'It has turned out so overwhelming it came gushing out like a mountain torrent!’. So wrote Mahler to a friend after completing his First Symphony in just six weeks, in 1888. Not bad for someone still in his twenties, who had never previously composed a purely orchestral piece – though he had been pondering the work for the previous four years. It started off life as a five-movement symphonic poem – in fact it wasn’t until 1896 that he described it as a symphony, having cut one of the movements in the interim. Mahler’s obsession with nature is everywhere apparent, but, unlike many other 19th century composers, he was concerned not simply with its beauty but equally with its less palatable underbelly, and death in particular – a kind of musical Damien Hirst. What most disturbed early listeners was the grimly ironic funeral march, placed third. And though the symphony’s ending is triumphant, victory comes only after a long-fought battle.

Kurt Schwertsik shares with Mahler a Viennese connection, having been born in the city in 1935, a strong streak of irony, and a fascination with the mystery of night, so it’s apt that his new work, Nachtmusiken, should share the bill with Mahler’s First Symphony. Expect a healthy dose of subversion, too, from a composer who loves to startle and rarely remains entirely serious.

6.30pm Preview
Lynne Walker in conversation with Gianandrea Noseda, Chief Conductor, Kurt Schwertsik, composer and Richard Wigley, General Manager of the BBC Philharmonic.

Concert Plus - 30 mins after the end of the concert
Stephen Threlfall, conductor
Chethams Chamber Orchestra
Schreker Valse Lente
Joe Davis Orchestral Fantasy after Mahler
Mahler Blumine

The BBC Philharmonic and Hallé concerts will be recorded for BBC Radio 3. The concerts will be broadcast from 5 April on consecutive Mondays at 7.00pm for 10 weeks.