Mahler Symphony No.2

[HugoPlayTheTrumpet]

This is the Symphony that made me fall in love Mahler. such a good performance and conducted by the man who put Birmingham on the map of music, great admiration for this man.



[thebriz01]

I just love the girl at 1:33 with the dark hair and glasses and big old grin on her face. I'd be geeking out, too.

[atomicmrpelly]

Would people please stop posting comparing Rattle to Bernstein, it makes me sad.

[eleanorrable]

I can remember being students together at the Royal Academy, when Simon put together a "scratch" band to perform this at the age of 18. It's given me goosebumps ever since

[straumeeee]

Нет теперь ни таких дирижёров ,ни таких хоров:(((((плачет:(((

[OPNIST]

Does anyone know where you can find a high quality video of this?

[changjiang001]

0:40-0:43 the rest, just amazing!!!

[sddolfan]

Wow - Richard Simmons wields an awesome baton!

[1685mymusic]

This was Simon's last weekend in charge of the CBSO and chorus. I was so privileged to be on the front row on the second night - I will never forget it. We gave him a 25 minute standing ovation. He is awesome - as are the CBSO chorus under Halsey. Moments to live and die for. xx

[csapoadam]

There used to be a longer version of this on youtube, starting with the solo part, also with Japanese subtitles (it started just a few minutes earlier).

Unfortunately it was taken down by the site managers.

Does anyone know if a longer version is accessible somplace?

[GoApples]

LOL

2:03

I get to do this next April. I'm pretty excited.

[ricejumper]

i feel that vibration in my soul!!

[audmariecal]

Performing this magnificent piece of music last weekend was by far one of the best experiences of my life...and I will never forget it :) Props to CSULB's Bob Cole Conservatory of Music, we blew the socks off of everyone in that audience!!!

[TheAtheistFARVARDIN]

this is good but in my opinion haitink's performance of this symphony was far more better

[hillcresthiker]

well said- but let us not forget that Mahler, despite his Jewish upbringing, (and my own) was definitely attracted to the mysticism of the Catholic ritual and the idea of resurrection - which is not a Jewish concept.

[Silverhalide60]

@hillcresthiker

I do not understand what your point was? Forgive me please.

Being risen from death into another state is an accepted notion in most religious circles. I believe it was Mahler's spirit that he wanted to live far after his earthly body had given out.

[chopin7tristesse]

In Buddhism, there is no guarantee that one will come back as a person. I could come back as an earth worm or a cockroach. Apparently, the DNA structures are not preserved in the return process. Of course, resurrection can be figurative.

[Shota871]

I think the word resurrection also implies the resurrection of the human spirit, the optimistic spirit in the face of despair and nihilism.

[JasonMarcAudio]

Did Mahler convert because of the pressure at the time or because he had faith? To create this music, one would be inclined to choose the latter. Wonderful piece.

[Shota871]

Mahler converted to Catholicism primarily because the Vienna Opera wouldn't allow Jews to obtain such a prestigious post. If there was any form of faith in Mahler's music, it would be faith in himself and the very "World" around him (as well as the rest of us), the very Truth that transcends the specific dogmatic limits of different religions. Mahler's "Resurrection" Symphony should be taken as his way of tackling the problems offered in Existentialism.

[CASTROVAR]

Absolutamente fantástico. Arrebatante. Quem pode ficar indiferente a isto? Ouvi este andamento umas 100 vezes desde há alguns meses. Quem a ouvir ressuscita.

[lacantanteavocado]

ah i'm excited to sing this! it's so beautiful!

[tenoreDB]

actually i'm having the "pleasure" to sing it friday.

we have to do it with only 88 voices ( luckely 88 professional operavoices) and conductor is eliahu inbal.

yes its beautifull but also hard to sing: sit for an hour first and then sing an extreme round piano and a few moments later very loud forte on high notes!! NOT easy

And mahler seem to love extreme things: bases have a low B and sopranos and tenor several B's and lots of screaming in the high register.

a challenge!!

[lacantanteavocado]

I sang it back at Mahler's 100th anniversary of the 2nd's american debut at Avery Fisher hall with the terrible and laughable Gilbert Kaplan. I had back problems for weeks after....when we sang it again this past May, I was OK....I always cry at the end, it's my ringtone now after the NYtimes put our recording on their website!

[lacantanteavocado]

well what I was going to say was enjoy.

if its so tough for sopranos, look at the alto SUPER jump at the end. not a leap...a JUMP! and at like super fortissssssimo....and the notes before that, oh man...crazy crazy mahler.

[wolowolowolo]

Que monstruosidad de obra

[seecritagent]

Damn this performance makes me want to take out my french horn and wake up my neighbors. I've never seen a maestro conduct with such intensity. He definitely has a Mozart quality about him. I can't quite put my finger on it. Hmmm...

[jaiobie]

I think it's this child-like innocence he has about him. He's my hero.

[manthasagittarius]

@seecritagent I think it may be because he resembles Tom Hulse in his role in Amadeus somewhat. The facial expressions.

[salasvalor01]

@manthasagittarius I got the same impression.

[MINIHermanator]

@seecritagent I believe this is the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and the Maestro is Principal Conducter Sir Simon Rattle

[JohnnyBGoode8862]

@MINIHermanator No it's not, it's Rattle's last performance with the Birmingham City Symphony Orchestra in 2005! Berlin would sound so much better than this! Blasphemy!

[IsaacDelarge]

Man, I'd give an arm and leg to be at that concert.

[wern0]

That's all?

[klodg]

J'adore Gustav Mahler !

Ce chef de Choeur est aussi fou que moi !

J'ai écouté cette finale 7 ans à 3 fois par jour !!

[bassc2ba]

This is awesome!!! But I have to put it in a close second, almost a tie, with Leonard Bernstein's interpretation, also available on youtube.

[axel210]

My favourite version is Abbado's.  Absolutely Magic. It's on youtube as well.

[herodot2]

@bassc2ba

Rattle is in many ways a modern-day Bernstein. Immensively gifted, charismatic, instinctive-natural (not an intellectual conductor), Mahler-loving.

[SammiHorror]

He conducts with so much passion! Smithills played this in the royal albert hall in 2003. Even whilst i was playing it sent chills down my spine!

[derek3360]

who is the guy conducting this??!!? and why don't i know him! where's he from? what's his orchestras name??

[MarkoKassenaar]

Tjis is Sir Simon Rattle, the greatest conductor alive. I don't recognize the orchestra, I am sorry

[Shota871]

The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra

[OdetoJoy9]

Mahler was definately, along with Beethoven, the two greatest composers. They, like no other, have music that stir the emotions and the heart!

[Shota871]

Even more important, I think, is that they wrote music not for the sake of... let's say sheer artistry (which indeed can move us)... but for the upheavel of humanity. Beethoven's 9th, for example is a celebration of humanity. Mahler's 2nd is nothing less than a celebration of life, the worth of living. It indeed has some Existentialist elements. "What you have fought for, to God it will take you!"

[GusMahler8]

@Shota871 Actually, Mahler was a Catholic. He converted to Catholicism because of the Vienna Opera, but he truly loved it. The Resurrection at the end of this movement is non-other than a recounting of the Resurrection we will face at the end of time because of Christ. If you doubt this, just look at Mahler's 8th symphony the thematic elements of love, salvation, Mary, and the Holy Spirit

[stocks321]

The most overwhelming emotional experience of my life.

[adagio87]

Rattle looks like the guy who played Mozart in "Amadeus."

Also, I dig his interpretation a lot more than Bernstein's.

[gab1279]

Finally finished putting up the whole performance, with better quality sound :) Still gives me the chills to watch!

[gab1279]

Say what you want, I love his conducting. Look at him at 2:30, that says it all about how I feel listening to this music! He's so completely passionate about what he conducts, in much the same way Bernstein was.

I have this performance too and it really is breathtaking! Sometime I will try to put up more of it.

[JulianLosada123]

Of the 40 or so recordings i have of this symphony, this is my favorite, alone with Rattle's live recording from the 1999 Salzburg Festival. The later one (vpo) has a MUCH better ending, but it's not on video though. It's also a pitty that none has been released officially.

BTW, for those trying to get this video, it's on emule!

[timpaws]

I stopped crying after I heard my 50th live performance. I just blub now.

[toretenore]

shiver shiver! I have also sung the piece under Rattle in Salzburg a few years ago, I must say, seeing this video really makes that experience become alive again!!

[bassbone89]

Favorite piece ever. But I like the LSO recording with Kaplan better. Still, a great performance.

[mihohobaba]

I meant 2'48" - silly me.

[mihohobaba]

I love the thumbs-up Rattle gives to the trumpets at 4'2" when they nail the high notes.

[Scotty1137]

This is one of the highest pieces of music, ever.

[betaomega04]

God damn

[jleaware]

Fabulous. Look at that organ and back drop, and the size of the orchestra and choir. The concert hall is incredible. How exciting to have been a part of this performance.

I will be singing this soon and this helps me to look forward to the concert with great anticipation.

[bannan61]

Its the Symphony Hall in Birmingham, one of England's best halls.

[Dinkica]

I also sang it, and remember feeling(pathetic as it sounds!) as if my soul was lifting higher and higher,all the way to heaven...and yes,I always start crying:-)beautiful

[petejellis]

I sang in this - since then I've been working as a professional musician for the best part of 10 years but it's still my favourite experience ever in a concert hall. If anyone has the uhrlicht movement to upload I'll be eternally grateful

[gab1279]

Request granted. :) What an amazing experience that must've been!

[Gonnakillyou]

Never cried so much as to this lovely piece.

Wonderful. <3<3<3

:'{

[Epmonito]

sir Rattle reminds me of Mozart in Amadeus

[vandertop2]

If someone ever puts it on YouTube .... the climax in the first movement of this performance is amazing. Rattle takes it really slowly and intensely, and the CBSO brass plays it with a hard, edgy sound. One of the best climaxes I have heard in an M2 performance.

[migglesquig]

Possibly the best performance of the best music ever written.

[nukethewhales1]

It was a great performance, but I still think the best performance I've heard of Mahler's 2nd was Zubin Mehta conducting the Vienna Philharmonic. There a good audiophile quality cd of it you can get on Amazon.

[etucker82]

Rattle as always is miming the piece for TV, and if the performance were any worse it would be hillarious. Even so, the reason the performance is great is that changes the tempo every few bars here. A huge risk for less talented conductors. But Rattle gets the chorus to literally sound like angels. Amazing snippet of what must have been an incredible performance.

[bannan61]

Rattle doesn't mime for the TV. This is how he always looks I assure you. Very off-putting to watch but he transformed the CBSO from a provincial UK orchestra into a world class band. A great conductor.

[etucker82]

Completely agreed. I should have said 'miming for the audience.' A fault in which even conductors on Rattle's level indulge. The drubbing he's getting from critics Berlin is a disgrace.

[sab3156]

I never cry but I'm always deeply moved. I, however, must say that I LAUGH when I watch Simon Rattle conduct this piece. Anyone else?

[fritzfritz51]

great! thanks so much!

[Rod2888]

Yes, it is indeed Simon Rattle & the CBSO in Symphony Hall, Birmingham, during Rattle's farewell concert with the orchestra before taking over at the Berlin Philharmonic. It was shown on TV by the BBC, but I don't think it's ever been available on DVD. The earlier EMI CD set by the same forces is just as impressive though.

[shug1688]

Simon Rattle. Looks like the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Chorus.

[gilla187]

thank you!

[dantheman32187]

I definitely always cry. Theres no shame in that.

[gilla187]

I also would like this full video. Who's the conductor? And where was this performed?  Thanks!

[fredg77]

What a rendition for this work! My favorite video on YouTube! Thanks Karajan98.

What's the orchestra and label of this DVD? I want to buy a copy.