Ian C. Williams

What coincidence! What amazement! What splendor! What majesty!

What humanity.

Only the greatest of the late Romantics could have envisioned such intensity and deep love for humanity and existence. I don't hear "lamentoso" so much in this piece (precedents set by Tchaikovsky's 6th) until the development arrives, but that does not preclude it from being considered beautiful and amazing. The violin soli and cello ideas in particular stirred me to a height that I have not felt since I first heard Tchaikovsky's sixth and Mahler's fifth. Those two symphonies created a lasting impact upon my life and set my path onto music FOREVER. Anything which reminds me of those symphonies desires the greatest adulation, praise, and attention.

The reference to Mahler's first symphony towards the end of the middle section (I have not read the score), with the highest A possible - if only for a brief, beautiful moment - is truly heart-wrenching. All the memories of "Titan", the Traürmärchen from the second and fifth symphonies, the grand beauty and humanity of that dying candle that is Romanticism. I hear a thousand symphonies, one million human voices crying out in love and light, and suddenly, in a moment of darkness, the cries of sorrow and loss echo in the marble halls. Not only does this music SUCCINCTLY capture the pre-war feeling of an elegy or adagio, but as a symphonic poem alone it stands tall.

I can say nothing more of this music other than that it is a testament to humanity and time immemorial, much like Mahler's statements of sorrow, love, hope, death, and glory were. From all that rests at the very bottom of my musical spirit, and the very CORE, I thank you for this.