Gustav Mahler

Symphony No. 2

This piano reduction of the 4th and 5th movements by Nicholas Kok, which is available for purchase alongside a choral score, is aimed specifically at vocal soloists and choral singers who wish to rehearse and perform both vocal movements of Mahler's 2nd Symphony. In order to enable a secure use at the beginning of the 4th movement at the beginning of the attacca, the piano reduction already begins in the 3rd movement. The rehearsal letters of the standard orchestral materials have been taken into account so that the piano reduction and choral score are compatible with existing editions.


In his 2nd Symphony, premiered in 1895 after a seven-year composition process, Gustav Mahler merged different work concepts which he had previously tried out in separate compositions: the 1st movement, originally entitled "Todten" (Deaths), is the first movement of a symphony. The 1st movement with the original title "Todtenfeier" was conceived as a symphonic poem, the 3rd movement is based on the original piano song "Des Antonius von Padua Fischpredigt", the 4th movement is the orchestral song "Urlicht" for alto, the text, like the 3rd movement, also comes from "Des Knaben Wunderhorn", and the 5th is a setting and further development of the Klopstock song "Die Auferstehung" for soprano and alto solo with mixed choir. Mahler created a work in the tradition of vocal symphonic music founded by Beethoven, which is one of his most popular compositions despite the challenges of scale and instrumentation.