"Gustav Mahler's works have influenced me profoundly — even more than Chopin's piano compositions. His music fundamentally shaped my outlook on life," Wang says.
"Listening to his music is like traversing through the Purgatory in Dante's Divine Comedy. You need to sink yourself deeply enough into it before finding your way to the light," Wang says.
Peter Mahler describes the composer's life story as an exploration of the indomitable human spirit.
The composer's father had a violent temper and often beat his wife and children. One day, after witnessing his father beating his mother yet again, young Gustav Mahler fled his home and heard a street musician playing a barrel organ, performing the folk tune, Ach, du lieber Augustin (Oh, You Dear Augustin).
This childhood experience became the bedrock of his lifelong artistic creation.
"Gustav Mahler endured extraordinary hardships, from childhood trauma to his daughter Maria's death and his own heart disease," says the painter.
"Yet he never lost his passion for life, imbuing his music with extraordinary compassion for humanity. His life teaches us that every experience, even painful ones, holds meaning and value. Every individual possesses the potential to transform pain and suffering into something beautiful."
Peter Mahler says he often paints while listening to the composer's music, letting the notes guide his creation like a mentor.
He uses his hands instead of brushes.
"My hands and fingers would move to his music, making certain parts of it visible," he says.
