Mahler: Symphony No. 2 ‘Resurrection’ – Cristian Măcelaru

In October 2024, the Orchestre National de France under the baton of its music director Cristian Măcelaru immersed itself in one of Gustav Mahler’s (1860–1911) great symphonic epics: the extraordinary Resurrection—a journey of great serenity here, filled with wonderfully pastoral colors.

Over two evenings, on October 24 and 25, 2024, the music director of the Orchestre National de France, Cristian Măcelaru, immersed himself in one of the great symphonic epics composed by Gustav Mahler during the 1890s: the extraordinary and wildly ambitious Resurrection. Virtually a baptism by fire! Relatively discreet until now when it comes to the Austrian composer’s orchestral works, the Romanian conductor takes up the score that the legendary Leonard Bernstein had conducted for his first major Parisian triumph on November 13, 1958, also with the Orchestre National.

More than sixty years later, Măcelaru offers a vision that is in every way opposite: favoring a chamber-like, delicate, and pastoral tone over the grandiose and solemn gesture of his illustrious predecessor. The textures are remarkably light, with beautifully transparent strings responding to woodwinds full of freshness that subtly highlight the roots of a composer born near Prague who was so fond of novel sonorities and surprising blends. Under the Romanian’s direction—joined here by the luminous soprano of Hanna-Elisabeth Müller and the rich, ocher mezzo-soprano of Karen Cargill—the sensory journey of the Resurrection becomes a trajectory of great serenity. The work’s structure remains natural and fluid throughout, smoothly finding its unity despite the breathtaking diversity of its underlying musical landscapes.

It was in 1888 that Mahler forged a symphonic movement titled Todtenfeier, in which he surveyed—from the height of a steep promontory—the entire life of the hero of his First Symphony, Titan. Slightly revised, this vast portrait in the form of a funeral ceremony would become the opening Allegro maestoso of his Second Symphony, to which he quickly added three more movements: one in the form of a shimmering, deceptively friendly Ländler with interwoven motifs; another, based on the melody of the lied Des Antonius von Padua Fischpredigt (Des Knaben Wunderhorn, No. 6), resembling a purely instrumental intermezzo in scherzo form. For the fourth movement, Urlicht, the composer turned to another song from the collection Des Knaben Wunderhorn, retaining the vocal line while altering aspects of the orchestration and harmonic progressions.

Mahler searched for inspiration for his Finale for a long time before finding it upon hearing a choir perform a hymn with lyrics by the poet Klopstock at the funeral of the great conductor Hans von Bülow. Mahler then decided to conclude his work with a hymn to resurrection, utilizing Klopstock’s words while supplementing them with a few verses of his own.

Thus, Mahler’s Second Symphony opens with a meditation on death; the music then traverses earthly life—its sweetness as much as its sarcasms—before proclaiming its faith in resurrection, the sole theme of the Finale, at the conclusion of which voices and instruments unite in an almost reconculatory gesture.