Gustav Mahler`s Symphony No. 3 Saves The Day!

A miracle occurred last night! I was coming up empty handed (bunny-less) as far as pulling a musical rabbit out of my bag of tricks. I was listening to my local classical station (KMFA), when the New York Philharmonic came on with a broadcast of Gustav Mahler`s Symphony No. 3, with Alan Gilbert conducting. I raced over and opened a fresh cassette, popped it in my radio deck, and hit the record button. I am listening to the 90 minute cassette this morning which has preserved most of this majestic symphony of Mahler`s (written from 1893-1896).

From what I can tell, somewhere between 80 and 100 musicians are required here, including vocalists, if not a full choir or two. What is this about? It`s a nature symphony, with passages that mimic spring and summer; in the first movement the god pan rises up from the depths. Mahler has little phrases that describe each of the six movements. 1. Pan awakes, summer marches in. 2.What the flowers in the meadow tell me. 3. What the animals in the forest tell me. 4. What man tells me. 5.What the angels tell me. 6. What Love tells me. (Wiki)

My favorite movement is the last; from what I have read, Mahler saw God as Love. This is the ultimate manifestation of nature and rightly takes its place at the end. With regards to the performance and interpretation of The Philharmonic, I have a recording on RCA Red Seal, the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, with David Zinman conducting, to compare it with. And that art by Arnold Bocklin, Venus Genitrix, is an appropriate accompaniment for The Third. For in depth analysis read Henry Louis de La Grange.

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