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How Houston Symphony's percussionist built the 22-pound hammer that delivers Mahler's "blows of fate" in Symphony No. 6

How Houston Symphony's percussionist built the 22-pound hammer that delivers Mahler's "blows of fate" in Symphony No. 6

Ellsworth Toohey
Aug 01, 2025
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How Houston Symphony's percussionist built the 22-pound hammer that delivers Mahler's "blows of fate" in Symphony No. 6
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In the cataclysmic finale of Mahler's Symphony No. 6, there is no cymbal crash, no brass blast — only the dull, devastating thud of a 22-pound wooden hammer crashing onto a custom-built box. Houston Symphony principal percussion Brian Del Signore built this singular instrument, sculpting a resonant chest that delivers the exact …

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