Symphony No. 2 (Mahler)

Symphony No. 2
Resurrection Symphony
by Gustav Mahler
Mahler in 1892
Key	C minor – E-flat major
Text	"Urlicht" from Des Knaben Wunderhorn "Die Auferstehung" by Klopstock Gustav Mahler
Language	German
Composed	1888–1894
Published	1897 (1897) (Friedrich Hofmeister Musikverlag)
Recorded	1924 (1924) Oskar Fried, Berlin State Opera Orchestra
Duration	80–90 min
Movements	5
Scoring	2 voices (Soprano and Alto) mixed choir (SATB) orchestra
Premiere
Date	13 December 1895 (1895-12-13)
Location	Berlin
Conductor	Gustav Mahler
Performers	Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra

The Symphony No. 2 in C minor, also called the Resurrection Symphony, is a piece of orchestral music by Gustav Mahler. The composer wrote the symphony in 1888 and 1894, and it was one of his most known works while he was alive.

The symphony was first played on 4 March 1895 with Mahler conducting the Berlin Philharmonic, but only the first three movements were played. The whole symphony was first played by the same conductor and orchestra on 13 December 1895.

The symphony is sometimes called C minor-E♭ major, such as in the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.

Instrumentation

The symphony is was written for a large orchestra, with:

Woodwinds

4 flutes (all doubling piccolos)

4 oboes (3rd doubling cor anglais, 4th used only in mvmt. 5, doubling cor anglais)

3 B♭, A, C clarinets (3rd doubling bass clarinet)

2 E♭ clarinets (2nd doubling 4th clarinet, doubling when fortissimo where possible)

4 bassoons (3rd doubling contrabassoon, 4th only in mvmt. 5 and doubling contrabassoon)

Brass

10 horns (7th–10th used only in mvmt. 5, both offstage and onstage)

10 trumpets (5th and 6th used only in mvmt. 5, onstage. 7th–10th used only in mvmt. 5, offstage)

4 trombones

1 tuba

Percussion

2 sets of timpani (a third player is needed but only in mvmt. 5, offstage)

2 bass drums (2nd with a cymbal attached, used only in mvmt. 5, offstage)

several snare drums (only in mvmt. 5)

cymbals (crash and suspended)

2 triangles (2nd only in mvmt. 5, offstage)

2 tam-tams (high and low)

rute (only in mvmt. 3)

3 deep, untuned bells (only in mvmt. 5)

glockenspiel

Keyboards

organ (only in mvmt. 5)

Voices

soprano solo (only in mvmt. 5)

alto solo (only in mvmts. 4 and 5)

mixed chorus (only in mvmt. 5)

Strings

2 harp parts (several per part)

1st violins

2nd violins

violas

cellos

double basses (several with low C string)

The score also calls for a ‘Fernorchester’ – a second small orchestra outside the concert hall.

Form

The symphony has five parts, also called movements. They are:

1. Allegro maestoso
2. Andante moderato
3. In ruhig fließender Bewegung (With quietly flowing movement)
4. "Urlicht" (Primal light)
5. Im Tempo des Scherzos (In the tempo of the scherzo)

References

Other sources

• Steinberg, Michael (1995). The Symphony. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-506177-2.

Further reading

• Vernon, David (2022). Beauty and Sadness: Mahler's 11 Symphonies. Edinburgh: Candle Row Press. ISBN 978-1739659905.

External links

• Symphony No. 2: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
• Classical Notes
• "Mahler's Second: The Story within the Symphony", WQXR Radio, 18 February 2012