during a psychoanalysis session with Sigmund Freud in during apsychoanalysis sessionwithSigmund Freud in in imitationof hismother’s disability. her weakheart,butheeven manifestedaslightlimp connection withhismother. Notonlydidheinherit throughout theworld.” andasaJew Austrians, asanAustrianamongGermans, over: asaBohemianamong thrice homelessness later, Mahlerwrylyobserved,“Iamcondemnedto superiority. intoaculturedwife, whowasborn familywithsocial brutish self-educatedman, resented hisdelicate Mahler’s homelifewasastruggle.Hisfather, a most importantthingintheworld. conveyed everyconceivableemotion,musicwasthe For Mahler, whobelievedthatgreat moved to the nearby German townofJihlava. moved tothenearbyGerman family ofMoravianJews. in theBohemianvillageofKalischt,toanimpoverished One of14children,July7,1860 GustavMahler wasborn outsider.an and theconstantchallengetonegotiateworldas early childhoodfilledwithpoverty, domesticviolence connection tomusicwasanemotionalresponse toan and asaJew, he wasostracizedevenfurther. an outsideramongtheindigenousCzechpopulation, Austrianminority,of aGerman-speaking Gustavwas MAY-JUNE 2019 MASTERWORKS #9: viii Gustavunderstandablyforged astrong vii vii ii Gustav’s father, whorana Gustav’s birth,thefamily than aslave. viewed heraslittlemore overbearing husband heart condition,andher from birthaswella had suffered withalimp mother, Marie. children andMahler’s physically abusivetothe bakery anddistillery, was i Perhaps his deep Perhapshisdeep ix composers andconductorstheworldhaseverknown. and domesticviolencetobecomeoneofthemostimportant Mahler’s fascinationwithmusicliftedhimoutofalifepoverty MAY 31-JUNE2,2019 MAHLER 5 Years later, iv Soon after Soonafter iii Marie Marie vi Years v As part Aspart

screaming from thehouse. his childhood,includinganinstanceinwhichheran help inhismarriage,recalled painfulepisodesfrom 1910, adeeplytraumatizedMahler, whowasseeking lifting theirinstruments. point thattheywere fearfulof for minormistakesandterrorized musicianstothe presence tothemusicians.Hecriticizedperformers Czech folktunesheheard in thevillages. able toreproduce, onbothaccordion andpiano,the Mahler soughtrefuge inmusic andbyagefour, was prompter’s box caughtfire. of LohengrininBudapest,the conducting theopeningnight was legendary. In1889,while conductor, Mahler’s intensefocus along andescortedhimhome. distance untilsomeonenoticedthetinychildwandering by amilitarybandthathefollowedthesoldiersfor has itthatthree-year-old Gustavwassoentranced to conduct as flames lit up conductasflames litup to Mahler, oblivious,continued competition prizes. Conservatory,at theVienna where hewonpianoand and, bytheageof15,hewasacceptedasastudent compose duringsummervacations. aliving,whilecontinuingto to conductingearn to wintheBeethovenPrizeforcomposition,heturned convulsions. critic onceremarked helookedlikeacathaving Hismovements appearedhis arms. frantic,anda that slidoff hisnosethemomenthebeganwaving Thin andwiry, Mahlerworeglasses horn-rimmed children’s choir. local priesttoallowhersonsingwiththeCatholic music prompted hisJewishmothertoconvincethe xvi But Mahler was an intimidating ButMahlerwasanintimidating xiii He began composing his own music Hebegancomposinghisownmusic xiv Upon graduation, when he failed Upongraduation,whenhefailed xvii As a As a x xviii continued onnextpage...

xii Gustav’s fixationon xv

xi Legend Legend Gustav Mahler MAHLER 5 • MAY 31 - JUNE 2, 2019 the stage. He halted while the fire department of their five-year-old daughter, and the discovery of extinguished the blaze, then he immediately picked his heart defect.xxix Finally, Alma appeared to relent, up where he’d left off.xix and, in October of 1910, when Mahler was appointed Music Director of the Metropolitan Opera,xxx she sailed At 37, Mahler became for New York with Gustav.xxxi (Mahler had no idea of the artistic director of Alma’s secret meeting with Gropius the day before the Vienna Court Opera, their departure,xxxii and Alma later married Walter but the appointment Gropius in 1915. )xxxiii came with a condition: no Jews were allowed.xx In February of 1911, Mahler was stricken with Mahler, who was never endocarditis, a bacterial infection of the heart observant, converted to valves.xxxiv Antibiotic treatment was not yet available. Catholicism in advance The Mahlers traveled to Paris for an experimental of the appointment.xxi When Gustav arrived in treatment, but there was no hope of recovery. He Vienna he attended a party, and there met a dazzling, asked to return to Vienna and died there six weeks charming, intelligent and artistic 22-year-old Alma later.xxxv His last words, according to Alma, were Schindler.xxii Forty-two-year-old Gustav married a “Mozart – Mozart!”xxxvi pregnant Alma in 1902. She was 19 years his junior, and their relationship was notoriously tempestuous. The “curse of the Ninth ” is a composer’s The grouchy, workaholic Mahler, whose overbearing superstition, believing death follows the 9th manner resembled his father’s, demanded that his Symphony. Mahler took it so seriously that he called career come first, to the point of forcing Alma to give his ninth Symphony instead of up her own musical aspirations, insisting there would numbering it and called his next symphony the 9th. be only one composer in the family.xxiii But he never lived to see either performed, dying just six weeks short of his 51st birthday on May 18, 1911. Alma, accustomed to a glittering social life, must have found her marriage to Gustav unbearably restrictive. For 10 months of the year, while Gustav worked, Alma was expected to meet her husband each evening, on foot, regardless of whether Alma Mahler and Children she was pregnant, ill or exhausted.xxiv In the summer of 1910, while Gustav went to his mountain retreat on the Italian/Austrian border to compose, Alma traveled to a luxurious spa, and began a passionate affair with a fellow guest, 27-year-old Walter Gropius, an xxv Join us! aspiring architect. Mahler learned of her affair Please join the Hartford Symphony when he intercepted a letter from Gropius, but Orchestra for Alma refused to apologize and instead, she Mahler 5, May 31 raged that Gustav was impotent and inadequate - June 2, 2019 and, before you in bed.xxvi Mahler was plunged into despair, listen for the famous Adagietto wept all night outside her locked door and filled their home with roses, and based on the in Mahler’s 5th Symphony, enjoy advice of Sigmund Freud, promised to publish Beethoven’s magnificent Triple her songsxxvii and encouraged her to return to Concerto for piano, violin and cello. composing.xxviii Gustav referred to this crisis point in his marriage as the “three hammer blows”: Alma’s affair coincided with the death MAHLER 5 • MAY 31 - JUNE 2, 2019

WONDERING HOW THE MUSIC WILL SOUND? Try HSO’S Listening Guide, with links to the pieces you’ll hear on our concert stage – and more!

Beethoven’s Triple Concerto is performed by Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, and Daniel Barenboim, conducting the Berlin Philharmonic from the piano: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flQuxUpUC04

The Adagietto from Mahler’s Fifth Symphony is performed by the Chicago Symphony, conducted by Daniel Barenboim: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWPACef2_eY

Claudio Abbado conducts the Lucerne Festival Orchestra in Mahler’s Fifth Symphony: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOvXhyldUko

Curious to learn more?

If we’ve got you hooked on Mahler, and you are curious to hear some of the most beautiful passages from each of his symphonies, here’s your chance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylfWo2DoFyo

On Mahler’s 155th Birthday, WQXR offered a fascinating look at Mahler’s life: https://www.wqxr.org/story/box-and-hammer-story-mahlers- 6th-his-155th-birthday/

And Mahler’s music has been featured in countless movies: https://www.wqxr.org/story/where-have-i-heard-mahlers- music-screen/

To hear Alma’s music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0uh-MPPiDg

Did you borrow this Prelude? Get your own free copy! Whether you’re a ticket buyer, donor, curious about the music, or know someone who is, just send an email to [email protected]. th 75 Anniversary Masterworks Series We’ll make sure you receive Prelude by email, in 75th Anniversary Season Season Supporting Sponsor advance of each HSO Masterworks concert! Lead Sponsor Sponsor REFERENCES xxxii. xxxi. xxx. xxix. xxviii. xxvii. xxvi. xxv. xxiv. xxiii. xxii. xxi. xx. xix. xviii. xvii. xvi. xv. xiv. xiii. xii. xi. x. ix. viii. vii. vi. v. iv. iii. ii. i.

MAHLER 5 https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gustav-Mahler Ibid Ibid Ibid Ibid Ibid Ibid Lunday, Elizabeth.Secret LivesofGreat Composers,QuirkProductions, 2009 Ibid https://www.classicfm.com/composers/mahler/guides/discovering-great-composers-gustav-mahler Ibid Lunday, Elizabeth.Secret LivesofGreat Composers,QuirkProductions, 2009 https://www.classicfm.com/composers/mahler/guides/discovering-great-composers-gustav-mahler https://www.cmuse.org/10-fun-facts-about-gustav-mahler/ https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gustav-Mahler https://www.classicfm.com/composers/mahler/guides/discovering-great-composers-gustav-mahler https://www.cmuse.org/10-fun-facts-about-gustav-mahler/ Ibid Ibid Ibid Ibid https://www.classicfm.com/composers/mahler/guides/discovering-great-composers-gustav-mahler Lunday, Elizabeth.Secret LivesofGreat Composers,QuirkProductions, 2009 Ibid Lunday, Elizabeth.Secret LivesofGreat Composers,QuirkProductions, 2009 Ibid https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/dec/02/alma-schindler-problem-gustav-mahler Ibid Ibid Ibid Ibid Ibid brimming withdrama,anguishandexcitement. (DG),aninterpretation Philharmonic the prizegoestoLeonard andtheVienna Bernstein ofcomplexityandachievingthelongline.Manygreat recordingsterms abound,but popular works,andthechallengesitposestoconductorsorchestras are myriadin Gustav Mahler’s sublimeSymphonyNo.5hasbecomeoneofthiscomposer’s most by anydefinition(EMI/WARNER). toprovidehis BerlinPhilharmonic theultimateinorchestral support,aclassicrecording Rostropovich andRichter, withthegreat Beethovenconductor HerbertvonKarajan,with long attractedgreatandnoneare performers, greater than thestellarlineupofOistrakh, Beethoven’s Triple Concertoisanearmasterpiecenotoftenheard live,buttheworkhas upcoming MasterworksConcert. audiophile, offers hisrecording recommendations ofselectionsfeatured inour Coleman Casey, HSO’s dearfriend,Director Emeritusandbelovedin-house Want thebestrecordings ofthepiecesyou’llexperienceonconcertprogram?

•MAY 31-JUNE2,2019