OK, there's got to be someone out there who is a Gustav Mahler freak besides me. His symphonies were truly the psychedelic music of the late 19th and early 20th century, and Leonard Bernstein in the '60s turned on the youth of that time to Mahler's amazing, epic-length symphonies (influenced much by Catholic mysticism, German folk legends and existentialist philosophy) with his famous slogan, "Mahler grooves". My favorite music of all time is Mahler's 2nd Symphony ("The Resurrection"). It's an incredible journey in orchestral music that everyone should experience at least once.
"the symphony should be like the world; it must contain everything"- mahler you are not alone my friend, Mahler is a genius and the finest late romantic composer as far as I'm concerned. His fifth and eighth (symphony of a thousand) symphonies are truly remarkable. I agree too that in the context of classical music, he definitely expanded it with the heavy use of trumpets in his fifth, 5 movement symphonies, etc. Good to hear there are more Mahler fans out there!
One of the more obscure things out there... Mahler "revisions" of other composers' works. There are a few recordings of Beethoven 9, one of Beethoven 3, one of 5&7, one of Mozart 40&41, and one of some Schubert 9. Not exactly mainstream in the classical world these days, but it's an interesting look into Mahler's views of other composers.
