The life and work of Gustav Mahler
- The sound of Experiment
- Oct 21, 2024
- 10 min read
Early life
Gustav Mahler (1860–1911) was an Austrian composer of late romantic music. He was born in Bohemia, then a province of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, now a region of the Czech Republic, to Jewish parents of humble origin. Mahler demonstrated his musical gifts at a young age and began music lessons at the Vienna Conservatory where he studied piano, harmony and composition [1]. He made good progress in his studies and won prizes at the end of each of the first two In his third year, he focused on composition and harmony. Unfortunately, only a few of Mahler's student compositions have survived as he abandoned them when he became dissatisfied with them.
Among Mahler's fellow students at the Conservatory was composer Hugo Wolff, with whom he formed a close friendship. Wolf was unable to submit to the strict rules of the Conservatory and was expelled. Mahler, though sometimes a revolutionary, avoided expulsion from the Conservatory for writing an apologetic letter. Occasionally, she attended lectures by Anton Bruckner and was influenced by him.
After graduating from the Vienna Conservatory (1878), Mahler won successive directorial positions of rising importance in opera houses in Europe. After a few years (1897), he was appointed as director of the Vienna Opera Court. He lived for ten years in Vienna and during this time converted to Catholicism in order to secure a place at the Vienna Court Opera as the position was not offered to Jews. At the same time, he experienced regular hostility from the anti-Semitic press, but his innovative productions and insistence on the highest standards of interpretation earned him a reputation as one of the greatest opera conductors, particularly as a performer of plays by Wagner, Mozart and Tchaikovsky [1].
1900-1907
In 1901, Mahler met Alma Schindler at a social gathering attended by the theater director. Initially, Alma was unwilling to meet Mueller because of the scandals that had been heard. During their meeting they had a heated argument over a ballet, but agreed to meet in court the next day. This encounter quickly led to flirtation. Mahler and Alma married in 1902 to Alma, already pregnant with their first child, Maria Anna. Later, in 1904, she gave birth to a second daughter, Anna [1].
The couple's friends were surprised by the wedding and questioned this choice. In particular, Burkhardt called Mahler "that rickety degenerate Jew," unworthy of such a beautiful girl of good family. On the other hand, Mahler's family considered Alma a flirt, unreliable and very fond of seeing young men fall in love with her charm. Mahler was naturally moody and authoritarian. Alma soon resented Mahler because of his insistence that there should be only one composer in the family and the fact that she had abandoned her musical studies for him. Mahler's demand that their married life be organized around his creative activities created tensions and led Alma to revolt [1].
1907-1908
In the summer of 1907, Mahler, exhausted by the effects of the campaign against him in Vienna, took his family to Meierning. Shortly after their arrival, both daughters fell ill with scarlet fever and diphtheria. Anne recovered, but Mary died. Immediately after this devastating loss, Mueller learned that his heart was defective. The extent to which Mueller's condition left him crippled is unclear.
Career
In 1909, Mahler returned to Europe for the summer and worked on his Ninth Symphony. At the same time, he made a very successful tour in the Netherlands and New York. This success, however, was overshadowed as before the performance Mahler discovered that Alma had begun a relationship with the young architect Walter Gropius. This news greatly distressed Mahler and he sought advice from Sigmund Freud. This encounter with the psychoanalyst seemed to comfort him. One of Freud's observations was that much damage had been done by Mahler's insistence that Alma abandon composition.Mahler accepted this and began encouraging Alma to write music and even edit, orchestrate, and promote some of her works. Alma agreed to remain with Mahler, although the relationship with Gropius continued secretly. In a gesture of love, Mahler dedicated his Eighth Symphony to her [1].
Music
Mahler's musical work is relatively limited. For much of his life, composing was necessarily a part-time activity while earning a living as a conductor [1]. In addition to early works, such as a movement from a piano quartet he composed when he was a student in Vienna, Mahler's works are generally designed for large orchestras and symphony choirs. These works were often controversial when they were first presented and They were slow to receive critical and popular approval as Mahler's music is full of sardonic humor, passages that seem, at the same time, frivolous and creepy grotesque. Some of Mahler's immediate musical successors included composers of the Second Viennese School, notably Schoenberg, Berg, and Webern. Dmitry Shostakovich and Benjamin Britten are some of the later twentieth-century composers who admired and were influenced by Mahler.
Mahler's music can be divided into three artistic phases. The first period extends from 1880 to the end of 1901. In this period the songs and symphonies were closely related and the symphonic works programmatic. Mahler's second period is more condensed compositionally and ended with Mahler's departure for New York in 1907. Mahler in this period abandoned all programmatic works and descriptive titles. He wanted to write "absolute" music that spoke for itself [1]. The third period is short and shortly before his death in 1911. The last period consists of works that are expressions of personal experience as Mahler faced death. Each of the pieces ends quietly, suggesting that ambition had now given way to resignation. Cooke considers these works to be a tender, and not bitter, farewell to life.
Later life
In the summer of 1910, Mahler began composing his "Tenth Symphony", despite emotional distractions. He managed to complete the first part, the Adagio, and planned four more moves. In late October 1910, he and Alma returned to New York City where Mahler began a busy season of concerts and touring. Around Christmas 1910, he began to suffer from a sore throat, which persisted.
On February 21, 1911, Mahler insisted on fulfilling an engagement at Carnegie Hall, even though he was boiling with fever. The program consisted mainly of works of new Italian music, including the world premiere of Busoni's "Elegiac Lullaby". This was Mahler's last concert. After weeks confined to bed he was diagnosed with bacterial endocarditis, a disease in which sufferers were particularly prone and which could be fatal. Still, Mahler did not give up hope. She was talking about the resumption of the concert season and showed keen interest when one of Alma's compositions was sung in a public recital by soprano Frances Alda.
Death
On April 8, the Mahler family and a permanent nurse left New York for Europe. They arrived in Paris ten days later, where Mahler entered a clinic in Noilly, but there was no improvement. On May 11, he was taken by train to the Lev sanatorium in Vienna, where he developed pneumonia and fell into a coma. During this short period, he received hundreds of visits as a show of admiration. On May 18, he died after receiving radium treatments to reduce swelling in his legs and morphine for his general ailments. At the end of his life he was briefly director of the Metropolitan Opera and the New York Philharmonic [1].
Burial
On May 22, 1911, Mahler was buried, as he had requested, next to his daughter Maria. Only his name was engraved on his tombstone because "whoever comes in search of me will know who I was and the rest don't need to know." Alma, at the behest of doctors, was absent, but among the mourners at a relatively glamorous funeral was Schoenberg, who laid a wreath with the description "St. Gustav Mahler." His funeral was also attended by Walter, Rohler, the separatist painter Klimt and representatives from many of the great European opera houses. His wife, Alma Mahler, He lived for more than fifty years after his death and died in 1964. She married Walter Gropius in 1915, whom she divorced five years later. In 1929 she married the writer Franz Werfel.
1. Monuments – Museums
Various museums and monuments have been built dedicated to Mahler's life and work. One of them is in Hamburg in the Composers' Quarter. Another is located near Dobbiaco in South Tyrol, Italy. Finally, two of the huts used by the composer still exist and function as museums [1].
Compositions
Lost Labor (1892)
The first work we will hear today is "Lost Effort" performed by the London Symphony Orchestra under the baton of George Schell. It was recorded in March 1968 at Kingsway Hall in London [3].
It was written in 1892 [3]. It consists of vocals and piano. Mahler chose German folk poems for his vocal and orchestral sets. Mahler's self-composed text for the first of the songs, entitled "Songs of a Traveling Traveler", is often translated as "Songs of a Wayfarer" [2].
It is a kind of fruitless serenade at a playful 3/8 pace. It is quite similar to Brahms' famous song called "A Vain Serenade" (Vergebliches Ständchen), but with a reversal of gender roles. The foolish girl makes many attempts to lure a young lad, but is summarily rejected each time. As he persists, his rejections become stronger and louder and the lad has the final say [4].
St. Anthony's Sermon to the Fishes (1892)
We will continue with the project "St. Anthony's Sermon to the Fish". It was released in 1893.
The song tells the story of St. Anthony of Padua, a contemporary of St. Francis of Assisi, who arrives in Padua to give a sermon and finds the church empty. He goes down to the river and delivers his sermon to the fish. Miraculously, the fish spring out of the water with enthusiasm, but by the time the sermon ends they return to their old ways. Mahler's music gives us the vague feeling that St. Anthony was intoxicated. But, in a letter, Mahler suggested that there were darker tones, that it contained such a chilling sense of humor that it resembled panic to the point that the listener becomes more overwhelmed by frustration than laughter" [5]. The recording we are listening to is performed by the New England Orchestra in an arrangement by Claudia Bissett [5].
Little Rhine Legend (1893)
We continue with the project "Little legend of the Rhine". Its composition was completed in 1893, but it was later published as part of the songs on the album "The Boy from the Wonderhorn" [7].
The "little legend of the Rhine" was based on a wonderful German folk poem [7].
Symphony No. 4 (1899-1900)
We will continue the show musically with his work entitled "Symphony number 4 in G major". It was written from 1899 to 1900, although it incorporates a song originally written in 1892 [8].
This song, "The Heavenly Life," presents a child's vision of heaven and is sung by a soprano in the symphony finale. The "Symphony No. 4 in G major" is shorter in orchestration and shorter in duration than Mahler's previous symphonies [8]
Symphony No. 5 (1901-1902) – first phase
We continue with his work entitled "Symphony No.5". It was written between 1901 and 1902 [9].
Among its most distinctive features are the trumpet solo that opens the work with a rhythmic pattern similar to the opening of Beethoven's Symphony No.5, the horn solos in the third movement and the frequently performed Adagietto. The musical canvas and emotional breadth of the work, which lasts over an hour, is enormous [9]. The recording we hear is part of the concert performed by the Berlin Philharmonic in April 2011 [10].
Symphony No. 6 (1903-1904) – second phase
We continue with the work "Symphony number 6 in A minor". It was composed between 1903 and 1904 with revisions in 1906. It is sometimes nicknamed "tragic", although the origin of the name is not clear. We listen to the second movement performed by the London Symphony Orchestra [12].
Mahler composed the symphony at a seemingly extremely happy moment in his life, as a year earlier he had married Alma Schindler and during the composition of the work his second daughter was born. This contrasts with the "tragic", even nihilistic, ending of the play. Both Berg and Webern praised the work when they first heard it [11].
Symphony No. 7 (1904-1905)
We continue with the work "Symphony No. 7" performed by the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Sir Simon Rattle [14]. It was written between 1904 and 1905. It is sometimes referred to as the "Song of the Night," which Mahler never knew.
Although the symphony is often described as being written in E minor, its tonal shape is more complex. Between movements various changes are made regarding its tonality.
Symphony No. 8 (1906) – second phase
We continue with the work "Symphony No.8 in E-flat major" in her interpretation. Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Sir Simon Rattle [16].
It is one of the largest choral works in the classical concert repertoire. It was composed in a single inspired explosion in southern Austria in the summer of 1906.
As it requires enormous instrumental and vocal forces, it is often called the "Symphony of a Thousand", although the work is usually presented with far fewer than a thousand performers and the composer did not endorse this name – in fact, he disapproved of it [15].
The Song of the Earth (1908-1909) – Τρίτη φάση
We will continue with the work entitled "The Song of the Earth". It was written between 1908 and 1909 [17].
"The Song of the Earth" is an instrumental song cycle for two voices and orchestra. When it was released it was described as a symphony. It consists of six songs about two singers who alternate movements. Mahler composed this work after the most painful period of his life. This is evident in his songs, which deal with themes such as life, separation and salvation.
Symphony No 9 (1908-1909) – Τρίτη φάση
The next project is "Symphony No. 9". It was written between 1908 and 1909 [19]. A typical interpretation of the symphony takes about 75 to 90 minutes [19]. We will hear the fourth movement.
The ninth symphony was Mahler's last. In a 2016 BBC Music Magazine survey of conductors, Symphony Number Nine was voted the fourth best symphony of all time [19]. Berg called the "Ninth Symphony" "the most wonderful thing Mahler ever wrote" [1].
Symphony No 10 (1910) – Τρίτη φάση
We will close today's broadcast with the work "Symphony No. 10 in F Sharp Major" performed by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Lan Shui [22]. It was written in the summer of 1910 and was Mahler's last composition.
When Mahler died, the draft was essentially ready, but he had not completed the orchestration, so it could not be executed. Only the first movement is considered relatively complete and can be executed as Mahler envisioned it. His tenth symphony is arguably his most dissonant and most experimental work [21].
Bibliography
Comments