Mahler 2

Mahler strikes again! Symphony no. 2 has devoured my listening time for the past months. The first movement strikes me as having the same effect as Beethoven 7.2, the unstoppable march of time and death. The minuet is another example of Mahler's (often unsung) grace and elegance, and the scherzo is a whirlwind of emotions. From this emerges an absolute gem: the fourth movement with soprano (mezzo soprano, whatever) solo. This piece is hear-wrenchingly beautiful. He succeeds in embodying absolutely sublime joy in the final movement, near the middle. The symphony should end like this, I thought when I listened to it the first time. It got better. Though not quite how I would orchestrate it, Mahler's touch is apparent to the very end.