Bachtrack top ten: Gustav Mahler

Gustav Mahler (1907)

Gustav Mahler by Emil Orlik (1902)

By Mark Pullinger, 07 July 2023

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“A symphony must be like the world. It must contain everything.”

Bachtrack, 3rd March

Principal contrabassist of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra talks about why Mahler’s restless and volatile First Symphony is a highlight of any orchestra season.

The magical world of composers’ handwriting

Lawrence Dunn, 17th December

From Buxtehude, Bach and Handel, to contemporary composer Liza Lim, we take a tour of the myriad forms of composers’ handwriting and calligraphy – and how music makes itself on the page.

A musical melting pot: Hannu Lintu joins Singapore Symphony Orchestra

Richard Bratby, 4th November

The Finnish conductor talks about becoming Music Director at Singapore Symphony from 2026 – and creating programmes for the unique cultural melting pot that the orchestra sits at the centre of.

A walk through King’s Cross via Kings Place

Peter Quantrill, 20th October

Kings Place, of the most successful new additions to the London music scene, sits in a rapidly changing King’s Cross – an intersection of new architecture, culture and heritage.

超越的な存在としての自然：マーラーの交響曲第3番について今井仁志氏に聞く

Bachtrack, 4th April

NHK 交響楽団の首席ホルン奏者の今井仁志氏に、マーラーの交響曲第 3 番について、曲との出会いや演奏の心構え、自然への崇拝というテーマなどについて語っていただきました。

Mahler’s Third Symphony: Transcendent nature

Bachtrack, 4th April

Hitoshi Imai, Principal Horn of the NHK Symphony Orchestra, talks about discovering and playing Mahler’s longest symphony, and its theme of reverence for nature.

Mark Pullinger

Mark has been a Bachtrack editor since 2014. He is also an experienced critic, writing hundreds of reviews for the site, as well as a freelancer writing for other magazines and newspapers. He also writes programme notes and blogs on Substack. Mark has a particular passion for the operas of Verdi as well as Russian and French repertoire. Outside the concert hall and opera house, Mark enjoys cooking and travel and is probably at his happiest let loose in a French patisserie or a Viennese coffee house.