Episodes
| Episode | First Broadcast | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | 20101122 | In his lifetime Mahler was more famous as a conductor than as a composer and today's programme, presented by Louise Fryer, begins with the work he conducted the most often. While he was working in New York he conducted the second performance of Rachmaninov's 3rd Piano Concerto - with the composer as soloist. The programme ends with Mahler's own 7th Symphony, which he conducted five times. Wagner: Prelude - Die Meistersinger BBC Philharmonic Orchestra Gunther Herbig, conductor Beethoven: Symphony No.7 BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra Christoph K怀nig, conductor Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No.3 Nicholas Angelich (piano) Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra Myung-Whun Chung, conductor Mahler: Symphony No.7 Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Simon Rattle, conductor. Including the work Mahler conducted most often - Wagner's Prelude to Die Meistersinger. |
| 02 | 20101123 | Gustav Mahler was more famous in his lifetime as a conductor than as a composer. His concert repertoire was enormous and today's programme, presented by Louise Fryer, includes three very different symphonies, all of which Mahler performed. His own re-orchestration of Schumann's 4th is a fascinating document - Mahler 'helping' Schumann to improve his orchestration. Beethoven: Leonora Overture No. 3 BBC National Orchestra of Wales Grant Llewellyn, conductor Schumann orch Mahler: Symphony No.4 NDR Radio Philharmonic Xian Zhang, conductor Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra Yannick N退zet-S退guin, conductor Bruckner: Symphony No.5 Berlin Staatskapelle Daniel Barenboim, conductor. With three symphonies Mahler once conducted - by Schumann, Berlioz and Bruckner. |
| 03 | 20101124 | Mahler was more famous in his lifetime as a conductor than as a composer and today's programme, presented by Louise Fryer, includes two works by Beethoven, played in Mahler's own performing versions. The first is an 'amplified' string quartet and the programme ends with Mahler's re-orchestration of the choral 9th symphony. The programme also includes two colourful scores, both of which Mahler conducted several times. Berlioz: Overture - Roman Carnival Les Musiciens du Louvre Marc Minkowski, conductor Beethoven arr. Mahler: String Quartet in F Minor Op.95 English Chamber Orchestra Jeffrey Tate, conductor R. Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel WDR Symphony Orchestra, Cologne Semyon Bychkov, conductor Beethoven arr. Mahler: Symphony No.9 Gabriele Fontana, soprano Barbara H怀lzl, contralto Arnold Bezuyen, tenor Reinhard Mayr, bass Slovak Philharmonic Choir Tonkünstler Orchestra of Lower Austria Kristjan J䀀rvi, conductor. With Mahler's own versions of Beethoven's String Quartet in F minor and Symphony No 9. |
| 04 | 20101126 | During his lifetime Mahler was more famous as a conductor than as a composer. Louise Fryer presents the final programme celebrating Mahler the performer, and it includes two works that he both conducted and arranged. It begins with a Beethoven overture that Mahler conducted no less than 19 times and ends with his own giant 8th Symphony in a live recording from a hall Mahler knew well - the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. Beethoven: Overture: Coriolan BBC National Orchestra of Wales Joseph Swensen, conductor Schubert arr. Mahler: String Quartet No.14 in D Minor (Death and the Maiden) Camerata Academica Salzburg Franz Welser-M怀st, conductor Bach arr Mahler: Bach Suite Royal Concergebouw Orchestra Riccardo Chailly, conductor Mahler: Symphony No.8 Alessandra Marc, Julia Faulkner, Cyndia Sieden, sopranos Jard van Nes, Birgit Remmert, contraltos Gary Lakes, tenor Andreas Schmidt, baritone Robert Holl, bass Prague Philharmonic Choir Kühn's Mixed Choir Boys Choir from St. Bavo Cathedral Breda Sacraments Choir Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Riccardo Chailly, conductor. Works Mahler both conducted and arranged - Schubert's Death and the Maiden and Bach Suite. |