The Rudolfinum

In 1903, Mahler’s wife Alma and her mother attended the Prague premiere of his Second Symphony at the Rudolfinum.

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“Today’s concert conducted by Oskar Nedbal will take place a 7 p.m. at the Rudolfinum in the presence of the music director of the Court Opera in Vienna, Gustav Mahler, whose Second Symphony in C minor is the main number on the programme. For the concert, all of the seats are sold out apart from a few seats in the organ gallery costing 3 K. Probably only standing room tickets at 2 K and 1.20 K per person will still be available by evening at the box office”, read the announcement in the newspaper Národní listy for the 18 December 1903 Prague premiere of Mahler’s Second Symphony.

In fact, Mahler did not attend the performance. His professional commitments had kept him in Vienna, although his wife Alma and her mother travelled to Prague for the occasion. In a letter to Alma dated 17 December, Mahler wrote:

“Unfortunately, amid all the confusion, I forgot to send the telegram to the Blue Star. I hope you have managed to find comfortable accommodation nonetheless. Nor do I know how to help you arrange a railway compartment in Prague. I have written directly to Nedbal. Perhaps, as a national hero of the Czechs (a status which you, too, have now acknowledged), he has the necessary connections.”

Judging by contemporary reviews, the concert was well worth attending. The Czech Philharmonic was joined by musicians from the New German Theatre, the Hlahol Choir and soloists Gabriela Horvátová and Božena Durasová:

“A work of profound spiritual depth, it elevates and astonishes its audience through the grandeur of its ideas, the audacity of its conception and its often overwhelming expressive power. Few musical works employ such a wealth of instrumental and vocal resources with so little regard for mere effect. Everything is artistically justified, organically essential.”

Can you hear it?

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Symphony No. 2, First Movement

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Symphony No. 2, First Movement

Gustav and Alma Mahler also attended the concert at the time, so you can ask them about their impressions of the Second Symphony, known as the “Resurrection.” They’ll be waiting for you on the steps of the Rudolfinum.

In the Rudolfinum shop just above, you can purchase the complete Mahler symphonies recorded by the Czech Philharmonic with its Chief Conductor Semyon Bychkov, right here in this building.