The life and works of Austrian composer and conductor Gustav Mahler, known for symphonies and song-cycles.
Gustav Mahler was a Austrian composer and conductor of the late 19th-century century Romantic period. His most important works are his symphonies, in particular Symphony No.8 'The symphony of a Thousand,' and song-cycles including Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (Song of a Wayfarer) 1883, Kindertotenlieder (Children's Death Song)1903, and Das von der Erde (The Song of the Earth) 1909.
Mahler's Early Life
Born to Jewish parents in Kaliste, Bohemian-born (now Czech Republic) Austrian composer Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) began piano lessons at age six, and gave his first public recital four years later. Complicated family matter gave him a traumatic childhood, he grew up neurotic and temperamental, which he carried in his lifetime.
Mahler's Training and Education
Aged 15, he entered the Vienna Conservatory, where he studied piano, harmony and composition. He also developed a lifelong interest in political and philosophical ideas, leading him to enrol at the university three later. The same year, he composed his first work, Das klagende Lied (The Song of Sorrow), a cantata to a text he wrote himself.
Composers who Influenced Mahler
Conductor and Composer
Mahler's conducting career started in Upper Austria when he was 20, and subsequently, conducted in Prague, Leipzig, Budapest, and Hamburg. Throughout his life, Mahler earned most of his income as a conductor.
Gustav Mahler achieved his first success as a composer in December 1895 after leading the Berlin first performance of his Resurrection symphony. Two years later, he converted from Judaism to Catholicism to obtain the music directorship of the Vienna Court Opera. He later became conductor of the Vienna Philharmonic. His achievements in Vienna Opera House were considered one of the most glorious years in the Opera House's prestigious history.
In 1902, he married Alma Schindler, herself a fine musician. Five years later he left Vienna for the US from an increasingly anti-Semitic smear campaign, lost his daughter, and felt the first signs of heart ailment. Mahler conducted for the New York Philharmonic and the New York Met. After USA, Mahler returned to Europe for the last time, with severe blood bacterial infection that caused his premature death in 1911. He died in Vienna.
His conducting tenures didn’t last long due to his autocratic methods, artistic temper and personal differences, but praised for strong leadership. Although his greatness as a conductor was never contested, for many years, his compositions were regarded with opposing factions, fanatical adulation from admirers and an equal scorn from other fellow musicians. In the late 1950s, some conductors and critics gradually championed his works that led to a revival of interest in his works. Mahler's music took many years to gain acceptance.
Mahler composed 10 symphonies including Symphony No.2 Resurrection, his most famous Symphony No.8 "The Symphony of a Thousand", and a tenth (left unfinished at his death).
Mahler's Song-cycles (Lieder)
- Das klagende Lied (The Song of Sorrow), Cantata
- Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (Song of a Wayfarer), Song-Cycle
- Des Knaben Wunderhorn (Youth's Magic Horn), Song-Cycle
- Kindertotenlieder (Children's Death Song), Song-Cycle
- Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth), Song Symphony.
Mahler's Symphonic Works
- Symphony No.1 in D major, "Titan", 1888
- Symphony No.2 in C minor, "Resurrection Symphony", 1894
- Symphony No.3 in D minor, 1896
- Symphony No.4 in G major, 1900
- Symphony No.5 in C# minor, 1902
- Symphony No.6 in A minor, "Tragic", 1904
- Symphony No.7 in E minor, 1905
- Symphony No.8 in Eb, "The Symphony of a Thousand", large-scale orchestra and choir, 1907
- Symphony No.9 in D major, 1909
- Symphony No.10 started, unfinished at Mahler's death. (A completion was made by Deryk Cooke in 1964.), 1910
Sources:
Classical Music of John Stanley, Mitchell Meazley (1994)
Grove Dictionary of Concise Music, edited by Stanley Sadie (1994)
