A jangling of sleighbells, a little flurry of birdsong from the flutes – and is that a melody by Mozart? Not quite. Mahler’s Fourth Symphony might be his most classical in proportion, his most playful in style – utwardly, at any rate. But from deceptively innocent beginning to the “child’s vision of heaven” with which it ends, the Fourth has depths as poignant and profound as anything Mahler ever wrote. ±«Óătv SSO Conductor Emeritus Donald Runnicles is just the person to draw out its inner drama, and he’s joined by soprano Carolyn Sampson – who begins with two gloriously fresh vocal showpieces by the composer Mahler loved above all others: Mozart himself.
