Tim Van Medegael writes: "On 13 and 15 December 2019 Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra programmed Mahler's Symphony No. 1 in their Hall Flagey, Brussels. To announce this concert I made a short reflection of Mahler's symphony with the members of the double bass section of the orchestra. The beginning of the piece is actually also the beginning of the symphony. It goes quickly to the third part, because this opens with timpani and the well known introduction of the theme by the principal double bass. We recorded it in the rehearsal week at Studio 1 of our beloved Flagey."

Symphony No.1 in D major by Gustav Mahler was composed between late 1887 and March 1888. At the time he was a conductor at Leipzig Opera in Germany and it was premiered in Budapest in 1889. Mahler made revisions and changes several times before publication in 1898 and conducted it more than any of his later works.
The opening of the third movement is remarkable for its double bass solo, accompanied by timpani, based on the popular round ‘Bruder Jakob’, although Mahler calls it ‘Bruder Martin’ and is more commonly known as ‘Frère Jacques’. The eight bar theme is in the key of D minor and it is believed that the round was sung in the minor key in 19th-century Austria.