Karina Canellakis conducts Mahler's Symphony No. 1

With his First Symphony, Mahler turned the music world completely upside down. The Guardian praised Karina Canellakis' performance of the work with the BBC Symphony Orchestra to the skies. That bodes well for this performance with the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra.

Mahler's Symphony No. 1
With Mahler's first in a series of grandiose symphonies, he turned the music world completely upside down. Although the symphony's subject matter is nature and life, never had a symphony sounded so intimate and spiritual; never before had a composer allowed such a glimpse into his soul. It took a while for the world to embrace Mahler's music, but by now his music has become hugely popular. It all began with this first symphony, full of nature sounds, the Father Jacob in minor and a peasant dance. Sound like a mishmash? Not with Mahler, the master of the symphony.

Karina Canellakis
When you attend your first classical concert as a three-year-old, and when that concert is also conducted by your father, perhaps it is not surprising that a career in music is on the horizon. That Simon Rattle encouraged her to continue conducting says everything about Canellakis' enormous talent. That she is now an internationally celebrated conductor even more so, of course. The Guardian praised Karina Canellakis' performance of the work with the BBC Symphony Orchestra to the skies. With her own Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, she will surely add to that.