Cocktail Party Fact: This is the longest symphony ever written that actually gets played regularly.

Commitment Factor: 90 - 100 minutes

Vital Statistics: Late Romantic Period (1898). This symphony contains six movements, the fourth of which is an alto solo setting words by Nietzsche, while the fifth is a song that includes choruses of women and children. In addition, the piece is in cyclical form–the first movement contains the seeds of all of the others (except the second, a “flower” piece that used to be performed separately due to its popularity).

What to Listen For: What NOT to listen for is perhaps a more appropriate heading. This is an “everything including the kitchen sink” symphony from a composer who said “a symphony must be the world, it must embrace everything.” Well, this one does. The first movement opposes two marches, one glum (with the most famous trombone solo ever written), the other like a page out of Sousa. The idea is to portray the victory of the forces of growth and progress over stagnation. Each movement represents a step in the subsequent evolution of life, from plants, to animals (the third movement quoting a humorous little Mahler song about a Cuckoo dying in the forest), man (the alto solo), angels, and finally a cosmic feeling of peace and love. This programmatic concept is reinforced by a treatment of the instruments, particularly the brass, that supports Mahler’s attempt at the end to make the entire orchestra sing.