Bernstein conducts Mahler: Symphony No. 5

Leonard Bernstein saw Mahler's music as characterized by an almost obsessive preoccupation with death, as is evident not least in the many funeral marches it features. The Fifth Symphony, the first of three purely instrumental symphonies of the composer’s middle period, begins with such a march, introduced by an arresting trumpet solo. But the trajectory of the symphony leads us from gloom through to a triumphant finale, reflecting the path of another famous fifth – Beethoven's. The celebrated Adagietto, made famous by Luchino Visconti's film Death in Venice, on the other hand, takes us into the world of a luminous dream.

Ensemble: 

Wiener Philharmoniker

Conductor: 

Leonard Bernstein