Oregon Symphony: Mahler’s Symphony No. 6

An epic orchestral journey, Mahler’s Symphony No. 6 exemplifies his ambition to “embrace the whole.” Deathly foreboding marches give way to ecstatic outpourings of love for his wife Alma, together with a dark carnival of a “Scherzo” and a sunlit lyrical interlude evoking peaceful Alpine meadows. The symphony’s theatrical and dramatic finale culminates in titanic “hammer blows of fate” that are said to represent tragic milestones in Mahler’s life.