Mahler Festival: Fabio Luisi and NHK Symphony Orchestra - Mahler's Symphony No. 4

Fabio Luisi conducts NHK Symphony Orchestra

Born in Italy, Fabio Luisi is currently chief conductor on two continents. In Texas, he succeeded Jaap van Zweden at the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. And in Tokyo, he leads the NHK Symphony Orchestra, with which he will give two concerts during the Mahler Festival. Yesterday the Third Symphony was performed, today it is the Fourth Symphony's turn. Luisi's interpretation was called 'enchanting' by Dallas Morning News. In the fourth movement, soprano Ying Fang sings of the idyll of the afterlife.

Mahler's Symphony No. 4

While walking through Austria, writing book in hand, Mahler got his Fourth Symphony in his mind. Consequently, it sounds remarkably scenic, light and lyrical. The Fourth Symphony initially met with resistance and incomprehension, and was slammed by the press. Later, however, the work grew to become perhaps Mahler's best-loved symphony. In this respect, Bruno Walter, Mahler's colleague and friend, was proved right when, after the first performance in Vienna, he lashed out at the boomer press that 'Mahler and his immortal work will be alive long after you are dead and buried'.