Symphony No. 2 "Resurrection" (Mahler)

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Gustav Mahler's Second Symphony, popularly known as the "Resurrection" (German: "Auferstehung") symphony, is a colossal work for both an on and off-stage orchestra, mixed choir, soloists and organ that was composed between 1888 and 1894. Known not only for the size of the orchestra employed for its performance, but also for its length, the "Resurrection" symphony is divided into five movements, and a full performance of the work can run for at least an hour and a half. The work's overarching theme deals with the rather hefty subject of death and resurrection, which, according to several of Mahler's contemporaries and critics of the work, is conveyed in almost biblical proportions by the composer's music and the poetic texts selected by Mahler to be sung in various places towards the symphony's end. The "Resurrection," along with the Eighth Symphony, is widely considered to be Mahler's crowning achievement in symphonic writing and a significant milestone for the development of Western music into the 20th Century.