Lyrische Symphonie

Alexander Zemlinsky wrote the Lyrische Symphonie in 1922/23 with the aim of bridging the gap between the lyrical and the symphonic, in a similar way to Gustav Mahler’s Lied von der Erde. Zemlinsky’s work is clearly more inclined towards the symphonic than the Mahler work which inspired it. Rodulf St. Hoffmann wrote of the piece in 1924 in the journal Musikblätter des Anbruch: “there are many songs of the earth. This is another. Its spiritual affiliation with Mahler is unmistakable – as is Zemlinsky’s own personality, which gives the piece its unique shape and meaning.”