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BBC Radio 3 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced Third Programme.

BBC Radio 3

Radio 3

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Composer of the Week

Music: Classical

An informative guide to composers' lives and their music.

An informative and accessible guide to composers' lives and their music.

Composer of the Week: Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)

Composer of the Week: Gustav Mahler (1860-1911): Episode 4: The Arrival of Alma

From Bohemia to Vienna

Episode 4

Episode 4: The Arrival of Alma

Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)

The Arrival of Alma

BBC Radio 3 - Composer of the Week, Gustav Mahler (1860-1911), The Arrival of Alma

Donald Macleod examines the influence on Mahler's music of his wife Alma.

Donald Macleod examines the influence, for good and ill, on Mahler's music of his wife Alma. Including Symphony No 6; Das Lied von der Erde (excerpts); Symphony No 7.

Donald Macleod examines the influence on Mahler's music, for good and ill, of his wife Alma.

Gustav Mahler rose from humble beginnings on the fringes of the Austro-Hungarian Empire to become one of the most powerful figures in the musical establishment. Nowadays his symphonies are almost guaranteed to fill concert halls, but during his lifetime Mahler made his name as a conductor.

Alma Schindler, known at the time as "the most beautiful woman in Austria", entered Mahler's life around the turn of the 20th century. She initially found the composer abrupt and dogmatic, but their relationship sparked into life very quickly and they were engaged within three weeks, despite Mahler's reluctance about the age difference between them. Their relationship would determine the course of the rest of Mahler's life.

Symphony No 6 in A minor (2nd mvt) (Scherzo)
London Philharmonic Orchestra conduc   ted by Klaus Tennstedt

Der Einsame im Herbst; Von der Jugend; Von der Schönheit (Das Lied von der Erde)
Violeta Urmana, mezzo-soprano
Michael Schade, tenor
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Pierre Boulez

Symphony No 7 (5th mvt)
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Riccardo Chailly

Producer: Callum Thomson.

Live music and the arts: broadcasts more live music than any other radio network. Classical music is its core. Genres include world and new music, jazz, speech and drama.

Donald Macleod explores Mahler?s childhood in Bohemia.

Donald Macleod explores Mahler's childhood in Bohemia, where he was inspired by the sounds and songs of the countryside.

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Composer of the Week

Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)

Episode 4: The Arrival of Alma

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