Mahler: Symphony No. 5 | Andris Nelsons and the Lucerne Festival Orchestra 馬勒：第五號交響曲 | 安德里斯‧尼爾森斯與琉森文化與會議中心

Mahler: Symphony No. 5 | Andris Nelsons and the Lucerne Festival Orchestra
馬勒：第五號交響曲 | 安德里斯‧尼爾森斯與琉森文化與會議中心

20,065 views Sep 28, 2025 KULTUR- UND KONGRESSZENTRUM LUZERN
This can be regarded as a key work marking the transition from late Romantic music to so-called “New Music”: Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 5. The symphony written for an expanded orchestra is played by the Lucerne Festival Orchestra under the direction of Andris Nelsons. The concert took place on 19 August 2015 at the Lucerne Culture and Congress Centre.
20,065 觀看 2025年9月28日 琉森文化與會議中心
古斯塔夫·馬勒的第五號交響曲堪稱是晚期浪漫主義音樂向所謂「新音樂」轉型的關鍵作品。這部為擴充管弦樂團而作的交響曲由安德里斯·尼爾森斯指揮的琉森文化與會議中心樂團演奏。音樂會於2015年8月19日在琉森文化與會議中心舉行。

Program:
(00:00) I. Trauermarsch. In gemessenem Schritt. Streng. Wie ein Kondukt (Funeral March. In measured pace. Strict. Like a cortège)
(14:10) II. Stürmisch bewegt. Mit größter Vehemenz (Stormily agitated. With the greatest vehemence)
(30:25) III. Scherzo. Kräftig, nicht zu schnell (Scherzo. Vigorous, not too fast)
(48:39) IV. Adagietto. Sehr langsam (Adagietto. Very slow)
(59:50) V. Rondo-Finale. Allegro – Allegro giocoso (Rondo-Finale. Allegro – Allegro giocoso)
曲目：
(00:00) 一、葬禮進行曲。步調勻稱。嚴謹。如同指揮家行進（葬禮進行曲。步調勻稱。嚴謹。如同送葬隊伍）
(14:10) 二、狂風暴雨般的樂章。極度激烈（狂風暴雨般激動。極度激烈）
(30:25) III. 諧謔曲。強勁，但速度適中（諧謔曲。強勁，但速度適中）
(48:39) IV. 小柔板。非常緩慢（小柔板。非常緩慢）
(59:50) V. 迴旋曲終曲。快板－快板（迴旋終曲。快板－快板）

At the beginning of Gustav Mahler’s (1860–1911) Symphony No. 5 there is a nod to another famous classical work: the trumpet’s opening motif, with its distinctive short-short-short-long rhythm, calls to mind the famous “fate motif” of that most renowned Fifth Symphony of all —Ludwig van Beethoven’s (1770–1827) Symphony No. 5 in C minor. The two works also share a parallel in their overall trajectory: Beethoven’s begins with a dramatic, dark movement and ends with a triumphant march in the major key. Mahler’s Fifth likewise opens with a weighty funeral march that seems to pull everything downwards, while the finale arrives with playful, buoyant cheerfulness, culminating in such a dazzling close that it almost borders on parody. It is therefore quite possible that Mahler intended, in his own way, to carry Beethoven’s great symphony forward.

After Beethoven, the symphony as a genre was regarded as a particular challenge. The standard set by the great classical master was one his successors felt compelled not only to match but to expand upon. Gustav Mahler achieved this in a unique manner. Formally, Mahler’s symphonic writing clearly draws upon Beethoven, yet departs from it in highly individual ways. His Symphony No. 5 illustrates this exemplary balance. Mahler drafted the first sketches in the summer of 1901, and by 1902 the long work was essentially complete—apart from the orchestration, which occupied him intensely. An initial version was completed in 1903, with a revised one following in 1904. On October 18 of that year, the symphony premiered in Cologne with the composer conducting. Even in 1911, the year of his death, Mahler revisited the orchestration once more. This final version appeared in print as part of the collected edition of his works. Mahler’s mastery of orchestration was without peer in his time: not only did he expand the orchestra to monumental proportions, but he also deployed its instruments in strikingly unusual combinations. The result was a wealth of tonal colors that had never been heard previously.

Formally too, the Fifth Symphony is remarkable, for it encompasses two structural designs at once. On the one hand, it consists of five movements, the first functioning almost as a kind of prelude to the four-movement symphony that follows. On the other hand, the five movements are grouped into three large sections: movements 1 & 2, movement 3, and movements 4 & 5. At the center stands the third movement, a Scherzo—an unprecedented focus on a Scherzo of unusual length. In this we see how Mahler, while rooted in traditional forms, simultaneously pushes beyond them.

Mahler’s style of motivic and thematic writing is particularly modern, already described in his day as a form of collage. In the Fifth Symphony too, themes and motifs sometimes clash in stark contrast, as though they had little to do with one another and were simply juxtaposed. Yet they are always woven together with profound compositional logic, exemplifying Mahler’s characteristic polyphonic technique. In this way, Mahler can be seen as a direct forerunner of New Music.

Fun fact: Today, Gustav Mahler’s Fifth ranks among his most beloved symphonies. The fourth movement, the Adagietto, played a special role in this. Luchino Visconti (1906–1976) used the movement’s plaintive music in his film Death in Venice (Morte a Venezia, 1971), an adaptation of the novella by Thomas Mann (1875–1955). The main character—modeled in part on Gustav Mahler himself—is accompanied leitmotif-like throughout by the Adagietto.

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