For Iván Fischer, “an almost divine love that transcends the personal” fills the “endless flow” of slow movements in Gustav Mahler’s symphonies. The honorary conductor of the Konzerthausorchester feels a special affinity to the eclectic musical language of the Viennese composer.

This time he dedicates his efforts to the universal Symphony No. 3 of 1896, which encapsulates an entire world, from donkey to angel, for Gustav Mahler sets a veritable cosmology to music: from inanimate matter to flowers, animals, man and the sphere of angels to all-encompassing divine love. Originally, the six movements even had corresponding titles: “Pan Awakes, Summer Marches In”, “What the Flowers in the Meadow Tell Me”, “What the Animals in the Forest Tell Me”, “What Man Tells Me”, “What the Angels Tell Me” and finally “What Love Tells Me”.

The composer summarised: “My work forms a musical poem covering all stages of evolution, ascending stepwise. It begins with inanimate nature and rises steadily to the love of God.” It goes without saying that a huge cast is required to perform this impressive work, with various genres flaring up in the process.