This piece was composed in 1901–2, revised several times thereafter, and dedicated to “dear Almscherl” (a loving reference to Mahler’s wife Alma)

“Heavens, what is the public to make of this chaos in which new worlds are for ever being engendered, only to crumble into ruin in the next moment? What are they to say to this primeval music, this foaming, roaring, raging sea of sound, to these dancing stars, to these breathtaking, iridescent, and flashing breakers?” – letter from Gustav Mahler to ...