Essener Philharmoniker / Tomáš Netopil GUSTAV MAHLER Symphony No. 9

Gustav Mahler was already very close to the after world, when he finished working on the 9th Symphony. So, the work is permeated by a permanent presentiment of death. At the same time, Mahler’s music vibrates full of vital energy, putting the listener in a melancholic, yet optimistic mood simultaneously. The result is a harrowing work with moving passages and violent explosions, mirroring Mahler’s personal drama between life and death. The present recording from the Essen Philharmonie is a perfect proof of all this.