
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, April 24, 1994                   TAG: 9404220087
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MELISSA DeVAUGHN
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

GUSTAV MAHLER

GUSTAV MAHLER (1860-1911) was a conductor and composer who believed a symphony should be like the world. "It must embrace everything," he said.

Mahler wrote music so original and grandiose that entire lifetimes were traced in each piece. He used a larger orchestra than any other composer before him and added choruses and soloists to many of his symphonies.

With such a striking style, not to mention the meticulous details included in each of his symphonies, Mahler's works have been a challenge to those who wish to reproduce them.

"Mahler tries to create an entire world of human experience in his work," said Jeffrey Sandborg, conductor of the Roanoke Valley Choral Society and the Roanoke College Choir. "That's a complex thing to do... and he is very detailed, unlike any other composer."

Mahler's Symphony No. 2 - the "Resurrection" symphony - which will be performed Monday evening at 8 at the Roanoke Civic Center, is an example of the composer's unique style. In this symphony he asks "What is life? What is death? Is there an existence beyond it? Does it have meaning?"

The symphony has five movements and lasts approximately 80 minutes. The first movement is saturated in Mahler's obsession with death, where he asks these questions. The second, third and fourth movements serve as intermezzi - they are shorter and lighter in character than the first and fifth movements.

Mahler finds the answers to his questions of death in the last, and most striking movement, when the orchestra joins with the chorus for a huge finale.

by CNB