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Originally Posted by Åke Sjöström
Mahler pffft. I think he's overrated.
Kalevi Aho-severely underrated. Simon Proctor too. Come on, Serpents and Contrabassoons and Tubas need love too-we're the black sheep of the orchestra. 
PS. i take that back-Schoenberg is SEVERELY underrated-he's a goddamn genius-so is Toru Takemitsu-I know way too many classical composers lol |
You think that Mahler is overrated! Have you heard his Symphony No. 8, it's perpetuous, brilliant, incredibly beautiful all the way throughout it's two movements. Just as well, his first symphony "Titan" - it has a purely grand piece throughout. Both of these symphonies carry Mahler's passion of the world; his desire to explain its meaning through music. As he said in a conversation with Sibelius: "... the symphony should be like the world: it must embrace everything." I think that that's the essence of his brilliance.
Having said that, he wrote a piece called "Das Lied von der Erde" (The song of the Earth) of some oriental lyrics. This piece is one which, I think expresses those same values of worldly description.