The autograph score of Mahler’s Second Symphony (Source: Sotheby’s)
LONDON (AP) — An auction house says the manuscript of Gustav Mahler’s Second Symphony has sold for 4.5 million pounds ($5.6 million), setting a new auction record for a musical manuscript.
Sotheby’s London says the 232-page manuscript, written in Mahler’s own hand, is remarkable because it retains its original form and shows the process of composition. It includes original alterations and annotations, many in blue crayon. The document had never previously been offered or sold on the market.
The “Resurrection” symphony premiered in Berlin in 1895.
Sotheby’s said comparable music manuscripts to have been sold at auction include nine Mozart symphonies, which sold for 2.5 million pounds in London in 1987.
The auction house said the successful bid came from an anonymous buyer who bid over the phone in Tuesday’s auction.
