Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest . James Conlon

'I would live for you, die for you, Alma!' These dramatic heartfelt pleas were scratched onto the last page of the score of Mahler's Tenth Symphony, which remained unfinished. A year before his untimely death in 1911, Mahler experienced the greatest artistic success of his life: the première of the colossal Eighth Symphony. But then came the affair between his wife Alma and the young architect Walter Gropius. In this, his Tenth Symphony, we can hear Mahler's emotional turmoil in full. Flirtatious infatuation, heartrending cries for help, outbursts of pent-up rage, and above all, bitter resignation. In the 80s James Conlon was the principal conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and has a great affinity with the late-romantic German repertory. The conductor and his orchestra will lead you through this capricious sample of the most intense human emotions.