Mahler

I always thought his 6th sounds like a soundtrack to apocalyptic wars and tragedy. On R3 they were discussing Bernstein and his love of Mahler, and someone was saying Bernstein considered Mahler a prophet, who as a Jew could feel the shit times coming back for them in Europe, and his 6th was a premonition of the coming storms etc.

Definitely. The 6th as always has some klezmer-derived themes, particularly the "mocking theme" of the 1st and 2nd movements (the scherzo, which is sometimes placed 3rd - wrongly!). The perversion and destruction of provincial German Jewish culture was always at the back of Mahler's mind I think. He was forced to renounce his Jewishness and convert to Catholicism to conduct in Vienna, so I think he gets his own back with these subversive musical reminders of his Jewish heritage. He also wouldn't have faced such pressure if he'd been able to go to New York earlier (but he wasn't famous enough yet - for his conducting only I might add! The public were barely interested in his music).
It's also often argued that Mahler was prophesying the death of his children. No 6 incorporates themes from his just completed Kindertotenlieder (particularly the Andante) and a couple of years later Mahler and Alma's daughter Maria died at the age of four and a half, and their other daughter Anna came close to death.
The last movement seems to embrace extra-personal significance though, it's so huge and dramatic.

Going to see Mahler 3 at proms this Sunday, Boston SO with Andris Nelsons :D

ah, thanks for that bit of excellent knowledge, glumd. I didn't know about the subversive klezmer elements of the 6th and that adds a lot to my appreciation of it.

concert on R3 tonight on this very topic:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0002cdy

Thomas Dausgaard is a conductor who delights in exploring the complex roots that feed into composers' music. In this concert he brings together 3 composers with an influence of Jewish music alongside the renowned Klezmer band, She'Koyokh.
The first half begins with Bernstein's Candide Overture and a rare chance to hear the cello work Schelomo by Bloch: cellist Jian Wang joins the orchestra.
And in the second half a performance of Mahler's First Symphony is introduced by a prelude performance of Jewish folk music by the band along with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra - to hear what resonances emerge.

This stage performance of Resurrection (including a performance of Symphony No. 2) has a team of UN relief workers unearthing a mass grave in real time. Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts. Naturally it's divisive, but wildly ambitious and unflinching as well.

Streaming live right now, but hopefully will be available for rewatching on Arte's site:
https://www.arte.tv/fr/videos/109365-000-A/resurrection-d-apres-mahler/

A review here that captures the show. (Also has been written up this week in the NY Times, etc.)