Symphony No. 3 ( Gustav Mahler)

%26ldquo%3BListening+to+Mahler%26%2339%3Bs+%26quot%3BThird%26quot%3B+for+the+first+time+I+was+deeply+impressed+by+the+originality+of+the+music.+Today+I+am+aware+that+there+is+much+in+this+symphony+that+reminds+me+of+my+childhood%2C+when+I+was+allowed+to+spend+my+annual+summer+holidays+on+an+idyllic+Austrian+Alp%3A+the+daily+view+of+the+impressive+mountain+tops%2C+the+lush+green+of+the+meadows%2C+the+breathtaking+alpine+flora%2C+the+way+we+used+to+fall+asleep+gently+and+naturally+%26ndash%3B+there+was+no+artificial+light.%26nbsp%3B%26nbsp%3B%26nbsp%3B+Dozing+off%2C+once+in+a+while+one+could+hear+brass+band+from+an+inn+far+away.%3Cbr+%2F%3EThese+are+never-to-be-forgotten+reminiscences+which+I+feel+Mahler+composed+into+the+music.+He+does+not+miss+any+opportunity%2C+at+least+not+in+the+first+three+movements%2C+to+capture+nature+in+both+its+boundless+beauty+and+ferocity.+Even+the+post+horn+solo+in+the+third+movement%2C+very+sensitively+played+in+our+recording+by+the+superb+George+Vosburgh%2C+fits+into+the+idyllic+world+of+nature+with+its+simplicity+and+its+common+touch.+Nevertheless+it+can+also+be+perceived+as+a+yearning+pronouncement+of+man%2C+admittedly+still+pure+and%3Cbr+%2F%3Einnocent.+My+father+used+to+serenade+me+with+similar+popular+tunes+on+the+zither%2C+an+instrument+rarely+played+nowadays.%3Cbr+%2F%3ELike+Joseph+Haydn+who+described+the+formation+of+the+world+in+his+oratorio+%26quot%3BThe+Creation%26quot%3B+from+the+representation+of+chaos+up+to+the+making+of+animals+and+man%2C+Mahler+composed+a+history+of+creation.+%5B......%5D%3Cbr+%2F%3EThere+is+a+certain+structure+to+the+symphony+and+the+individual+movements+display+a+certain+form%2C+although+there+is+not+much+of+the+typical+sonata+form+in+the+first+movement.+The+%26quot%3BThird%26quot%3B+is+one+of+those+symphonies+where+the+analytical+takes+a+backseat.+Arnold+Scho%26%23776%3Bnberg+wrote+a+letter+to+Gustav+Mahler+after+a+performance%3A+%26quot%3BMaybe+it+is+more+important+after+all+to+feel%2C+relive+and+experience+this+symphony+than+to+understand+it+fully.%26quot%3B+%28by+Manfred+Honeck%29%3Cbr+%2F%3E