Celestial poetry

Ukranian composer and pianist (born in Kharkiv) Theodore Akimenko belongs to that post-romantic generation too brutally overshadowed by the more radical figures of modernity. Yet the work of this pupil of Rimsky-Korsakov and teacher of Stravinsky is well worth rediscovering. A unique alchemy blends the subdued reminiscences of the Russian colourism he would pass on to his pupil, a nostalgic Middle-European languor that brings him closer to Zemlinsky, and the orchestral magic of the French Impressionists, without leaving the slightest impression of a haphazard mix: as the nocturnal poem Ange from 1924 testifies, a true musical personality is at work.

Seemingly the composer's most appealing and accessible work, Gustav Mahler's Fourth Symphony is nonetheless elusive in many ways. At times deceptively naive and sincerely candid, at other moments grating and innocent, full of innuendo and yet literal, looking to the past as well as the future - it was completed at the junction of two centuries - it never ceases to show us its Janus-like face. The work is presented here in a brand-new critical edition based on corrections made by Mahler himself during his last New York concert in February 1911. When he completed this symphony in 1901, Mahler was on the verge of meeting Alma Schindler, his future wife. When he completed his symphony in 1901, Mahler was on the verge of meeting Alma Schindler, his future wife. That same year, she composed her Fünf Gesänge, which might be seen as an intimate reflection of their budding love.