Titan

When the original version of Mahler’s First Symphony was first performed in 1889, it swept the handbags from the laps of the ladies of the audience, so shocking was it. Critics outdid one another in heaping ridicule and malice upon it, calling it an aberration and worse. Seven years later, Mahler, who seemed less frustrated than motivated by this abuse, presented the version which is often played and dearly beloved today, arguably making it the most popular Mahler symphony of them all. »Springtime and no end in sight!« noted the composer. And indeed, a cosmos of incredibly diversity opens up: folk songs and birdsong, funeral marches and landlers, bright visions and heavenly peace coexisting in harmony. A perfect riposte to
the oscillating sonic feast served up by the Icelandic composer Anna Thorvaldsdóttir. She too creates an entire universe, balancing peace and chaos, ice and fervour, humans and nature. Equilibrium also plays an important role for the soloist in Camille Saint-Saëns’ Cello Concerto No. 1, which demands a head for heights and surefootedness on the tightrope of virtuosity. Not a problem for the famous French cellist Gautier Capuçon. He and the Gürzenich Kapellmeister Andrés Orozco-Estrada form a well-practiced, celebrated team in this dazzling
bravura showpiece.