To be sure, there's a good deal of Richard Strauss I like. I truly love the Four Last Songs, the opera Ariadne Auf Naxos (some utterly sublime tunes!) and at least the opening fanfare of Thus Spake Zarathustra. But yeah, I ultimately find him a little bit pat, noisy and empty.
By comparison, Mahler conjures up universes you can walk around in and get lost inside of. He can take you back to the dawn of history, to the first days of our planet. His Ninth Symphony takes you forward in time to a day where the earth is a smoking, poisonous ruin.
By comparison, Mahler conjures up universes you can walk around in and get lost inside of. He can take you back to the dawn of history, to the first days of our planet. His Ninth Symphony takes you forward in time to a day where the earth is a smoking, poisonous ruin.