Mahler: Symphony No. 2; Barton: Of the Earth Sydney Symphony Orchestra & Simone Young

• William Barton (b. 1981): Of the Earth:
• 1 Barton: Of the Earth 13:22
• Gustav Mahler (1860 - 1911): Symphony No. 2 "Resurrection":
• 2 Mahler: Symphony No. 2 "Resurrection": I. Allegro maestoso 21:20
• 3 Mahler: Symphony No. 2 "Resurrection": II. Andante moderato 09:26
• 4 Mahler: Symphony No. 2 "Resurrection": III. Scherzo. In ruhig fliessender Bewegung 11:42
• 5 Mahler: Symphony No. 2 "Resurrection": IV. Urlicht. O Röschen rot! 05:06
• 6 Mahler: Symphony No. 2 "Resurrection": V. Finale. Im Tempo des Scherzos 35:09
• Total Runtime 01:36:05

Info for Mahler: Symphony No. 2; Barton: Of the Earth

In July 2022 the Concert Hall of the iconic Sydney Opera House re-opened after a major renovation which took over two years. The revamped acoustic of the Concert Hall was greeted with great acclaim.

The Concert Hall reopened with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra performing Mahler’s monumental Symphony No. 2 “Resurrection”, under the direction of the Orchestra’s Chief Conductor, Simone Young. Completing the concert program was “Of the Earth”, by indigenous Australian composer William Barton, specially commissioned for the occasion.

This recording marks Simone Young and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s debut on the Deutsche Grammophon label. Rave, exultant reviews greeted these outstanding performances, captured live, and now presented to the world by Deutsche Grammophon.

“This is a sound for the generations – for the next hundred years…” (Sydney Morning Herald)

“A performance of this symphony is always an occasion. Young’s and the SSO’s magnificent account captured both the vast emotional range and intricate musical complexities of this gigantic symphonic fresco.” (The Australian)

This historical moment marks the Sydney Symphony Orchestra's 90th anniversary and their return to the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall – the iconic venue that it has called home since its opening in 1973.

Nicole Car, soprano
Deborah Humble, mezzo-soprano
Sydney Philharmonia Choirs
Sydney Children’s Choir
Gondwana Indigenous Children’s Choir
Sydney Symphony Orchestra
Simone Young, conductor

Simone Young
is considered one of the most important conductors of our time. After completing her musical studies in her native Sydney, she began her career on the podium in Germany. This launched her international career, which has taken her to all important opera houses and symphony orchestras around the world.

As a guest conductor in the 2022/23 season she leads productions at the Opéra de Paris (“Salome”), at the Vienna State Opera (“Elektra” and “Die Fledermaus”), at the Metropolitan Opera (“Der Rosenkavalier”), while concert invitations lead her to the stages of the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, the Orchestre national de France, the Orquesta nacional de España, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Philharmonia Zürich and the Orchestre national de Lyon.

Since July 2022 Simone Young is Chief Conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Young’s previous titled positions include: Principal Guest Conductor of the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne (2017-2020), Principal Conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic (1998-2002); Artistic Director of Opera Australia (2001-2003); Principal Guest Conductor of the Gulbenkian Orchestra in Lisbon; Artistic Director of the Hamburg State Opera and Chief Music Director of the Hamburg Philharmonic (2005-2015).

During her tenure in Hamburg, Ms. Young dedicated herself nearly exclusively to that house, conducting numerous premieres and a diverse repertoire with performance of such wide-ranging composers as Mozart, Verdi, Puccini, Wagner, Strauss, Hindemith, Britten and Henze. This period was further distinguished by many World and German Premieres, as Ms. Young brought contemporary music to the fore during her time in Hamburg.

Ms. Young is well known as a Wagner and Strauss specialist, a reputation she developed early in her career when she conducted multiple complete cycles of Wagner’s Ring cycle at the Vienna State Opera and the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin, as well as his Walküre and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg along with Strauss’ Elektra, Salome, Die Frau ohne Schatten and Ariadne auf Naxos, and also with a new production of Hans Pfitzner’s Palestrina at the Bavarian State Opera. Beyond her numerous performances of Wagner’s and Strauss’ operas on Vienna’s famed Ringstrasse, Ms. Young’s long relationship with the Vienna State Opera, which began with her debut in 1993, includes the widely acclaimed rediscovery of Fromental Halevy’s La Juivein 1999, along with many of the most famous works of the Italian operatic repertoire. After her responsibilities in Hamburg kept her away for several years, she returned to the Vienna State Opera in the 2011/12 season with a celebrated revival of of Strauss’s Daphne, and she remains a regular feature of that house’s programming to this day. Outside of Vienna, Ms. Young has appeared as a guest conductor at such world-class opera houses as Opéra National de Paris, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London, and the Metropolitan Opera in New York, and she is a regular guest at the major opera houses in Munich, Berlin, Dresden and Zurich.

Alongside her extensive operatic performances, Ms. Young has also made a name for herself as a symphonic conductor. She has worked with many of the world’s leading orchestras, including among many others, the Philharmonic Orchestras of Berlin, London, Munich, New York, and Vienna. Following completion of her tenure in Hamburg, Ms. Young is appearing once again as a regular guest conductor with orchestras around the world, including the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre de Paris, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Dresden Philharmonic, the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, in addition to several North American orchestras, and with various orchestras in her native Australia.

Booklet for Mahler: Symphony No. 2; Barton: Of the Earth