Bruno Walter on the Sixth

... the Sixth is bleakly pessimistic: it reeks of the bitter cup of human life. In contrast with the Fifth, it says 'No', above all in its last movement, where something resembling the inexorable strife of 'all against all' is translated into music. 'Existence is a burden; death is desirable and life hateful' might be its motto.... the mounting tension and climaxes of the last movement resemble, in their grim power, the mountainous waves of a sea that will overwhelm and destroy the ship; the work ends in hopelessness and the dark night of the soul. Non placet is his verdict on this world; the 'other world' is not glimpsed for a moment.