Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} by Arnold Schoenberg Mahler: where to start with his music. D uring his lifetime and in the decades after his death, Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) was primarily regarded as an outstanding conductor. It has only been in the last 60 years or so that his significance as a composer has been fully appreciated. Now, his are seen as perhaps the most important since Beethoven’s, linking the romanticism of the 19th century with the modernism of the 20th, and only rivalled for originality among his contemporaries by those of Sibelius. The music you might recognise. Mahler’s symphonies and songs have regularly been plundered to accompany visual images: research in 2008 found over 120 examples of his music being used in cinema and television. The most famous example is on the soundtrack to Luchino Visconti’s Death in Venice in 1971, which uses both the Adagietto from the Fifth and the fourth-movement setting of Nietzsche from the Third, while an episode in the second season of the TV series Fargo (“Fear and Trembling”) features an arrangement of the opening of the Second Symphony and an excerpt from the finale of . His life … Mahler was a Bohemian, born in Kaliště, a village now in the Czech Republic but then in the Austrian empire. He was the second of 14 children; a few months after his birth, the family moved to the town of Jihlava, where his father opened a distillery and tavern. The Mahlers were Jewish and German-speaking in a region where most people spoke Czech, and Gustav thought of himself as an exile, “always an outsider, never made welcome”. But the sounds of his childhood – folk tunes, street songs and military bands – haunted his music for much of his life. By 10 he was already recognised as a musical wunderkind , and in 1875 he went to study at the Vienna Conservatory. He was primarily as a pianist, but he also took composition lessons and started to conduct. Mahler began his conducting career in 1880, working in provincial opera houses across Austria and Germany. He reportedly discarded most of the music he composed during these years (there’s a theory that some of his early manuscripts were destroyed in the allied bombing of Dresden in 1945), but one large-scale work – the cantata Das klagende Lied, completed in 1880 – survived. Mahler as a child, circa 1865. Photograph: Imagno/Getty Images. Though orchestras apparently disliked his authoritarianism, appointments in Prague and Leipzig from 1885 to 1887 confirmed Mahler’s rising reputation as a conductor. During this period he completed his first orchestral song cycle, Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (Songs of a Wayfarer), with texts modelled on poems in Des Knaben Wunderhorn, an early 19th-century collection of German folk poetry that would dominate his music for more than a decade. In 1888, he completed his First Symphony, conceiving it as a five-movement symphonic poem under the title of Titan and incorporating melodies from his song cycle; eventually he dropped one movement, creating the work we usually hear today. That same year, he sketched a single- movement symphonic poem, Totenfeier (Funeral Rites), which became the opening movement of his Second Symphony, the Resurrection. Conceived on a massive scale, the Second followed Beethoven’s Ninth in requiring vocal soloists and a chorus, as well as a huge orchestra. In 1894, when Mahler finished work on the Second, he was living in Hamburg, where he’d been chief conductor at the Stadttheater since 1891. Composing took second place to conducting, though he did complete more Wunderhorn songs, and conducted the premiere of his Second Symphony in Berlin in 1895. He’d already begun a Third Symphony, conceived on an even more expansive scale than its predecessor. At around 100 minutes, it’s the longest symphony ever written by a major composer. Of all his works, it’s the one that most completely confirms what he told Sibelius in 1907: “A symphony must be like the world, it must embrace everything.” The Third Symphony was not premiered until 1902, after he had finished the Fourth Symphony, the last one linked to the Wunderhorn world. Mahler had settled in Vienna, having been appointed to the Hofoper (the Court Opera – today’s State Opera) in 1897 after converting to Catholicism, aware that a Jew would not gain such a prestigious post. And times … Vienna was about to become one of the centres of modernism in Europe, perhaps rivalled only by Paris as a centre of radical art in the years before the first world war. In 1897, the painter Gustav Klimt helped found the Vienna Secession, while the seeds of expressionism were sown with the publication of Sigmund Freud’s book The Interpretation of Dreams two years later, and taken up in the next decade by poets such as Georg Trakl. Mahler found himself feted by the composers of the Second Viennese School, headed by Arnold Schoenberg, who with his pupils Alban Berg and Anton Webern viewed Mahler’s symphonies as signposts to the direction their own music would take. Duties at the Hofoper restricted his time for composition to summer breaks. He’d begun his Fifth Symphony in 1901 at his new lakeside villa in Carinthia, completing it there the following summer. By then, his personal life had changed utterly. The previous autumn he had met Alma Schindler, who was then a student (and lover) of the composer Alexander Zemlinsky; within four months she and Mahler were married, Alma was pregnant with their first child and the Fifth’s famous Adagietto became a declaration of love for his new wife. During their marriage, Alma surrendered her own ambitions to be a composer, whether voluntarily or at her husband’s insistence remains unclear. (Her account of their relationship in her memoirs has been questioned.) The Fifth was the start of a trilogy of purely orchestral symphonies, which Mahler completed by 1905, along with settings of poems by Friedrich Rückert that became the orchestral song cycles Rückert Lieder and Kindertotenlieder (Songs on the Deaths of Children). If the Seventh Symphony remains one of Mahler’s most enigmatic works, the Sixth is one of his greatest achievements, with a finale punctuated by three huge hammer blows – the third of which, according to Alma, fells the hero of the symphony “like a tree”. The superstitious composer removed the third blow from the score after the first performance in 1906, but Alma identified the blows with seismic events in Mahler’s life the following year: the death of their daughter Maria, his own diagnosis of a potentially fatal heart condition, and his forced resignation from the Hofoper, supposedly because he was spending too much time composing. By the beginning of 1908, Mahler was conducting in New York. as director of the Metropolitan Opera. His performances there were generally successful, but he resigned the following year to take up a post with the New York Philharmonic. Summers were spent back in Austria composing, with Das Lied von der Erde beginning a final trilogy of works premiered after Mahler’s death. But the massive, choral Eighth Symphony, the so- called Symphony of a Thousand, which he’d completed in 1906, stands apart from the works on either side of it. Its premiere in Munich in 1910 was one of the biggest triumphs of Mahler’s life, and the last time he conducted the first performance of one of his works: he died eight months later in Vienna. Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth), which Mahler superstitiously avoided describing as his “ninth symphony” because so many composers had died after completing nine symphonies, is a song cycle with the dimensions of a symphony, ending with a half-hour movement, Abschied, that seems a very conscious farewell to life. Yet having lived to complete it, Mahler did write a Ninth Symphony – his astonishingly moving acceptance of the inevitability of death – and began a Tenth too, a much more autobiographical work riven with fears and doubts after his discovery of Alma’s affair with the young architect Walter Gropius. Mahler died having completed two movements of the Tenth and made extensive drafts for the other three. A number of completions of the whole work have been made from these drafts, of which that by the British musicologist Deryck Cooke has proved the most convincing and widely performed. Why does his music still matter ? Mahler was revered by Schoenberg and his pupils, but his influence extended much further into the 20th century. Dmitri Shostakovich’s symphonies and Benjamin Britten’s orchestral writing both owe it a significant debt, and composers of the post-1945 avant garde admired him too. Pierre Boulez recorded all the symphonies, while in the third movement of his Sinfonia, Luciano Berio used the scherzo from Mahler’s Second Symphony as the framework for a virtuoso collage of musical quotations ranging from Bach to Stockhausen. Great performers. For more than 30 years after his death, only a few conductors bothered with Mahler’s music. The Dutch conductor Willem Mengelberg ploughed a solitary furrow promoting his cause at the Amsterdam Concergebouw – though other than a performance of the Fourth Symphony, none of Mengelberg’s Mahler seems to be available on disc. Leonard Bernstein was one of the leaders of the Mahler renaissance when it began in earnest in the 1960s, while Bernard Haitink continued the Mahler tradition at the Concertgebouw. In the digital era, the cycles by Claudio Abbado (Deutsche Grammophon) and Riccardo Chailly (Decca) have been pre-eminent. Other great conductors such as Otto Klemperer and Herbert von Karajan were more selective in the works they tackled, though some of their recordings – Klemperer’s accounts of the Second Symphony and Das Lied von der Erde, and especially Karajan’s elegiac version of the Ninth – are among the finest Mahler recordings of all time. Music / Gustav Mahler. Austrian composer and conductor (7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911), one of the last of the Romantic era. He mostly restricted his output to symphonies and song cycles. Mahler once remarked that "the symphony must be like the world. It must embrace everything." No wonder then that his symphonies work on a larger scale than anything previously conceived: some of them have elaborate philosophical programs, like his Symphony No. 3 which, like Richard Strauss' tone poem Also sprach Zarathustra , is based on Nietzsche's Also sprach Zarathustra . Mahler continually specified larger orchestras and more esoteric instruments; the culmination of this is his Symphony No. 8, which requires a ridiculously large number of musicians: double orchestra, an organist, eight vocal soloists, and three choirs. Not surprisingly, then, it is often called the "Symphony of a Thousand." He seems to have been fond of complaining that people did not understand his angst, and his works can sometimes be a little obtuse. Nonetheless, they are still considered powerful and emotionally affecting pieces of music. Many of his works, such as his Second and Fifth Symphonies, start out with a despairing, anguished tone that darkens even further throughout the work, only to work their way to a profoundly triumphant and joyous ending. He is sometimes viewed as a transitional figure between the romantic era and the early modern era of (particularly German Expressionism), much the way that Beethoven can be viewed as a transition between the classical and romantic eras. Mahler was a major influence for Arnold Schoenberg and his students. In particular, the way that Mahler begins to dissect tonality in his 9th symphony and the parts of the 10th that he did manage to finish — this leads directly to the 12-tone system that Arnold Schoenberg pioneered. Mahler died before he could complete his 10th Symphony. Interestingly, he had feared exactly this: he believed in the "Curse of the Ninth", which states that a composer has to die either while working on or after completing his/her ninth symphony, as had happened to Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert note sort of; in Mahler's lifetime, Schubert was only seen as having written eight symphonies, as the symphony that is now known as No. 7 only exists in sketch form , Anton Bruckner note if one ignores two early symphonies, now known as No. 00 and No. 0 , and Antonín Dvořák note except the symphonies now known as Nos. 1–4 were not published until after Mahler (and, more importantly, Dvořák himself) had died; they were not counted toward the numbering of his symphonies until the 1950s , and as later happened to Alexander Glazunov and Ralph Vaughan Williams. Mahler tried to subvert the Curse by not numbering Das Lied von der Erde ("Song of Earth") . This would have been his ninth symphony note although the use of the term "symphony" to refer to the work is somewhat contentious , making the Ninth his actual 10th. It seems the Curse of the Ninth only goes after numbered symphonies. That being said, Dmitri Shostakovich managed to write fifteen symphonies, although he had other things to worry about. Fans of Tom Lehrer will recognize him as the first husband of Gropius Werfel. Mahler 100 / Schoenberg 60. Dolce Suono Ensemble’s “Mahler 100 / Schoenberg 60” project marks the centennial of Gustav Mahler’s death in 1911 and the 60 th anniversary of the death of Arnold Schoenberg in 1951 with performances of chamber and vocal works by these two iconic composers and the commissioning of six new works reflecting on Mahler and Schoenberg. The project unfolds over two seasons, including concerts in Philadelphia, its surrounding area, and New York City, and a series of educational and community outreach events. In commissioning six new works reflecting on Mahler and Schoenberg, we sought to highlight the ways in which their music still provides a fertile, vibrant legacy for today’s composers. We are honored to collaborate with some of today’s most acclaimed eminent composers and most promising emerging composers – Shulamit Ran, Steven Stucky, Steven Mackey, David Ludwig, Fang Man, and Stratis Minakakis, and with celebrated guest soloists Eric Owens, bass-baritone, Lucy Shelton, soprano. Year 1 of “Mahler 100 / Schoenberg 60” took place in May 2011, with performances on the Dolce Suono Ensemble Presents series at Trinity Center for Urban Life in Philadelphia and at Glencairn Museum in Bryn Athyn, PA. The program include Gustav Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen , in Arnold Schoenberg’s arrangement for ensemble, Schoenberg’s Sechs kleine Klavierstücke, Op. 19 , and the world premieres of five commissioned works reflection on Mahler and Schoenberg by Steven Stucky, Steven Mackey, Fang Man, David Ludwig, and Stratis Minakakis. Bass-baritone Eric Owens joined Dolce Suono Ensemble as soloist. See feature article about “Mahler 100 / Schoenberg 60” Year 1 by David Patrick Stearns in The Philadelphia Inquirer. Year 2 continues in February, 2012 with concerts on the Dolce Suono Ensemble Presents series at Trinity Center for Urban Life in Philadelphia (February 5) and Haverford College (February 3). The program includes Gustav Mahler’s Piano Quartet in A Minor , his only extant chamber piece, Arnold Schoenberg’s Pierrot lunaire, Op. 21, and the world premiere of Shulamit Ran’s Moon Songs: A Song Cycle in Four Acts for Soprano, Flute (doubling Piccolo), Cello, and Piano. Soprano Lucy Shelton is soloist in the Ran and in Pierrot lunaire , one of her signature roles, with the performances taking place during the centennial of this masterwork. Dolce Suono Ensemble makes its New York debut at Symphony Space (Feb. 6) as part of the city-wide Composers Now Festival. The concert, Dolce Suono Ensemble Commissions and Premieres , brings together seven recent Dolce Suono Ensemble-commissioned works, including all six of the “Mahler 100 / Schoenberg 60” project commissions. Lucy Shelton, soprano and Randall Scarlata, baritone are soloists. “Mahler 100 / Schoenberg 60” is the culmination of nearly two years of research, planning, and preparation; and a lifetime of listening, loving, and playing the music of the composers to whom the project is devoted. It has been deeply illuminating and rewarding to immerse ourselves in the music of these two titans. Mahler and Schoenberg work organically together as subjects because of the close connections between them personally and musically, as Mahler was a formative influence on Schoenberg. These musical pioneers shaped much of the music of the 20 th and 21 st centuries, along with Wagner, Debussy, and Stravinsky. The project encourages us to deepen our understanding of Mahler and Schoenberg in a variety of ways: looking forward at their influence on the music that followed them; looking back into history to situate each composer’s work in the canon of Western music; understanding Mahler and Schoenberg in their time and in the cultures of Vienna, Europe, and the United States where they lived and worked, and the struggles they encountered as Jews; and the aesthetic, existential, and philosophical questions they posed and sought to answer. In Year 1, we asked the composers to write for the eponymous Pierrot Ensemble (flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, with added percussion), which derives from Arnold Schoenberg’s landmark masterpiece Pierrot lunaire , written in 1912. The four composers commissioned to write vocal works in this program – Steven Stucky, Steven Mackey, Fang Man, and David Ludwig – were asked to set texts that were important to Mahler. Stratis Minakakis, who was commissioned to write an instrumental work, referenced aspects of both Mahler and Schoenberg in his piece. In Year 2, we commissioned Shulamit Ran to compose a work for soprano and ensemble of flute, cello, and piano. Having written several important works for Pierrot Ensemble, she considered the smaller configuration an interesting new vehicle. In writing a piece to be premiered alongside Schoenberg’s Pierrot lunaire , Ran selected texts from a variety of cultures, all dealing with the theme of the moon. All the commissioned composers expressed their personal debt to Mahler and Schoenberg. Each of the composers in this group of diverse backgrounds and aesthetics, brought a highly individual voice to the project. The result is six compelling works which showcase the powerful legacy of Mahler and Schoenberg. Gustav Mahler by Arnold Schoenberg. Special Exhibition 13 May – 14 September 2003. Arnold Schönberg's vision that Gustav Mahler was “a saint” is the point of departure of the 7th special exhibition at the Arnold Schönberg Center, which will attempt to trace the paths of friendship and artistic encounters of four extraordinary Viennese composers, whose spheres of influence lay between Romanticism, Fin-de-Siècle and Expressionism. By way of a comprehensive multimedia presentation of documents, music manuscripts, paintings, as well as historical visual and sound documents, the aura of one of the most significant epochs of Viennese cultural history will be recreated. Around 1900, Gustav Mahler was a common point of reference for a young, progressive generation of composers. By way of numerous papers from Schönberg’s legacy, Mahler’s importance as a guiding light will be impressively documented. The exhibit permits insight into the genesis of Schönberg’s famous Mahler lecture, and his engaged dedication to the formation of an international Mahler alliance, while also shedding light on both Schönberg’s reactions to criticism of his most revered master and Mahler’s influence on Schönberg’s own artistic path. Manuscripts in Mahler's hand are among the highlights of the presentation. It was Alexander Zemlinsky who brought Schönberg into contact with Mahler. Although Zemlinsky was only four years older than Schönberg, the latter considered him to be his only real teacher. Both were bound by a friendship which lasted over decades. In addition to numerous original manuscripts, portraits painted by Schönberg of both Zemlinsky and his sister Mathilde, Schönberg's wife, will be exhibited. Franz Schreker was the youngest of the four composers and unquestionably the most successful during his lifetime. Wide-spread performances and the success of Schreker’s operas even exceeded Gustav Mahler’s popularity. Schreker vehemently championed his friends and colleagues. As the director of the Vienna Philharmonic Chorus, he was instrumental in achieving the first performance in 1912 of Schönberg’s choral work, “Friede auf Erden,” and, in 1913, the “Gurre-Lieder” in Vienna’s Musikverein. Arnold Schönberg thanked Schreker in numerous texts as well as in paintings, to be shown in Vienna for the first time, in which he underscores his esteem for the composer. Erwin Stein (1885-1958) Erwin Stein was an Austrian musician and writer, prominent as a pupil and friend of Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951), with whom he studied between 1906 and 1910. He was one of Schoenberg’s principal assistants in organizing the Society for Private Musical Performances. In 1924 it was Stein to whom Schoenberg entrusted the delicate as well as important task of writing the first article – Neue Formprinzipien (‘New Formal Principles’) – on the gradual evolution of what was soon to be explicitly formulated as ‘twelve tone technique’. Until 1938 he lived in Vienna, where he was respected as a music teacher and conductor as well as a writer active on behalf of the music and composers he valued. After the Anschluss he fled to London to escape the Nazis and worked for many years as an editor for the music publishers Boosey & Hawkes. His focus was mainly on Gustav Mahler (1860-1911), Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951) and Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) (all three of whom he knew personally) as well as his colleagues within the Schoenberg circle, Alban Berg (1885-1935) and Anton Webern (1883-1945). Erwin Stein (1885-1958) in his Kensington flat in London. His books include Orpheus in New Guises (a collection of writings from the period 1924-1953) and Form and Performance (1962). He was the editor of the first collection of Schoenberg’s letters (Germany 1958; UK 1964). He was also instrumental in setting up the modern music periodical Tempo in 1939. Stein married Sophie Bachmann (1883?-1965), and their daughter, the pianist Marion Stein, married successively George Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood and the Liberal politician Jeremy Thorpe. Mostly known for his close association with Arnold Schoenberg, Erwin Stein was born in Vienna, but like many other Jewish musicians, he emigrated to London in 1938. Having been forbidden to publish any further material and having lost his stockholdings in Universal Edition, Stein worked as an editor for Boosey & Hawkes, his primary focus on the music of Britten, Schoenberg and Mahler. Prior to moving to London, Stein was well-respected as a conductor, music-teacher and a writer and worked closely with Schoenberg in organising the ‘Society for Private Musical Performances’ and the first article for Neue Formprinzipien (‘New Formal Principles’), in which the rules for the first form of the twelve-tone technique were described. If you have found any errors, please, notify us by selecting that text and pressing Ctrl+Enter .