Sir Simon Rattle on Mahler’s Seventh Symphony (11 min.)

Of all Gustav Mahler’s symphonies, the composer’s seventh was always the “black sheep”, says Sir Simon Rattle in this introduction. However, for the chief conductor of the Berliner Philharmoniker the Seventh Symphony, with its combination of serenade-like, folkloric atmosphere in the second and fourth “Nachtmusik” movements and the carefree yet ambiguous jubilation in the finale, is one of Mahler’s central works. At the opening concert of the Philharmoniker’s 2016/2017 season, the composition was performed after a short work for chamber ensemble, Éclat by Pierre Boulez who, like Mahler, was one of the most important conductors and composers of the 20th century.