Mahler-Mendelssohn

Mahler sets the tone, Mendelssohn confirms: Fate Now Conquers!

For when fate strikes hard, we find strength in faith. Faith that takes a different form for each person:in a God, in healing, in a hopeful future, in the meaning of life, in each other.

Such faith also gave Beethoven strength, and despite the many obstacles that came his way, he wrote in his diary: “But Fate now conquers”. A gripping passage, which inspired composer Carlos Simon in 2020 to write a work to which he gave that as a title.

There is another who gave voice to faith and hope in his music: Gustav Mahler. His Totenfeier is one great funeral march, but later became the opening of his 2nd Symphony – a thundering work about the unwavering faith in resurrection.

Felix Mendelssohn was born a Jew and converted to Christianity, inspired by Luther and his Protestantism: the composer followed his own path as regards faith. The Bach chorale on which he based the final movement of his 5th Symphony – less well known but of masterly beauty – speaks for itself: “Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott” (A mighty fortress is our God).

Flagey, Brussels Philharmonic, Vlaams Radiokoor