Gustav Mahler - Symphony No. 1 in D major

Premiere album, released on November 7th, 2025

The Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, conducted since 2019 by the renowned Estonian musician Paavo Järvi from the position of principal conductor, has planned to record the complete symphonies of Gustav Mahler. The first CD in this recording collection, produced by Alpha Classics, was released on March 14th, 2025, comprising the Fifth Symphony of the great Austrian composer, and was awarded the Deutschen Schallplattenkritik and Orchestral Choice prizes by BBC Music Magazine.

The second disc, which we will broadcast on Radio România Muzical on December 11th, was released on November 7th, 2025, and brings together the four parts of Symphony No. 1 in D major, known as Titan, a work that refers to the novel with the same title, written in 1803 by the prose writer Jean Paul, whom Gustav Mahler admired. Although the composer rejected this subtitle after the first performance in 1893, the symphony in question certainly has a programmatic character. "Mahler was a composer who was genuinely capable of exploring the inner world of human nature", says conductor Paavo Järvi. "For me, Mahler embraces the entire history of music that preceded him. With our recording series, we are attempting to gradually reveal his works. Mahler's First Symphony expresses the composer's hope and confidence in the good spirit of the world - a feeling we all need during these times", says conductor Paavo Järvi, who continued to promote this collection of Mahler's works, together with the Tonhalle Orchestra in November and December, with tours in Vienna, Cologne, Baden and Paris.

"The musicians in the Zürich orchestra appreciate this kind of depth and virtuosity, understanding the agogics of Mahler's creation", Paavo Järvi continues, offering an exemplary interpretation of this Symphony in D major, which was first performed in 1889 at the Budapest Philharmonic under the baton of Gustav Mahler.