Iván Fischer: Gustav Mahler Symphony No. 7

Iván Fischer, Music Director of the Budapest Festival Orchestra, walks us through the symphonies of Gustav Mahler. He shares his thoughts and feelings about each work, answering your questions and listening to his recording of these masterpieces.
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Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 7 with Iván Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra:
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[@jeffreykalb9752]

The first movement has some of the most exquisitely beautiful moments in all of Mahler's music. The older I become, the more I appreciate it.

[@leestamm3187]

As a Mahler devotee for more than 50 years, I always enjoy Fischer's commentary. He knows what he's talking about. Specific to the 7th, I've always enjoyed the first Nachtmusik in particular, which I find one of the most unusual, evocative and entertaining bits of music he wrote, where Mahler gives us a mischievous wink as the phantoms march past in the night. Thank you, Maestro Fischer.

[@voltinoslav]

I could listen to Mo. Fischer all day. Thanks for the wonderful Mahler performances.

[@coryjorgensen622]

Wow. I've always loved Mahler 7, and hearing Maestro Fischer talk about it brings the understanding to a new level. Thank you!

[@abisal_gergiev]

i’m in love with these videos

[@killmrdarcy4367]

With much gratitude and thanks to Maestro Fischer further to him seemingly having attempted to take up the music educator mantle that Leonard Bernstein was so renowned for, and this in a way that no other conductor has further to Bernstein's death. Thanks also to him for his great Mahler recordings - especially his superb 4th and his excellent 'Resurrection'.

[@snapfinger1]

Using the piano like a scalpel to dissect the chords & melodies. Incredible Meistersinger quote.

[@victorjuhasz9078]

Köszönöm, Maestro.

[@dhoffheimerj]

A fine introduction to the seventh.

[@Fernwald84]

What "unstuck" Mahler as he attempted to write the 1st movement was the rhythm of his rowing on the Wörthersee by his villa at Maiernigg in South Austria. He wrote in a letter that this rhythm broke his composer's block and instantly suggested the basic character (actually, feeling) of the movement. Mahler was a very physically active and strong person despite his diminutive size and he liked to row, swim, hike and bike ride vigorously. I do find Mahler's explanation odd because the opening "long-short" rhythmic pattern doesn't seem to match up to a normal rowing pattern where the forward and recovery strokes take more or less the same time.

[@bertkoch9628]

27:44 Dear Mr. Fisher, this is not correct: the initial chord is a half-diminished seventh chord (not minor seventh chord)

[@jamesbastani4295]

Surprised the hell out of me as well! I think he starts thinking about the chord’s function and because of the ambiguity of the tonality, he gets buried in analysis. Or maybe he thinks that it would be too complicated to try to describe an inverted half diminished 7 chord to a lay audience.

[@Ian24s]

5:05 *Life

[@pietroamaretti8550]

He plays quite badly on a badly tuned piano. And he has absolutely no sense for Mahler‘s irony, dialectics and double meanings. One could say that the empty, childish triviality is the expression of pure despair. Mr. Fisher hears joy and positivity.

[@VallaMusic]

had to stop watching before i even got to the 2 minute mark - what a ridiculous characterization of Mahler we are given by Ivan Fischer from his initial remarks - I cannot even waste further words to contradict him it is so ridiculous - you would think he was talking about Shostakovich whose music is often dark, despairing and even depressed

[@thomasley4006]

I don’t think you get Mahler nor Shostakovich. Of course Mahler had strong bouts of pessimism and despair - as did Shostakovich have his moments of fun and comedy. Open up your perception.

[@VallaMusic]

@@thomasley4006 i don't think you get what i think - lol

[@kodalycat906]

@@thomasley4006 As well he should, if he was the sensitive soul we understand him to be, given all the harshness of his youth and early career alone (We know Alma had her moments/situations with him to perhaps come to a different conclusion about his 'sensitive soul'). However, I did not take the 1st 2 minutes as Fischer expressing his own opinion of the dominant quality of Mahler's ouvre but rather that it was the common understanding among scholars, listeners, students etc. and that this 7th symphony appears to be relatively free of those qualities and possibly even having more humor than his other works.

[@killmrdarcy4367]

... Well, I had to stop reading your comment 'before I even got to the two second mark' - and this even if I don't agree at all with Maestro Fischer's analysis following, in my view, Mahler's symphonies being very difficult to 'decode', with the 7th being the hardest among them.

[@jeffreykalb9752]

Shostakovich was deeply influenced by Mahler... especially in his 4th Symphony.