Work: Symphony no. 6 in A minor "Tragic"

His symphonies are now mainstays of orchestra seasons, but during his lifetime Gustav Mahler was more famous as a rigorous conductor, his music misunderstood and scorned. 

Mark and Elisabeth offer you hopeless romantics bouquets, chocolates and stars – many stars – in their Valentine’s Day playlist.

It was described as “the first nihilist work in the history of music” by the conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler. We look at the story behind Mahler’s Sixth Symphony.