mahler interpretation, as Rattle, a passionate admirer of Mahler, leads the orchestra, just as his predecessors Jansons, Maazel, and Kubelík did.

Sorrow and joy, darkness and light, are what make the allure of Mahler's multifaceted Seventh Symphony. Composed in the natural idyll by Lake Wörthersee, it is one of his major works, albeit somewhat enigmatic. The interplay between emotional extremes has always posed questions for interpreters. After the consistently tragic Sixth Symphony, the Seventh offers a counterpoint to the dark mood with a more life-affirming element. Mahler skillfully incorporated natural sounds, such as herd bells and horn calls. "Here, nature roars," he commented himself. The unusual number of five movements allows for a symmetrical structure: the large-scale first movement, determined by march rhythms and ending triumphantly, corresponds with a cheerful, bright Rondo finale. The second and fourth movements are "Nachtmusiken" (Night Musics), framing a scherzo.

The world premiere of the Seventh Symphony took place three years after the completion of the work, on September 19, 1908, in the concert hall of the Jubilee Exhibition in Prague. It was part of the program for the tenth Philharmonic concert celebrating the 60th anniversary of the reign of Emperor Franz Joseph I. Up until shortly before the performance, Mahler, plagued by doubts about his work, was still working on the orchestration. The premiere was a great success, although the subsequent Vienna premiere did not fully confirm it. The critical Viennese audience primarily took issue with the final movement; they interpreted the festive, exaggerated jubilant song as a deliberate or involuntary parody of the prelude to Richard Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.

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