A performance of Mahler’s Second Symphony, subtitled the “Resurrection,” is always a special occasion, especially when conducted by a maestro like Günther Herbig. “A symphony should be like the world; it must embrace everything,” declared its composer. In no symphony is this belief more clearly manifest than in his Second, a work dealing with nothing less than the questions of life, death and resurrection portrayed in often terrifying, apocalyptic visions. At nearly an hour and a half in length, it requires a large chorus, vocal soloists, backstage ensembles, organ, and the largest orchestra ever required for a single composition up to that time. This is not music for the faint-hearted, but for those who dare to undertake this enormous symphonic journey, the rewards are beyond measure.