Mahler: Symphony No. 2

For more than 50 years, Simon Rattle has intensively explored the personal, emotional, and autobiographical music of Gustav Mahler. With Symphony No. 2 in C minor, the "Resurrection Symphony", he continues his Mahler cycle with the choir and symphony orchestra of the Bavarian Radio.

Mahler understood his symphonies as musical universes that reflect the entirety of life. The Second Symphony focuses on the question of the meaning of life: starting with the first movement, described as a "funeral rite", the symphony leads through pain, doubt, and hope to the resurrection finale with soprano, mezzo-soprano, and choir. The contrasting soundworlds and the grand choral finale make the work one of Mahler's best-known symphonies.

The current live recording was made in March 2026 at the Isarphilharmonie in Munich with Louise Alder and Beth Taylor as soloists.