Mahler

"Basically, of course, all of Mahler's music is about Mahler – which means simply that it is about conflict. Think of it: Mahler the creator vs. Mahler the performer; the Jew vs. the Christian; the Believer vs. the Doubter; the Naïf vs. the Sophisticate; the provincial Bohemian vs. the Viennese homme du monde; the Faustian Philosopher vs. the Oriental Mystic; the operatic symphonist who never wrote an opera. But mainly the battle rages between Western Man at the turn of the century and the life of the spirit. Out of this opposition proceeds the endless list of antitheses – the whole roster of Yang and Yin – that inhabit Mahler's music".

-- Leonard Bernstein

“I am hitting my head against the walls, but the walls are giving way.” -- Gustav Mahler

Click the photo above for more.

Brahms once famously lamented about Beethoven's symphonic shadow, while struggling to compose his own symphonies: “You have no idea how it feels", Brahms stated, "when I always hear such a giant [Beethoven] marching behind me.” Indeed, after Beethoven, who can do more? Well, folks, enter Gustav Mahler.

Great orchestras for Mahler: Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam. Vienna Philharmonic. New York Phil., Berlin Phil. No chamber-sized orchestras -- Mahler was meant to be played with grandiosity.

Abbreviations:

Birm=City of Birmingham Sym

BPO=Berlin Phil

Chic=Chicago Sym

Clev=Cleveland Orch

Koln=Cologne Sym

LPO=London Philharmonic

LSO=London Symphony

NYP=New York Phil

Phil=Philharmonia

RCO=Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam

SF=San Francisco Sym

SWR=Southwest German Radio Sy Orch (Baden)

VPO=Vienna Phil

My favorite Mahler symph recordings ("Five Stars"):

• #1, Bernstein/RCO; Solti/LSO

• #2, Mehta/VPO '75; Bernstein/NYP '87; Tennstedt/LPO '89

• #3, Bernstein/NYP '65; Levine/Chic; Rattle/Birm

• #4, Maazel/VPO (Battle, soprano)

• #5, Bernstein/VPO; Karajan/BPO

• #6, Gielen/SWR Baden; Sanderling/StPetersbg

• #7, Bernstein/NYP '65; Abbado/Chic

• #8, Wit/Warsaw

• #9, Karajan/BPO '82 (BerlinFest live); Rattle/BPO

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For the Mahler Fanatics -- Just Can't Get Enough!

#1: Gatti/RCO 2018 (I was at this concert, Amsterdam); Walter/Columbia

#2: Bertini/Koln; Levine/VPO in Salzburg

#3: Bertini/Koln; Chailly/RCO

#4: Haitink/RCO (Schafer) 2006; Bertini/Koln

#5: Jansons/RCO; Neumann/Leipzig

#6: Tilson-Thomas/SF (recorded live, Sept 12, 2001)

#7: Bertini/Koln; Levine/Chic; Boulez/Clev

#8: Rattle/Birm; Bertini/Koln

#9: Abbado/BPO; Ancerl/Czech; Haitink/RCO '69

My fav Mahler cycles, with specific symphs:

• Bernstein, #1,5,8,9 mix of VPO/RCO/BPO (rec. 1974-'88)

• Bernstein, #2,3,7 NY Phil (rec. 1960s)

• Bertini, #1-4, 7,8 Koln

• Boulez, #3 VPO, 7 Clev., 9 Chicago

• Gielen, #1-3, 6,7,9 SWR Baden

• Haitink/Jansons RCO, #1, 3-5, 8,9

The late Tony Duggan's magisterial reviews guided me firmly towards building my modest collection of Mahler's symphonic recordings. I disagree with many of Mr. Duggan's rankings of Mahler symphonies, but that's beside the point. Art evokes disparate responses. That's natural. Nonetheless, Mr. Duggan's extensive, humane analyses are indispensable; they are here for posterity:

http://www.musicweb-international.com/Mahler/index.html

A personal perspective, by Maestro Mariss Jansons:

"Sometimes I do feel more extroverted when conducting Mahler, probably because the whole world is contained within his symphonies. From cradle to grave to rebirth, it’s all there. The Second Symphony is a wonderful example of that. With a composer like Tchaikovsky, it’s all about his own existence, his own difficulties and his own survival. I don’t mean to say that Tchaikovsky is limited, but Mahler succeeds in writing about himself and about the world. Obviously, I do hope I interpret Mahler’s symphonies better now than I did as a young man. But that’s not an easy thing to hear, at least not in my tempos, simply because I always choose the tempo I feel in the moment. In music, there’s no such thing as an absolute tempo. Even a composer’s metronome markings don’t tell the whole story. I learned that from Mravinsky. He would always shout, “You have to forget Shostakovich’s metronome.” That’s why I hate it when people insist that a particular performance was too slow or too fast. That’s just a subjective opinion – certainly not a universal truth. This music is so rich that I hope I can bring audiences closer to heaven with it. I will have succeeded in my mission if listeners go home with the feeling of having been in another world for two hours.” -- Mariss Jansons

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Conductors? I will briefly contrast only two: Leonard Bernstein (1918-90) and Pierre Boulez (1925-2016). LB put Mahler's symphonies "on the map" in America, recording the cycle in the 1960s with the NY Philharmonic (rec 1960-68). He subsequently conducted Mahler with other orchestras, like the VPO (#5,6), BPO (#9 in 1979, Bernstein's only appearance with Karajan's Berlin Phil), London Symph (#6,8) and Concertgebouw Amsterdam (#1,4,9). Bernstein conducted Mahler with emotional weight. As a result, many of his recordings were longer than other conductors' renditions. Boulez, in contrast, was cooler, more detached, and more precise. There is increased transparency, without loss of structural coherence. As a result, Boulez's renditions can sound a bit "clinical" (not to me!), maybe even iconoclastic. Nonetheless, he was a master at revealing the branches among the forest's trees. He also stuck very closely to Mahler's tempo markings, unlike Bernstein. With Bernstein, I remind myself that I am hearing Bernstein's Mahler. Not Mahler's Mahler. Not a bad thing, having flexible tempi (i.e. rubato). In summary, Bernstein = emotional weight, Boulez = cool precision. Both produced Mahler recordings of astounding musicality.

Bernstein's NY Phil Cycle reviewed:

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2009/Sept09/Mahler_Bernstein_88697453692.htm

www.allmusic.com/album/mahler-the-complete-symphonies-mw0001831681

www.classicstoday.com/review/review-2992/

www.classical.net/music/recs/reviews/s/sny47573a.php

classicalmjourney.blogspot.com/2017/06/gustav-mahler-symphony-no-7-leonard.html

super-conductor.blogspot.com/2018/08/the-bernstein-legacy-iii-mahlers.html

Bernstein and Mahler anecdotes:

kennethwoods.net/blog1/2018/08/25/leonard-bernstein-the-mahler-conductor-turns-100/

casstrumpet.com/6415/feature/bernstein-and-mahler-a-study-of-musical-connection/

The Bernstein DG Set:

www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2010/Apr10/Mahler_Symphonies_Bernstein_4778668.htm

Pierre Boulez's Cycle is reviewed here:

topear.wordpress.com/2013/09/05/a-consideration-of-pierre-boulezs-mahler-cycle/

www.allmusic.com/album/boulez-conducts-mahler-complete-recordings-mw0002266039

www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2006/aug06/mahler2_boulez_4776004.htm

www.classicstoday.com/review/review-4007/

www.classicstoday.com/review/review-14114/

www.classicalsource.com/cd/mahler-3-boulez-dg/

positive-feedback.com/reviews/music-reviews/pierre-boulez-conducts-mahlers-ninth/

Mahler's Symphonies - My Personal Views:

Mahler is a very complex composer whose symphonies challenge all conductors. He's an enigma, and it's reflected in his symphonies -- some movements within some symphonies don't seem to belong beside each other. It is difficult to categorize each of his symphonies, as different listeners bring distinct interpretations of each movement of each symphony. Mahler's symphonies have a distinct soundscape that he pioneered. Rich instrumental palettes, with often drastic swings of mood and tempi. Mahler's symphonies are in fact, mostly autobiographical, reflecting his own life's tribulations, disappointments, and his views on the afterlife that awaits us all. Completely unlike any of Beethoven's symphonies, or any symphony since. I find now, with age, I enjoy Mahler much more readily than before. In my youth, I had difficulty grasping Mahler (who doesn't? I still don't fully grasp Mahler), and I ignored his symphonies. He was an outlier on my musical radar screen, which was, and still is, filled with Mozart and Beethoven. I now consider Mahler as indispensable for his symphonies, as are those of Haydn and Beethoven. Here are my brief personal impressions of Mahler's symphonies (subjectivity here!):

#1: Mahler's #1 was my first exposure to his symphonies. Ted Abel gifted me a CD of it, Boston Symphony with Seiji Ozawa, way back in 1994. I didn't think much of it then. However, with repeated listenings, I'm convinced that it's the greatest "Symphony #1" in all of music -- even better than Beethoven's #1, which is quite a fine premiere symphony for that budding genius. Mahler's #1 is serene and calming at first, building to a melodic climax in the 4th movement. The first movement is like a forest gradually awakening in the early morning -- perfect Sunday listening, and pure impressionism in music. Then there's the bizarre, macabre third movement. What was Mahler thinking? That's extreme contrast. Amazing.

#2 "Resurrection": This was Mahler's attempt at portraying humankind's "salvation" and its struggles towards achieving it. It is a showpiece for choral forces, and it's also an oratorio (Bachian influences?) with Mahlerian orchestral support. A poetic piece. Mariss Jansons described it this way:

"The Second Symphony is typical of how he puts for himself and for listeners the big questions. What is life? Why are we living? What will be next? Is there an afterlife? The piece questions a lot, then he describes the mood of the human soul and in the last movement he answers the questions he raises in the first movement. His answer is the Auferstehung – the resurrection – because he believes we live many, many lives. That first movement is a funeral march for the hero of the First Symphony and that heroic element is very typical of Mahler, in almost all his symphonies. Who is the hero? Man, Mahler himself. In this respect Shostakovich is very close to him, for Shostakovich is another composer who represents himself as the hero in his own music. Mahler never observes from a distance. He is 'inside' every situation. He wrote at the time that he imagined himself in his own coffin. Then we go through the moments of life. The second movement recalls nice, beautiful moments. These are nice memories. The third movement raises more philosophical questions. It’s based on Mahler’s own song about St Anthony of Padua preaching to the fishes, which of course is really addressed to human beings. The movement is full of phantoms and darkness. The fishes listen, then they forget. They don’t learn. This is Mahler’s view of human beings. The conclusion is that you can tell people what you want. You can preach, you can tell people how to live, what not to do, but the reaction is nothing. Satire, sarcasm and irony are there in the form he used, and Mahler believed only a few people would understand his message".

"The conclusion is very modern. In the 21st century our technical development is so advanced and our scientists have achieved so much, so our spiritual development too should be at such a very high level, but the development of the heart and soul is far behind. People can fly to the moon but spiritually they are at a low level, because we don’t learn from our mistakes and we don’t take care of our spiritual development. It’s interesting that he should put such a light melody – almost a street melody – into such a serious and philosophical symphony, but that is typical of his use of the grotesque. In the fourth movement, 'Urlicht', we are dealing with very deep music from the soul, and the love of God. This should be sung in a childlike voice, to capture the innocence and pure soul of a child. This was Mahler’s credo – true honesty can be found in how a child reacts. The fifth movement is an incredible fantasy. There is a frightful, terrifying march of the dead, then comes the big call – God and judgement. This is – or should be – the softest entrance by a choir in all musical literature. The chorus speaks with God and prays, with a special optimism. Here is the answer. Everybody is waiting for God’s judgement, then it doesn’t happen. In that movement, everyone is equal. There is no judgement in the end for him. Everything is calm. This is very special – you are in another world already, and you start a new, different life, like a child. Such music could only be written by a genius and only Mozart could compose this quickly".

#3: Mahler's Third Symphony still ranks as one of the greatest and most powerful creations of the Late Romantic period. It is a musical evocation of Nature, simply put. Raw power and subtle delicacy all together. Full of brass, percussion, and lush strings, with schizoid swings of mood. It's longer and more monumental than the others and contains texts from the collection of poems by Clemens Brentano and Achim von Arnim entitled “Des Knaben Wunderhorn”. It was composed over a period of four years from 1892 to 1896, and especially during the summers of 1895 and 1896, which Mahler spent at the Attersee in Austria. It was one of his greatest successes, and his contemporaries were deeply impressed. Between 1902 and 1907, Mahler conducted this another 15 times. Of the six powerful movements, the slow fourth one requires not only a large orchestra but also a mezzo-soprano solo for a setting of the “Midnight Song” (“O Man! Take heed!”) from Friedrich Nietzsche's poetical-philosophical "Thus Spoke Zarathustra," while in the cheerful fifth movement the mezzo-soprano soloist is joined by a children’s choir and a female chorus for the song Es sungen drei Engel from "Des Knaben Wunderhorn". Mahler’s original titles for these movements were:

1] "Summer Marches in"

2] "What the Meadow Flowers tell me

3] "What the Creatures of the Forest Tell Me"

4] "What Night Tells Me"

5] "What the Morning Bells Tell Me"

6] "What God Tells Me"

#4: Rich melodic invention, leaves me uplifted and humming. Child-like vocals in the last movement, evoking my own distant memories. The lyrics for the solo soprano in the final movement (entitled "The Heavenly Life") put a smile on my face. They describe a child's discovery, in heaven, of a bountiful culinary feast, expressed from a child's refreshingly doe-eyed viewpoint (smile). The brief sleigh-bells and string passages that separate the lyrical stanzas are played in a macabre, grotesque fashion, bringing the listener back down to earth it seems, in an almost nightmarish way. So Mahlerian.

#5: Leaves me a bit breathless, especially the famous Adagietto. And the Scherzo! A Viennese waltz in it, of all things. What a movement to behold-- horns, trombones, almost every instrument has its moment in the Sun here. A gamut of emotions are here -- despair, hope, joy, mania, jubilation. Schizoid, but it's a masterful composition of high momentum, brashness, and tenderness. A jewel among these Nine.

#6: For a time, I did not like this. But now, after repeated listenings to various recordings, I have "warmed" to #6. Contrary to its nickname ("Tragic"), I didn't hear tragedy in the last movement. If anything, I sense light, rather than darkness, there. Except at the very end. Next to #9, this may be Mahler's most deeply personal symphony; not jubilant like #5, but the orchestral textures and instrumental brashness (thunderous hammer blows, in the final movement!) make me sit up and take heed. A real masterpiece (again!).

#7: With #1 and 3, this is my favorite. A full arsenal of dynamic brass, percussion, and strings. Hard to figure out Mahler's exact intentions here, but it's still a delight to hear repeatedly. A journey from darkness to light. The two "Nachtmusik" mvts. are sweet; the 1st and last mvts. are raw power and optimism with melodies weaved in.

#8: Massive chorals here. Not easy for me to hear (I prefer Bach, Mozart, Schutz, Biber for chorals).

#9: Full of themes of approaching death. His most personal symphony, with darkness, bitterness, and despair expressed musically. I listen to this with Mahler's last years in mind. It is humbling. The last movement is exquisitely beautiful. Perhaps a fitting coda to his Nine masterpieces.

Where to start? Mahler's Symphonies - by Tony Duggan (excerpted)

If you're just beginning to discover Mahler, where do you start with his symphonies? I suggest #4. That's his most accessible symphony: easy to listen to, with lighter melodies, it doesn't require a PhD in Nietzschian psychology to grasp LOL. Then progressively work up to #1 and #3. I can't think of a better piece to hear on an early Sunday morning with a delicious cup of coffee or hot chocolate, than the 1st movement of #1. Longer pieces for sure (#3 is his longest), and heavier in content, these will challenge your interpretative prowess and patience (!). Save the rest of his symphonies (#2,5-9) for when you are in a more sombre or reflective frame of mind. Now, as for which conductor? Leonard Bernstein is the conductor I started out with. Any of his recordings of Mahler will more than enlighten a newbie.

www.berliner-philharmoniker.de/en/titelgeschichten/20182019/bernstein/

There is a story about Leonard Bernstein's recording of Mahler's 9th with the Berlin Philharmonic (above image; his only appearance with Karajan's Berliners). In the 4th mvt of this live recording, the trombones are silent at the climax. Why? Apparently, a member of the audience right behind the brass players collapsed and died of a heart attack. The trombonists missed their cue.

On Bernstein and the Vienna Philharmonic (excerpted from an essay by Michael Cookson):

Bernstein's collaboration with the great Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra filled the majority of his Deutsche Grammophon years, yet it was a puzzling alliance on the face of it for observers. From now on the centre of focus for the ardent Zionist Bernstein moved increasingly from New York to Vienna, a city viewed by many as one of the most anti-Semitic in Europe. Furthermore, Bernstein's association with the VPO actively contributed to the profits of a record company that had been firmly rooted in the fortunes of the Third Reich. William Lincer, a principal violinist of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, summarized the apparent contradiction stating, "They gave flowers to Mr. Bernstein today. Twenty-five years ago, they probably killed fifty of his relatives". Bernstein's earlier experiences conducting in Vienna had been most dispiriting as the players were openly hostile, even disparaging his new Symphony No. 3 'Kaddish'. Quite possibly, as a matter of ego and possibly with an element of revenge, Bernstein could not resist the thought of molding this recalcitrant group around to his will. Perhaps it was inevitable that Bernstein's overwhelming love of music would eventually find its home with the superb VPO who were steeped in the Austro-Germanic symphonic performance tradition that he loved so much.