The final release in Valery Gergiev s acclaimed Mahler cycle features the composer s Symphony No.9, recorded at the Barbican in March 2011. Mahler wrote his ninth symphony during a time of great personal suffering and heartache. This is reflected in the music, at times manic and fierce, at others delicate and serene, as it explores many emotions and ultimately concludes with the heart-stopping coda of the Adagio, seemingly conveying the composer s acceptance of his own mortality.