Mahler's Symphony No. 4 with Karina Canellakis

Mahler 4
In his monumentalFourth Symphony, Mahler connects simple life, the beauty of nature, and rural life with the perfection of heaven. He does not shy away from themes such as death and transience—the second movement is a dance of death featuring the Grim Reaper as a dancing violinist—but the existential anxiety that seems to dominate many of Mahler’s symphonies is much more in the background here. In the finale, the soprano sings of heavenly joy: ‘Wir genießen die himmlischen Freuden’.

Karina Canellakis
American Karina Canellakis, chief conductor of the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, is passionate about Mahler. The Guardianwrote enthusiastically: ‘Her sublimely executed interpretation of Mahler’sFirst Symphony, in which every detail was razor-sharp and the dynamic range as wide as possible, confirmed her mastery of large-scale musical structures; everything, whether expressive or vulgar, seemed to fall exactly into place.’ Ten years ago, soprano Julia Kleiter sang the soprano solos in Mahler’sFourth Symphonywith the Concertgebouw Orchestra, conducted by Daniele Gatti, here in our Main Hall. The live recording of that performance was widely acclaimed, and Kleiter received much praise for it.