Symphony No. 5

About

Gustav Mahler's Fifth Symphony has achieved cult status, not just since Visconti stole the “Adagietto” from it for his film “Death in Venice”. Mahler's hugely scored symphonies loved to overwhelm with splendor before a few years later the expressionist Arnold Schönberg discovered a new musical star. Schönberg's "Air from another planet" captivated the British conductor Daniel Harding early on. When the 17-year-old wanted to perform Schönberg's music with friends, he wrote to Sir Simon Rattle for advice. He then made the student an assistant. The rest is history – and Harding is permanent guest conductor with the Berlin Philharmonic.