These two monumental works (the Second Symphony lasts about an hour and a half, the Fifth about 70 minutes), being part of the composer’s so-called ‘symphonic epic’ consisting of nine complete symphonies, were a unique opportunity to immerse oneself in the Austrian composer’s vast philosophical canvases interpreted by two of America’s most iconic modern conductors (here an unusual parallel also occurred between the concerts).

Premiered in Berlin in late 1895 under Mahler’s own baton, the ‘Resurrection’ Symphony was met with diverse reactions (interestingly, it is mentioned at the beginning of Tom Stoppard’s play Leopoldstadt (2019), as one of its characters listened to it in Vienna). Here Mahler’s desire to engage with the Christian tradition, to assimilate it, and to better understand the movement of the soul towards resurrection through music becomes evident. It seems more intellectually and almost artificially structured than the composer’s other works – for its last movement Mahler took lyrics from Friedrich Klopstock’s ‘Resurrection Ode’. The first four movements have the following instructions for musicians’ performance – ‘with a serious and solemn expression throughout, very moderate, calmly flowing, never rushing’ – this is a symphony for slow immersion in the process of purifying the human soul.

The symphony, conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas, who celebrates his 80th birthday this year, really enveloped us this evening, creating a huge cloud of music, into which we stepped carefully, as if the symphonic space was bigger than usual and we could enter it from different parts of the hall. However, the last movement, where the London Symphony Chorus (directed by Simon Halsey) and two superb singers (the young soprano Siobhan Stagg and the renowned mezzo-soprano Alice Coote) join the show, was the highlight of the evening, its words from Klopstock’s ode (with additional text from Mahler himself) calling us to joy, resurrection and purification of the soul resembling the idea behind Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Throughout the evening, gradually gathering strength and fuelled by the music of the symphony, we came to a slow, careful, penetrating catharsis, rising slowly and as if in a trance from our seats to applaud the orchestra and ever-vibrant maestro Michael Tilson Thomas.

On 24 October, Marin Alsop and the Philharmonia Orchestra opted for a completely different dynamic, a different style of interacting with the audience and experiencing Mahler’s music. Alsop herself chose the programme, making it a contrast in terms of our familiarity with the music. The ‘Blumine’ part of Mahler’s First Symphony, often excluded from its performances, as well as Alma Mahler’s vocal compositions may be unfamiliar to many of us. How beautifully, passionately and with dramatic charm mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke sang them, her romantic and deliberately old-fashioned performance transporting us back to the time when these songs were written. But we can’t help knowing the Fifth Symphony that followed or some elements of it. Its fourth movement, Adagietto, was used extensively in Luchino Visconti’s 1971 film ‘Death in Venice’, as well as in various commercials and films. It is a very poignant feeling to recognise some of its motifs and experience their beauty. If the Second Symphony is monumental, solemn and majestic, the Fifth is a hymn to love, with the revelations and intimacies of this feeling, with the youthful passion and lyricism of unquenched longings for the beloved. It is as if Mahler, having grown older, has musically become younger, more dynamic and more interesting and tempting to us, the listeners.

And Marin Alsop made the most of this symphony’s potential, taking its dynamic contrasts to their most extreme and presenting us with a love affair in music that seemed like a roller-coaster ride. The packed Royal Festival Hall erupted in applause for the orchestra and for this tiny American woman who, on this night, was a true colossus who was able to move the symphonic masses of music as if they were pieces of a rushing volcanic lava – hot, churning, toppling everything in their path! It was a concert unique in rhythm and intensity that contrasted with the majesty of the Second Symphony in Michael Tilson Thomas’s neat, comprehensive reading. Standing ovations for both meant we witnessed something truly great on both occasions.