It’s one of Gustav Mahler’s most pessimistic symphonies, which oddly seems to have anticipated all of his own personal dramas, the end of which sees three mighty blows of fate befall the hero (Mahler), “the third of which fells him like a tree”. Purely instrumental, it is also one of the most original parts of the composer’s opus. He failed to contain his emotion at the podium when conducting the Essen Philharmonic Orchestra’s performance on June 27th 1906: it’s that very same orchestra that is publishing this recording in 2020, headed by their new conductor, the Czech Tomas Netopil. Born in 1975, he studied the violin and conducting in his hometown of Prague, before going on to refine his craft in Stockholm with Jorma Panula, the coach of so many of today’s greatest conductors. After winning the Sir Georg Solti International Competition in 2002, he conducted at the Salzburg Festival, the Prague Spring International Music Festival and filled the role of Head of the Prague State Opera from 2008 to 2012. The following year, he became the musical director of the Essen Philharmonic with which he has recorded several albums, including a critically acclaimed Mahler’s 9th Symphony for the same label Oehms Classics.
This new recording of the 6th Symphony was executed during two successful concerts given in May 2019. © François Hudry/Qobuz