Symphony No. 9 in D major was completed in 1909 by Austro-Bohemian composer Gustav Mahler (1860 - 1911). It is the last of the finished Mahler's symphonies and one that even more than the preceding unnumbered Das Lied von der Erde deals with death and farewell - and Mahler's fight against it - even though in the end resignation comes out on top, and the work ends not with a bang but a whisper. An immensely powerful and moving work, it is generally accepted as one of the most important symphonies of all time. The average playing time is 81 minutes (AllMusic). I have about 20 versions, of which I picked the one by the Berlin Philharmonic under John Barbirolli on an EMI CD.
