Mahler Symphony No. 5

Part 1: I. Trauermarsch: 0:00 II. Stürmisch bewegt, mit größter Vehemenz: 12:03 Part 2: III. Scherzo: 25:52 Part 3: IV. Adagietto: 42:44 V. Rondo-Finale: 52:40 Mahler’s Fifth Symphony, in 3 parts and 5 movements, was completed in the summer of 1902. From the opening funeral march to its triumphant chorale conclusion, the symphony makes more than a merely oblique reference to the 5th Symphony of Mahler’s idol, Ludwig van Beethoven. In the opening trumpet solo and throughout part 1, the famous four-note motif is heard again and again. The scherzo, written for Solo Horn and Orchestra, makes up part 2, and is the longest individual movement, rather unique for a Scherzo, and small chamber-like sections make way to a finishing orchestral tutti, giving a sense of ambiguity as to this part’s message. The final, third part, has no such issues, beginning with the fourth movement, the Adagietto, Mahler’s declaration of love to his new wife, Alma, and his single best-known movement. For strings and Harp alone, it is