Klaus Mäkelä conducts Mahler 9: Chicago Symphony Orchestra

What are we but mere mortals?
This notion plagued Gustav Mahler throughout much of his adult life. As he grappled with the «Curse of the Ninth» – a superstition that no Romantic composer outlived their ninth symphony – he was also dealing with the diagnosis of a terminal heart condition and grieving the death of his young daughter. Yet under this fatalistic shadow, Mahler’s thirst for life grew. Symphony N˚ 9 is a life-affirming farewell to all that Mahler loved about the natural world and the human spirit.

The music: Gustav Mahler: Symphonie N° 9
The artists: Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Klaus Mäkelä (conductor)