Symphony No.5 - Gustav Mahler 'James Levine - 1977'

Composition Year: 1902 (revised several times from 1904-1911)
First Performance: 1904-10-18 in Cologne, Gurzenich Concert Orchestra, Gustav Mahler (conductor)
Recorded: Scottish Rite Cathedral, Philadelphia, 1977
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Performers:
The Philadelphia Orchestra
James Levine - Conductor
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Part I
00:01 1. Trauermarsch
12:59 2. Stürmisch bewegt, mit größter Vehemenz
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Part II
27:57 3. Scherzo
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Part III
45:37 4. Adagietto
57:39 5. Rondo-Finale
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Work:
The Symphony No. 5 by Gustav Mahler was composed in 1901 and 1902, mostly during the summer months at Mahler's holiday cottage at Maiernigg. Among its most distinctive features are the trumpet solo that opens the work with a rhythmic motif similar to the opening of Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 5, the horn solos in the third movement and the frequently performed Adagietto.
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The musical canvas and emotional scope of the work, which lasts nearly seventy minutes, are huge. The symphony is sometimes described as being in the key of C♯ minor since the first movement is in this key (the finale, however, is in D major). Mahler objected to the label: "From the order of the movements (where the usual first movement now comes second) it is difficult to speak of a key for the 'whole Symphony', and to avoid misunderstandings the key should best be omitted."
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Mahler wrote his fifth symphony during the summers of 1901 and 1902. In February 1901 Mahler had suffered a sudden major haemorrhage and his doctor later told him that he had come within an hour of bleeding to death. The composer spent quite a while recuperating. He moved into his own lakeside villa in the southern Austrian province of Carinthia in June 1901. Mahler was delighted with his newfound status as the owner of a grand villa. According to friends, he could hardly believe how far he had come from his humble beginnings. He was director of the Vienna Court Opera and the principal conductor of the Vienna Philharmonic. His own music was also starting to be successful. Later in 1901 he met Alma Schindler and by the time he returned to his summer villa in summer 1902, they were married and she was expecting their first child.
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Gustav Mahler Foundation: https://de.mahlerfoundation.org/
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ATTRIBUTION
Music contained in this video is licensed to, RCA / Sony