Mahler’s ‘Resurrection’ Symphony in Chatswood

Ku-ring-gai Philharmonic Orchestra and the massed voices of the Willoughby Symphony Choir with  Opera Australia soloists, soprano Imogen-Faith Malfitano and mezzo-soprano Celeste Haworth will form a force of around 200 performers, conducted by Paul Terracicni in a performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 ” The Resurrection.”

Mahler composed his second symphony between 1888 and 1894. It was one of the most popular works during his lifetime and for more than 125 years since has been performed to acclaim throughout the world. It is the second of his so-called ‘Wunderhorn Symphonies’ – due to the inspiration he derived, directly and indirectly, from Das Knaben Wunderhorn, the collection of German language poetry that exerted considerable influence on Austrian and German artists in the late 19th century. As the title suggests, the second symphony’s central theme is life and death, in particular, life after death. The first movement was originally a tone poem named ‘Totenfeier’ (Funeral Rites), written in 1888. Five years later Mahler composed the second and third movements of what was by then destined to be a large-scale symphony. The fourth movement, featuring contralto soloist, employs a wunderhorn text concerning the struggle for faith. For the fifth, and last, movement, which adds soprano soloist and mixed chorus, he found inspiration in the poem, ‘Die Auferstehung’ (The Resurrection), by Friederich Klopstock, that he heard at the funeral of Hans von Bülow. Mahler then added some text of his own to complete the work.

Tickets:  Standard $55 | Concession $45 | Junior/Child $20 | Family (4 tickets, max 2 adults) $125

Bookings: www.kpo.org.au, in person at The Concourse or phone Ticketek 1300 795 012