Mahler’s The Song of the Earth

Mahler’s romantic, moody, and sometimes maudlin compositions were among the final artistic statements of the nineteenth century, a goodbye to all that and a wary greeting to a new century. In the symphonic song cycle The Song of the Earth, he sets themes from Chinese poetry about the end of things to music that moves from death-tramping gloom to rarefied joy. The end result, at once transcendent and emotionally demanding, sort of approximates the feel of life passing before your eyes. 651-291-1144; www.thespco.org