The ink was barely dry on the score of his First Symphony in 1888 when Mahler began to toy with the idea of a new large symphonic work in c. The opening movement was soon completed and named Todtenfeier (Funeral Ceremony), but it then languished among his papers until 1891, the year in which he left the Budapest Opera to become conductor in Hamburg. There he attracted the attention of the great conductor Hans von Bulow (1830-1894), well known as a champion of new music. When Mahler played him Todtenfeier on the piano, however, Bulow covered his ears and groaned: “If what I have heard is music, I understand nothing about music. […]
Compared with this, Tristan is a Haydn symphony.”

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A listening guide of Symphony No. 2 - Intro with Lew Smoley.