After the first performance of his Fifth Symphony, composed between 1901 and 1903, Mahler is said to have declared, “Nobody understood it. I wish I could conduct the first performance fifty years after my death.” More than a hundred years after his death it is certainly recognised as one of the most emotionally complex and ambitious symphonies of the 20th century. From its famous funereal opening trumpet solo to its blazing finale, it encompasses an extraordinary range of styles and moods. At its heart is the Adagietto, an extended love poem to his wife Alma, who he met in 1901 and proposed to just three weeks after their first meeting.
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Salonen conducts in London
Jun 28 2012, 19:30 - Royal Festival Hall
Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts Mahler's Resurrection Symphony and the world première of Joseph Phibbs's Rivers to the Sea
London Sunday Matinee, Valčuha conducts
Oct 14 2012, 15:00 - Royal Festival Hall
Juraj Valčuha conducts a Sunday matinee programme of Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto with Renaud Capuçon, and Mahler's Symphony No. 5








