Sir Simon Rattle conducts: Gustav Mahler – Symphony No. 7

In November 2021, even before taking up his post as chief conductor of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Simon Rattle began a cycle of Mahler symphonies with a performance of the Ninth (BR-KLASSIK 900205). The Sixth followed in September 2023 (BR-KLASSIK 900217) and the conductor is now tackling the composer’s Seventh Symphony. This cycle marks the beginning of a new chapter in Mahler interpretation, as Rattle is just as passionate a Mahler admirer at the helm of the orchestra as his predecessors Jansons, Maazel and Kubelík.

Sadness and joy, darkness and light are all part of the charm of Gustav Mahler’s complex and multi-layered Seventh Symphony. Composed in the idyllic natural setting of Lake Wörthersee, it is one of his great, yet somewhat enigmatic works, and its interplay of emotional extremes has always challenged performers. After the consistently tragic Sixth Symphony, the Seventh counters the gloomy mood with a life-affirming note. Mahler skilfully incorporates natural sounds, cowbells and horn calls. “Here, nature roars,” he commented. The unusual number of five movements allows him to create a symmetrical structure: The large-scale first movement, marked by march rhythms and ending triumphantly, has its counterpart in a cheerful, bright rondo finale. The second and fourth movements are Nachtmusiken, framing a Scherzo.

The world premiere of the Seventh Symphony took place a full three years after its completion, on September 19, 1908 at the Concert Hall of the Jubilee Exhibition in Prague, as part of the programme of the tenth Philharmonic Concert to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Emperor Franz Joseph I. Mahler, plagued by doubts about the symphony, worked on its orchestration until shortly before the performance. The premiere was a great success, somewhat in contrast to the first performance of the symphony in Vienna shortly afterwards. The critical Viennese were particularly offended by the final movement: they saw the emphatically festive and joyous finale as a conscious or unconscious parody of the prelude to Richard Wagner’s “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg”.

BR-KLASSIK CD 900225

Gustav Mahler
Symphony No. 7 in E minor

Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Sir Simon Rattle conductor

Live recording: Munich, Isarphilharmonie im Gasteig HP8, 6.–8.11.2024
Total Time: 75’38 min.