Gustav Mahler in Hamburg

During Gustav Mahler’s six years in Hamburg, he composed some songs, his second and third symphonies. The second symphony later became known as the “Resurrection Symphony” and is uniquely connected with Hamburg’s old landmark - the Michel (St. Michael’s Church). Mahler had not yet become well-known as a composer and said ironically of himself: “very un-famous and very un-performed”. His fame as an opera conductor, however, was all the greater. As First Conductor at the then Hamburg Municipal Theatre, the brilliant young musician raised the level of performance to such heights that his spectacular conducting of Wagner at the guest performances of the Hamburg opera in London in 1892 made both Mahler and his house world-famous.