Philzuid

A Philzuid tradition to be proud of. Chief conductor Duncan Ward continues his Mahler journey with a performance of the epic Ninth. For aspiring conductors, Gustav Mahler’s symphonies represent the pinnacle of achievement. Every year, Philzuid’s chief conductor Duncan Ward takes a close look at one of Gustav Mahler’s powerful symphonies. Last season, Ward and Philzuid surprised audiences with a passionate plea for Mahler’s personal Sixth ‘Tragic’ Symphony. With Mahler’s all-encompassing Ninth on the menu, Philzuid has a real challenge ahead of it.

In his last completed symphony, everything comes together for Mahler. Love, grief, death, and an unshakeable faith in life. His marriage to Alma Mahler, nineteen years his junior, was severely shaken by the death of their daughter Maria. Mahler was also diagnosed with a serious heart condition that would later prove fatal. The bells of doom tolled ever louder for the professional worrier Mahler.

By writing a new symphony, the Austrian arch-romantic was able to release much of his pent-up grief. Mahler set to work alone in a summer cottage in Tyrol. Alma and their remaining daughter Anna stayed with her mother during this time. In seclusion, Mahler threw all his compositional energy into the battle one last time. The four-part symphony feels like one big, hopeful farewell. The symphony is framed by two intense, slow movements that are among Mahler’s best music. Two shorter, invigorating symphonic movements capture the energy of life. Although Mahler is staring death in the face, his symphony radiates hopeful optimism. You can hear his love for nature and this strange life in every note. Or, as Mahler himself puts it: ‘I am more thirsty for life than ever before.’

Program

Mahler – Symfony nr. 9