Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen

Leonard Bernstein said, "Mahler's marches are like heart attacks, his chorales like all Christendom gone mad. Mahler is German music multiplied by n."
Last night, I had the distinct pleasure of hearing my favorite Mahler symphony, 5, at Carnegie Hall. The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra played two nights of concerts at CH- the first of which I wish I could have heard as well. I don't really have ONE favorite composer, as one cannot compare Mozart to Chopin, but Mahler holds a special place in my heart.
My father is a professional trombone player, and as a child, my siblings and I memorized every major orchestral trombone solo in the repertoire. As you may or may not know, Mahler made use of brass and percussion- and lots of it. It's balls-to-the-wall sound, and it's amazing. So, I grew up hearing a lot of Mahler, and seemed to have inherited my father's love for this composer.
I'm sure no one really wants to know biographic facts about Mahler. If you're still reading this, kudos to you. I'll just say that Mahler suffered a great deal in his life- both mentally and physically- and this is reflected in his music.
In the 5th symphony, the Adagietto- undoubtedly Mahler's most famous movement- reflects the calm after the storm. The program notes from last night's concert professed a very interesting point. I had never thought of this before, but after reading it, it totally makes sense. (BTW, sorry if this alienates anyone who is not familar with Mahler's song repertoire.)

Robert Markow writes, "In the Adagietto, scored only for strings and harp, we return to a romantic dream world familiar from Mahler's earlier works, a world of quiet contemplation, benign simplicity, inner peace, and escape from harsh reality. The spiritual, textural, and harmonic relationships to Mahler's song, "ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen" (I am lost to the world...I live alone in my heaven, in my loving, in my song) are too close to be ignored."

Ich bin der Welt is my favorite song in the Ruckert cycle. I've performed this piece several times, auditioned with it, listened to it, and still- I have trouble conveying the absolute profundity of this piece. I never thought to compare the Adagietto with this song, but it makes total sense. If you aren't familiar with either piece, do yourself a favor and have a listen. It's peices like these that reassure my faith in being a musician. It don't get any better than that, folks.