From the autobiography of Alma Mahler, we know that Gustav Mahler worked feverishly in the summer of 1909. It was then that he completed his ninth symphony, which he nevertheless declined to assign a number, fearing the number 9 as Beethoven had written nine symphonies and no more (as had Dvořák and Bruckner). Despite this precaution, Mahler could not “trick” fate as the ninth would also prove to be the last finished symphony of his comparatively short life (the tenth being completed only in outline). Bruno Walter, one of the master interpreters of the composer’s work, was informed by Mahler of the completion of the new symphony in April 1910. “The work […] is a very satisfactory addition to my little family,” he wrote. “In it something is said that I have had on the tip of my tongue for some time – perhaps (as a whole) to be ranked beside the Fourth, if anything. (But quite different.)" Although by nature the fourth and ninth symphonies are very different, Mahler abandons the experimental sound of those written in between and returns in this last symphony to the classical four-movement form. The première, conducted by his loyal friend Bruno Walter, was held only after the composer’s death, in June 1912. Presented by: Budapest Festival Orchestra

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