given earlier this afternoon in the Concertgebouw
Mahler Symphony No 9 in D conducted by Bernard Haitink, with the Concertgebouw Orchestra led by JOAP VAN ZWEDEN
Introduced by Douglas Reitn Bernard Haitink, in his last season as principal conductor of the Concertgebouw, has chosen the culmination of Mahler's symphonic work as his personal farewell. The Ninth Symphony was actually Mahler's tenth. His superstition about the many composers who died on completing their ninth symphonies caused him to label the Song of the Earth, in reality a vocal symphony, a song cycle and thus escape the jinx. But the Ninth Mahler's last completed work, remains one of the great testaments of pain and reconciliation in the face of death.
Directed for NOS by HANS HULSCHER
— A simultaneous broadcast with Radio 3. Viewers with stereo Radio 3 may wish to turn off television sound and position their speakers on either side of the screen, but a few feet away.
Stereo headphones provide a suitable alternative.