Symphony 4 Mahler / Sampson / Vanska
Symphony 4
Mahler / Sampson / Vanska
In Gustav Mahler's first four symphonies many of the themes originate in his own settings of folk poems from the collection Des Knaben Wunderhorn (The Boy's Magic Horn). A case in point, Symphony No. 4 is built around a single song, Das himmlische Leben (The Heavenly Life) which Mahler had composed some eight years earlier, in 1892. The song presents a child's vision of Heaven and is hinted at throughout the first three movements. In the fourth, marked 'Sehr behaglich' (Very comfortably), the song is heard in full from a solo soprano instructed by Mahler to sing: 'with serene, childlike expression; completely without parody!'
The symphony is scored for a typically large, lateromantic orchestra (though without trombones and tuba) and an extensive percussion section which includes sleigh bells as well as glockenspiel.
| Media | Music SACD (Super Audio CD) |
| Number of discs | 1 |
| Composer | Mahler, Gustav |
| Released | January 3, 2020 |
| Original release date | 2019 |
| EAN/UPC | 7318599923567 |
| Label | BIS BIS2356 |
| Genre | Classical |
| Dimensions | 131 × 131 × 6 mm · 150 g (Weight (estimated)) |
| Conductor | Osmo Vanska |
| Orchestra | Minnesota Orchestra |
| Soloist | Carolyn Sampson |