Coveted Mahler manuscript, estimated to fetch HK$35m, on display in Hong Kong before going on auction in London
Composer’s Resurrection Symphony, in his own hand and complete with alterations and annotations, open for public viewing from August 17–19
A highly sought-after classical music manuscript will be on display in Hong Kong next week before it goes on auction in London, where it is expected to fetch around HK$35 million.
The complete manuscript of Gustav Mahler’s Second Symphony – known as the Resurrection Symphony – will be open for public viewing at Sotheby’s Hong Kong Gallery from August 17–19, allowing music lovers to get a closer look at the monumental 232-page work by the Austrian late-Romantic composer.
“No complete symphony by Mahler, written in the composer’s own hand, has ever been offered at auction, and probably none will be offered again,” said Simon Maguire, Sotheby’s senior specialist on books and manuscripts, describing the work as one “of truly outstanding historical importance”.
Written in Mahler’s distinctive hand, it is the highest estimated musical manuscript ever to be offered at auction, with punters hoping it will make more than £3.5 million (HK$35.25 million) when it goes under the hammer in London on November 29.
