G U S TAV M A H L E R

’ A S tuqy of His P er son a/119, and Wer e

BY

P AU L S TEF AN

TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN BY

T. E.

TO

OSKAR FRIED

’ WHOS E GREAT PERF ORMANCES OF MAHLER S WORKS ’ ARE SHINING P O IN TS IN B ERLIN S MUSICAL ’ LIF A ITS MUSI IA S M S SPL I E , ND C N O T END D M M B RA S IS TRA SLATI RE E NCE , TH N ON IS RESPECTF ULLY DEDICATED

mmer o 1 12 . BERLIN , S u f 9

TRAN SLATO R’ S PREFAC E

The present translation was undertaken by the writer some

G . two years ago , on the appearance of the first erman edition Oskar Fried had made known to us in Berlin the overwhelming ’ beauty of Mahler s music , and it was intended that the book

r Should pave the way for Mahler in England . F om his appearance there , we hoped that his genius as man and musi cian his would be recognised , and also that example would put an end to the intolerable existing chaos in reproductive music c making , wherein every qua k may succeed who is unscrupulous enough and wealthy enough to hold o ut until he becomes “ ” ’ “ E : God popular . The nglish musician s prayer was pre ” serve Mozart and Beethoven until the right man comes , and this man would have been Mahler . Then came Mahler ’s death with such appalling suddenness f “ ” or our . youthful enthusiasm Since that tragedy , young

r musicians suddenly find themselves a generation olde , if only for the reason that the responsibility of continuing Mah ’ r r ler s ideals now rests upon thei shoulde s in dead earnest . E now . The work , in ngland and elsewhere , will fall to others w Progress ill be slow at first , but the way is clear and there ’ are those who are strong enough to walk in Mahler s footsteps . ’ The future of Mahler s compositions is as certain as that his ideals will live ; and it is perhaps they that concern the musical public most . In Germany their greatness is scarcely dis uted - p to day amongst musicians . Goethe distinguishes two of kinds music , that which aims at external perfection of u text re , and that which strives to satisfy intelligence , sensi bilit “ y and perception ; and he adds that without question , the v i GUSTAV MAHLER union o f these two characters does and must take place in the ” is greatest works of the greatest masters . The opinion irresistibly gaining ground that in modern music the two com posers who have attained this limit Of perfection are Beethoven and Mahler . It is therefore in the highest degree agreeable to the writer that this translation , in its present extended form , appear with a purpose worthy of it ; not merely as a work of propaganda r for a musician , however g eat , but as an extremely valuable ’ on psychological essay Mahler s music as a whole , and as a history (in the best sense ofthe word) of some ofthe most heroic deeds that have been performe d during the development of “ ” modern art . It tells , in short , what manner of man

Mahler was . The book has been specially revised for the present issue and many additions have been made since the appearance of the fourth German edition— the most important being concerning the Ninth Symphony , which was first heard in

i . e . Vienna in June last , , Since the latest German edition was published . Notes have been added in a few cases where certain names might be unfamiliar to those not versed in the more “ tenden ” G tial aspects of erman artistic life . I Lastly, may be allowed here to thank my friend Dr. Paul

for r Stefan permission to translate his admi able work , and for the valuable intercourse with him the translating of it has procured me . F O REWO RD

TO THE THIRD GERM AN ED ITION

1 1 1 for In September , 9 , this book went its way the second ’ — time the first time Since Mahler s death . “ ” is . to I wrote , he dead But my book referred the living

so . man , and I never thought it would soon be otherwise It has done its work for the living Mahler . Must it hardly a “ ” year later appraise his now completed work! “ ” It is called appraisal , and this is demanding something I

— F r cannot do measuring and weighing up . o I know I Should say little that would be different . The past time is too near

and sticks too fast in our remembrance . And for the moment I do not wish merely to patch up So I have only

added an account of the last year Of his life . Faults and omis

sions remain .

This third time I was clearer and more composed . I

as . renewed , improved and completed well as I could But the

nature of the book remains unchanged . The many things sa that still are to be said , and that perhaps will soon be to y ,

about Mahler as man and artist , demand a new and larger

m f . work . The li its o this study are clear It is still not

of . critical , but the loud call an enthusiast to enthusiasts

Many have followed it . SO I call once again . In the name of

one who will for all time awaken enthusiasm .

F ru r the 12 1912 . eb a y th, CONTENTS

PAGE DEDICATION ’ Translator s Preface Foreword

’ MAHLER S SIGNIF ICAN CE n the r s and His Art The M a , A ti t, Work an d Race o Ear You Childho d, ly th Apprenticeship Prague and Leipzig r the rs e D rec or Pesth . Fo Fi t Tim i t

The Su er Co oser . rs er or a es Hamburg. mm mp Fi t P f m nc

e a Cour O era. La er or s an d Per The Master. Vi nn t p t W k formances

’ INTRODU CTION To M AHLE R s WORKS ’ Mahler s Lyri cs ’ Mahler s Symphoni es First Symphony (D maj or) Se con d Symphony (C minor) Third Symphony (D minor) Fourth Symphony (G maj or) Fifth Symphony (C-Sharp minor) Sixth Symphony (A minor) Seventh Symphony (B minor) Eighth Symphony (E—flat maj or) The Last Stage an d Last Works D as Lied v on der Erde Ninth Symphony (D maj or)

A CONVE RSATION ON THE NIGHT OF HIS DEATH

APPENDI!

I . The Works of Gustav Mahler

II . A Few Books about Mahler M AHLER ’ S SIGN I FIC ANC E

THE MAN THE AN D HI , ARTIST, S ART

’ ’ ’ R Flor tan E i From Meister aro s , es s and useb us s Notebook Of Things and Thoughts :

“

e e e errs se s . Int llig nc , but not n ibility

Le t one no expect to find in this book a Biography , as was ’ prophesied during Mahler s lifetime— by some in a friendly

Spirit , by many in mockery . As the work took form , Mahler

o f stood in the zenith his power , but also in the zenith of his right : the right neither to limit nor to divide himself in his “ ”

to . intentions , his right not be trammeled by consistencies o n n His life was not one that obtruded itself others , rather o e that strove towards a given goal ; a modest and hidden life ,

our -of— like that of the Old masters Of art , a matter fact life , as

ha v rsu . s been well said , a life in the world e s the world And

— now has we of even to day , that it ended , still think it as his contemporaries . We have not yet outgrown this feeling , and of the figure the man Mahler still vibrates in our memory , so that no calm for viewing and reviewing has come to us . What ! TO u ! if it never should come s rvey calmly a volcano Or , ’ i at . any rate , not at once One thing s certain , calmness is for i the present not our affair . Our aim s simply to retain for a moment the last flaming reflection of this life , and my book may be called abiography only inasmuch as in describing that of

Gustav Mahler it strikes sparks of life itself . It will Often

m for of speak in i ages , this is the only way we have speaking about music , itself an image Of presentiments and secrets 2 GUSTAV MAHLER

beyond the bounds o f temporality . May these images be such as become comprehensible where Mahler ’ s will controls ’ are no and Mahler s works are heard . And then , when they

longer needed , and the true sense of the works is revealed ; when a few have seized their real meaning — then the Veil will

be drawn aside, and the goal reached ; then words about a ’ man s life will not have been wasted — disquisitions o n art matters are only too Often a hindrance and a waste of time ;

then , life itself will have spoken , and no greater satisfaction can be given the mediator between the genius and those who wish to approach him . This book strives little for the Lob des hohen Verstandes “ “ (the praise of lofty intellect for the dispassionate j udge it will have collected too few “ data and too little “ was far information , though the author from despising the for exami labour of the investigator , and the search and f nation o f whatever friendly assistance and books could of er . (His thanks are due to all who have given him assistance by of ir opening the treasures the recollection , and it would be immodest not to acknowledge the services rendered to subse f R 3 quent e forts more especially by ichard Specht , and also by E N odna el2 S chiedermair 1 i rnst Otto g and Ludwig , in the r books and essays ; to say nothing of the innumerable and ad mirable articles dispersed in magazines and newspapers , which were accessible only in part . The stream was for the most part none too full , and many statements examined proved worthless . I have had little regard for such externalities as ’ no of formed real part Mahler s activity , nor have I taken or pride in my discoveries personal knowledge , but rather in preserving and ordering actual experiences . TO seek for ’ details of Mahler s life and works is to consider the subject superficially . Sympathy , emotion and enthusiasm are every E ! thing . nthusiasm That is the magic word that describes

1 2 3 The re eren e-num er re ers ere and in the ol ow n ases t f c b f h , f l i g c , o the corre s ondin k in the B l o ra p g boo ib i g phy . I N T A TIST HIS A , HE R , AND ART 3

Gustav Mahler . Enthusiasm was his d may enthusiasm move every one who so He would have been understood , far as understand him at this time , had people ordinary part Of his nature , this perpetual vhich perpetually struck sparks and flame t touched . rst d e oo , at any rate as long as he lived ; he

Nu r . , people sca cely sought to know him amongst those who worked with him at his and wrote about it ; to many he appeared as seizing some one here and there as in a ng and then leaving him dazed — an experi to the fewest . perhaps be Offered that the man of genius

hi his wa in s own day , that he forces y to the

.he bitterest struggles , and that this non e d in the very nature of genius . Schopen ely talented men find their time always ripe

on ius , the contrary , comes upon his time

the planetary system , with whose regular

S eccentric path has nothing in common .

- are , intervene in the existing , steady going t of his day , but throws his works far for as path that lies before him ( the Imperator , Iimself r to death , hu ls his spear against the ” An 8 time has then to overtake . d he ’ “ is Of St . John s Gospel : My time has not ur time [meaning the merely talented! is I v er fits owe well this , however vividly the es in our recollection— and all that has been er pales in comparison with the blasphemies ’ “ ” Wilh elm Tappert s Wagner-Lexicon has ihabetically) — I still do not wish to apply ’ n f genius i Mahler s case . In a period of 4 GUSTAV MAHLER

ferment and agitation , with a mania for innovation , which after

on all has , the whole , drawn the moral from the Wagner perse

i n r for . cut o , we must look deepe the reason At least , the : question must be changed to this While others are , if not wh understood , at any rate exalted and proclaimed , y is nothing said about Mahler! Why are people better informed about

Pfitzner R ! Richard Strauss , , eger Why was not and still is not Mahler pointed out as the man he is !

This question seems to me important ; to my mind , if there “ ” be a problematical Mahler , the problem lies here . I shall , therefore , attempt to elucidate it more carefully . 7 hl r R - Georg GO e , the conductor of the Leipzig iedel Verein , says that it is the lack of imagination of our day which estranges it from an artist so richly gifted with imagination as

r r o Mahler . That is a f agment Of comp ehensi n ; but we must

r n o t have the whole . What ou time lacks is so much imagina tion as the courage to be imaginative , courage to open its arms towards life , thought and poetry , and to realise the long

- dreamed Of unity Of life and art . We are the slaves of tech we nique . We can , in fact , fly ; but in truth cannot soar aloft .

Novalis and his disciples still possessed this faculty . Our

our God- inward vision , given certainty of belief in the exalta tion of the ideal world over that of appearance , have become

f r O . paralysed ; we are lost in a delirium facts Pu ity , original ity, naturalness and perfection are beyond our reach . We no longer believe in the reality of fairy tales— and here are some almost within our grasp . They approach us , but only create

r r disco d in uS . Our time itself is incapable Of natu alness ; does it not overlook and disregard him who is natural in spite “ ” of - it , who sings folk songs , recreates the Wunderhorn and “ ” ” finally flout him with its surly recognition of ability ! of It is not capable of understanding strength will , of respecting

r ceaseless work , or of esteeming the search for truth and p e fec

— tion higher than success for it acknowledges only success .

And then comes a man who , both as creative and reproductive T MA T TIST 5 HE N , HE AR , AND HIS ART

! ives indefatigably after the obj ect he has in view ,

backward only in order to spring the further forward , s n of mo never pauses , who follow the i spiration each ut of of out of who, o the inmost fire his spirit , the of a saintly nature , succeeds perpetually in reaching sst perfection— what thanks could our time have for

Ian ! Its senses are still blunted , it has no compre ar the rhythm of a new life , it still sees in this life (the flood Of the Too-many never yet succeeded in attain

' e) only sin and lamentation , hurry and restlessness .

3 seeks hastily and superficially to conform itself to it , n the end condemning it as superficial . And there ‘ ” “ ” Of our men culture , thosewho acknowledge time , o f n end as quickly as possible everything , works Of tiful natural obj ects , and the really universally valu ” Of life in all its scenes .

our . Schopenhauer , principal witness And further e same chapter of his mas terwork) ! But he (the ’ ” man , Nature s manufactured goods) does not stay . “ ” f has finished with the intruder , he thinks no more O ar— that would be to force him to give reasons for his

position . And thus certain persons have succeeded “ ” “ ing suspicion upon the apparent and manufac ’ uvete Of the composer and to condemn the artist s “ ” “ ” r hypercritical , cap icious manner as Sham . ff y j ustified their indi erence . Instead of asking ;hey themselves were unprejudiced enough nai vely to n i of a ve greatness , they accused the giver trifling , of

b . 0 y and insincerity N , they were not to be deceived . IS d the read of private ignorance (and public Opinion) , 5 day it may be found out ; and they forget that tenfold

i on r is not so bad as a single failure to app eciate . 1g spirit is not one of furtherance and hospitable

7 r r ; at every co ne stands the schoolmaster , the hair h e professor of infallibility . 6 GUSTAV MAHLER

or of Had the educated , that last degeneration swollen ” of pride and cleverness , the good musicians , been capable

Observation , of imagining naturalness and of listening naturally, ’ it would have been easier for them to recognise Mahler s greatness ; they would have remembered many similar figures in the history of our intellectual development , and the path would have been prepared for him . Or , who can enj oy the stories of the Fi oretti — enj oy them SO that he can believe them!

For instance , that wherein St . Francis visited the priest of see Rieti , and the people came in such crowds to him that the ’ priest s vineyard was completely destroyed ; and how the priest h . w o then regretted having received St Francis , , however ,

begged him to leave the vineyard open to the crowd . And , how when that was done , the vineyard yielded more in that of year than ever before . Or the story the contract the Saint Gobbio made with the wolf of that ravished the land , and that

, now agreed to keep the peace if food “ were allowed it which

agreement was kept until its death . Or that Of Brother

M asseo o f God who n w , to whom the light had appeared , and o “ rej oiced continually like a dove ( in forma e t con suono di

s ! u l colomba obtu o , u Or the legend Of Brother Juniper , one i oculatores Domi n i of the first , who gave to the poor the

' whole belongings of the monastery and the treasure of the

church , even to the altar bells . ’ These are symbols ; but Gustav Mahler s music Sings of such of of men , such animals , such delight in nature on the hill of

La Vernia . And in order that the night- aspect of his being may not lack

of — a prelude , more than that the day how many know E . T . f ! f A . Ho fmann Ho fmann the musician had a premonition of the coming centuries ; the comrade and exorciser of Kapell meister Kreisler exhausted the daemonic possibilities of his

art . ’ Kreisler s resurrection on the plane of earthly life is Gustav “

M . ahler The wildest , most frightful things are to your MA T A TIST T HE N , HE R , AND HIS AR 7

[ E . s had the olian harp et up , and the storm it like a splendid harmonist . In the roar and hurricane , through the crash Of the thunder , ones Of the gigantic organ . Q uicker and quicker mighty chords . Half an hour later all was w on appeared from behind the clouds . The ghed soothingly through the terrified forest and m s on the darkling bushes . N OW and again the ” 11 . be heard , like dull , distant bells only a symbol ; but the counterpart Of this storm ustav Mahler . f - Saint o Umbria , and the northern ghost scorner ! r The notes are pressed , overtones sound at the d leave their secret mark . But there are other few to Mahler , which have ever followed : The its simple meaning ; wanderers and minstrels ; W eber , whom people praise but do not perform ; Schumann ; the conductor and philosopher ner ; the venerable figure o f Anton Bruckner ; all

too t . 3 their way , the one early , the other oo late h a real connection were here found or sought . ) m Mahler is a part Of experience builds himself experience . He is willing to belong to Mahler , f - gthened the grace o good will in himself . The M ahler must be valued according to its ethos , ’ t er s music . Its characteristic is goodness . “ ” “ r uim begins her Correspondence This book ” i . , and not for the wicked And he who would ’ rld Of Mahler s must ask himself whether he is

in . i n ziv g goodness More than this s o t necessary . one to whom Mahler had become a part Of expe and gradually ; first the conductor ; then the

then the composer , formerly admired respect distance . He wishes to give again the living ei hin nor g g limiting , but , standing in the shadow 8 GUSTAV MAHLER

of this great genius , with enthusiasm rather than with ifs and buts As though the creator Of the divinest j oys were an .

” obj ect for discussion .

rrs but not sens l . I ntelligence e , ibi ity

WORK AN D RACE

- A few of the easy going and prej udiced , in order to oppose ’ Mahler s art and significance , have called this art Jewish ; D naturally in the most disagreeable sense of the word . uring

’ - Mahler s lifetime this book purposely ignored them . To day

it will no longer keep silence . of Gustav Mahler was born Jewish parents , and is , therefore ,

- in every day parlance , a Jew according to race . Now , many

scientists are of the opinion that a Jewish race does not exist , ble nd - but only two races , a and a dark Skinned , which are

f . quite different species and must be di ferently valued But , of even assuming that this notion Should go out fashion again ,

” that a Jewish race really subsists and that a Fritz Mauthner is “ ” anthropologically related to an Old-clothes dealer in Polish Russiaz— what in the world has that to do with intellectual ! matters , with art and , in particular , with music

r of On the contrary, I do not d eam passing over the life of of question a million people with a few words , or of talking the

usual nonsense about the Jewish question . And it makes no f on or f di ference if people one side the other are o fended , SO

long as knowledge comes of it . Far be it from me to deny the influence of race upon the development of a culture : I was enough attacked when I emphasized Germanic influence in the nature and art of

. a ens for Umbria But this g is for me , as all whose starting o is p int mind and not matter (that is , who are not materialists) , : i de once again but a spiritual element the a Of race . The for mind builds itself the body, and only the mind builds up the

10 GUSTAV MAHLER

hf which the young man does not even know . And then R s announces Death , Judgment and esurrection in a no les Christian sense than that of the Old masters of painting : thr Second Symphony permits the expression that was used in m earlier issue of this book , that he , amongst the great artists “ : is the Christian of our day . Again and again his work move in Christian-pantheistic and in national - German paths

- rouc Where a leading thought grows with him , it is the p mosl Idea of the German philosophers . Most distinctly and E thou l beautifully in his ighth Symphony , which begins , g without a trace of ecclesiasticism , in the freest interpretation h mni al with an Old y c call upon the Holy Spirit , and allows it of art the Spirit love , with the profound words of the second p

r Of Faust , to conquer eve y remaining trace of earthly desire He who wishes to characterise the great works of this great

r r Oi life , f om the earliest popular ly ics to the renascence of symphonic art , can do so only through the development G : G r erman music it proceeds germ within germ , from erma music , and it will increase its glory and fructifying power . G That other glory of erman music , that of reproduction Gustav Mahler was o n e of the first to help to create ; her( f o R . again a pupil ichard Wagner The seriousness , the sin cerit ll y , the ceaseless striving after perfection that blazed — G r G him that is e man , if erman after Wagner means doing

i a thing for its own sake . What he has given the German theatr is history . Subverting and maintaining , he was a furtherer 0 the best that German masters have left behind and willed “ ” of G G The genius ustav Mahler , said erhardt Haupt 7 “ G re resent i mann , a visionary erman poet and man , is p at v in the sense of the great traditions of German music . He has the demoniacal nature and the ardent morality of th G erman intellect , the only nobility that still can prove hi r truly divine o igin . ’ Richard Wagner s writings upon Jewry in Music will I: sa opposed to what I y , and all that he wrote when aged , en H H A L TH 1 1 C ILD OOD , E R Y YOU

m i bittered , almost alone and conditioned by his ti e , aga nst

musicians of Jewish descent . We must understand him

rightly ! What Wagner wanted , although often exaggerating f was su erficialit of for the sake o example , to censure the p y - ff - of Mendelssohn , the self su iciency and applause cringing m Meyerbeer , but not because they were Jews ; si ply because superficiality and the rest were things that irritated him all i n- h s life long . He told also no Jewish singers , conductors and

composers what he thought of them . If he proj ected what not of he hated upon Jewry , it need astonish us in a time the i of n birth of capitalism , in the awaken ng years the emancipatio f of insuff r o the Jews , during the mastery and opposition an e - a d feuille tonistish able pseudo intellectualism , n trash , such

- as . P arsi al we can hardly imagine to day But he entrusted f , i i n wh ch s to be understood o ly through Christianity , to

Hermann Lev i . T - f o day there may be many musicians o Jewish descent , i i n but there s no Jewish music . SO long as it s ot possible to or prove anything positive negative , anything common (good or bad) to the works and activity Of these musicians , so long as any really “ Jewish ” peculiarities are not seriously to be r u found (but seriously , and not in j est o o t Of hatred) , so long will Gustav Mahler ’ s significance belong to those amongst whom the most intelligent foreigners have long since placed it f in the succession o the great German geniuses .

A TH CHILDHOOD , E RLY YOU

Gustav Mahler came from an unpretentious village . It i K s called alischt , and lies in Bohemia near the Moravian

border and the town of Iglau . That he was j ust a native of

R of r the oyal Province Bohemia was later importance fo him , as it was the Society for the Furtherance of German Science and Art in Bohemia that brought about the publication of its ’ countryman s first symphonies . Mahler was born in Kalischt 12 GUSTAV MAHLER

h f 1860 d on the 7t o July , this at any rate is the ate one usually ’ reads and hears . It is , however , not certain . Mahler s l st as b parents , as he himself said , kept the of July his irthday , r and the papers are lost . His parents , shopkeepers only fai ly well to do , but zealous in matters of culture , soon moved over sh : to Iglau . The child was quiet , y , reserved they would too gladly have seen it livelier . Liveliness , however , came with the comprehension Of music . Musical impressions were decisive even at this early age . Moravian servants , both

Germans and Slavs , sing willingly and well . Melancholy songs accompany getting up and going to bed . The bugles ring out from the barracks . The regimental band marches past . And the tiny youngster sings each and every tune after

r one them . At the age of fou , some buys him a concertina , and

n h . ow he plays them imself, especially the military marches

r These latte have SO much attraction for him that one morning ,

r hastily d essed , he hurries away after the soldiers , and gives the marketwomen who come to fetch him a regular concert

n r h ix rs o his inst ument . W en s yea old he discovers at his ’ old grandfather s an piano , and nothing can induce him to n leave it , not eve the call to meals . At eight , he has a pupil in

- s . i piano playing , aged seven , at a cent a le son But , ow ng to

r the inattention Of the learne , the teacher loses his temper and

s r h the in t uction as to be broken Off. Only one thing even distantly approaches his passion for

s — mu ic the reading mania . S O addicted is the boy to it that often the whole day long he is nowhere to be found . He also ’ makes frequent use of the town s musical library . G f r He attends the rammar School at Iglau , and o a short

time also that of Prague . Teachers and companions notice

f — from time to time a certain indi ference not inattention , but r of r Simply a fo getfulness his sur oundings , distinctly to be

remarked under musical impressions . Once he whistles r o o r du ing sch l hou s a long note to himself, and awakes thereby f t to the e fec , not a little astonished . H A L T 13 CHILD OOD , E R Y YOU H

’ The family seems to have had no doubt as to what the boy s f his profession would be in view o Obvious talent , although a sacrifice would have to be made to allow him the necessary time

. for study, and there were other children to be considered

Perhaps the prudent father even had obj ections ; Prof . Julius

Epstein of the Vienna Conservatoire says that he had . At of 15 1875 E any rate , a young man came one day in to p ’ wh o stein s house with his father , asked the Professor to decide

as to his talent , and at the same time as to the further course re Of his studies . Not very willingly , but still struck by a ’ E markable look in the boy s face , pstein invited the young

of or . unknown to play something , either his own otherwise “ And after only a few minutes he told the father : He is a ” “ born musician ; and answered all obj ections with , In this

case I am certainly not mistaken . “ 15 Thus Gustav Mahler from Iglau , aged , became in the

autumn of 1875 a pupil in the Conservatoire at Vienna . The “ ” D w s Hellm sb r er irector Of the Institute a Old e e g , a legendary

figure in Vienna . An excellent artist of the traditional type , “ ” but also one of those good Viennese musicians of the Old wh for f r stamp , o the young and impetuous , and o rising talents , were dangerous people , and not in the least pioneers . It will be remembered that about this time Hugo Wolf was expelled “ ”

of . from the Conservatoire for breach discipline Mahler , too , once conducted himself insubordinately, and the same punishment was not so far distant for him . However this may be , he made rapid progress . The Annual Report of the Conservatoire for the year 1 875— 76 Shows that he skipped the preparatory class to enter the first finishing class for piano of E Prof . pstein . In addition , he studied harmony with Robert

Fuchs , and at the same time (and not in accord with the K curriculum) composition with Theodore renn . He probably entered the last-named course on the strength of compositions s for m ubmitted exa ination . He entered the competition in a - and the of and pi no playing composition at end the year, 14 GUSTAV MAHLER in both cases won the first prize ; in the former for his perform ’ - ance of the first movement of Schubert s A minor Sonata in the latter for the first movement of a piano

quintette . The report of the following year Shows that Mah

- ler attended the second finishing class in piano playing , the of second year of the course in composition , and the first year that in counterpoint . As a matter Of fact , we find his name ’ ’ amongst Epstein s and Krenn s pupils , but it is missing from “ Hellme sb er er the counterpoint class . It is said that g let ” him Off counterpoint because his compositions showed so r much knowledge and skill , and that Mahler even reg etted it later . But how he mastered counterpoint is best shown in his symphonies . In the pianoforte competition Of this year (Humoreske o f

Schumann) Mahler again won the fir st prize . He had not entered for the composition prize .

1877— 78 In the third and last year , , he is entered as composi ’ tion pupil in Krenn s Third Class . He also heard lectures

f . on the history o music , but again his name does not appear “ on 1 1th 1878 At the final production , July , , the Scherzo Of a ’ - f piano quintette o Mahler s was performed , the composer - h himself playing the piano part . Then e left the Institute with the diploma that is given when the pupil passes his prin ci al s p course with remarkable skill , and the secondary one with f at least suf icient success , and having won a prize at the final competition .

Simultaneously with his work at the Conservatoire , which n was probably no great strain o him , Mahler completed the of G study the final rammar School course , passed his examina

tions at Iglau , and inscribed himself as auditor of the philo sophical and historical lectures at the Vienna University . He Of heard , however , only a few them , and his astounding know was hi wn ledge gained later according to s o plan . The pocket money he received from home was increased by what he e - arned by giving lessons in pianoforte playing . H H A L TH 15 C ILD OOD , E R Y YOU

i E ngst his teachers at the Conservato re , pstein and E bear distinguished names . pstein proudly calls him ’ how ahler s teacher, and tells he from the first had a nce for this somewhat unruly and ins pirational rather

- i to ai d working pupil . We may also trust his k ndness v erlooked much that others do not usually pardon in K was astio youth . renn , who is already dead , (accord ’ “ Decsey s description) hardworking , taciturn and dry I who hi s of go Wolf, was also pupil from the autumn

30uld certainly not have felt comfortable with him . is no information of how the Conservatoire influenced “ R Years later the Institute , as oyal Academy Of ” and wa the Plastic Arts , s fundamentally renewed , and nder government control , and then , although only as an r was n y member, Mahler given a place o the Board of

ement. n st one g the teachers , the absence of is noticeable whose

— /Iahler is often stated to have been Anton Bruckner . i nnual reports are to be trusted , it appears that Mahler ’ for t Bruckner s pupil . But in fact , this period , they all too trustworthy ; and Mahler himself has repeatedly he same assurance . The explanation is perhaps to be i n . the counterpo nt class that he missed Besides , he ’ t Bruckner s private pupil . At the University (Pub ’ probably did hear Bruckner s lectures , but we can 7 infer from this that their relations were those of

and Pupil , especially as Bruckner showed himself

uite otherwise than at the Conservatoire . He nearly

— two came with Mahler into the lecture room , and the

together . Bruckner , in his relation to Mahler, may ’ “ called (in Guido Adler s words) his adopted father-in of We may even speak friendship , although the r e legend throws no light upon the matter . Bruckner spoke of Mahler with the greatest respect— as his B affirms— O Theodor attig, amongst others , ften met 16 GUSTAV MAHLER

s old . him , and played him various compo itions of his , and new

When Mahler had visited him at his house , the far elder Bruckner insisted upon conducting the young man down the four flights Of stairs , hat in hand . And Mahler! It is not generally known that he made one ’ - Of the first piano duet arrangements of Bruckner s symphonies . This arrangement of the Third Symphony— that dedicated to

- — was Wagner , with the trumpet theme probably published in 1878 by the fir m of BOsendorfer Rattig (now Schlesinger Of Lienau) . It was made after the new edition the score , which

1 76— 77 was rewritten in 8 , the third and final form being com ’ ple ted only in 1889 . Mahler s piano score follows the orches n the tral o e exactly , and attempts to keep various parts in the Of characteristic pitch Of the instruments , even at the expense not being easily playable . During his later wanderings from place to place Mahler had little opportunity for a Bruckner propaganda . In Prague and

Hamburg , however , where he had concerts to conduct , he began it at once . As conductor of the Philharmonic Concerts ’ r r in Vienna, he gave the fi st performances of B uckner s Fifth (composed and Sixth (composed at these con ’

f . certs . This was Mahler s way o expressing admiration And when the Viennese made an appeal for contributions for a D of Bruckner Memorial , and the irector the Opera was asked “ r : to Sign the petition , he refused and said to the o chestra Let us play his music instead . Amongst people who would hear of nothing Bruckner whilst he was alive , and stood in his way, ” f r is no place o me . Mahler composed much during these years of apprentice

. was ship In addition to his prize work , which composed

literally overnight , there was a Violin sonata which enj oyed a “ ” certain celebrity amongst his friends . Also a Northern

of r symphony is said to have existed , and some the ea ly lyrics

. The Ar onauts wa date from this period An opera , g , s written

in alliterative verse and its composition partly executed .

18 GUSTAV MAHLER

formed , that only shows that for Mahler duty as he understood of — it was of more weight than a service friendship his duty , because he was convinced of the slender stage-effect of the

. beautiful Opera, an opinion which proved only too well founded

Still another friend must be named , whom I did not care to was mention during his lifetime , so great his timidity and retire Li in er ment after a wonderful beginning . Siegfried p is known ’

R . 1 96 to all who have read Nietzsche s letter to ohde (II , No of the year Just recently I had a real holy- day with ’ ‘ ’ no t Lipiner s Prometheus Unbound . If this poet be a man

of . E genius , I no longer know what genius is verything in is it wonderful , and I seemed to meet my own exalted and b deified self in it . I ow my head low before the man who ” can imagine and produce such a work as this . n D 30th 19 1 1 This man died o ecember , , after a long illness , as Regi erungsrat and Librarian of the Houses of Parliament in was f Vienna . With few exceptions this all the papers knew o

o him ; they scarcely even knew Of his translati n of Mickiewicz . ’ f I recall him here to speak of Mahler s a fection for him . He constantly returned to this youthful friendship . ’ However intimate Mahler s relations with these friends of

r his youth were , he was equally gene ous with his assistance to strangers , when once convinced of their merit . But a long and f bitter time of su fering was now destined to be his own lot , in of spite certain outward good fortune .

- Their rallying point in those days was the Wagner Society , ’ was and there the Master s cause upheld in word and deed . It is not known how far Mahler took part in the struggles of that wonderful period ; he was Often enough looked upon as a ’ fanatic , because , no doubt owing to Wagner s writings about R egeneration , he was at that time both an abstainer and a vegetarian . But that he understood Wagner as perhaps

- none before him , his stage direction proved to all the world , and of G the history the erman theatre will long keep it in mind .

o f The young artist gave the best himself at the piano . H H A L Y T 19 C ILD OOD , E R Y OU H

All who heard it speak of his playing with veneration . At the Conservatoire they said that a pianist of exceptional gifts

ne who was latent in him , o of those might enter the lists with n of i Rubinstein and Liszt . But it was o account the sp rit ,

- n . w ot of mere technique The enormous ill power , the genius of out that exhausts every possibility the music , broke in the ’ ’ pianist s spirit , as later in the conductor s power . The whole o dread f the mystical abyss enveloped his Beethoven , and Mahler ’ s friends have never again heard the last sonatas out of played in such fashion . He fled to Beethoven the sordid

— atmosphere Of the theatre to Beethoven and to Bach . And , however much he was plagued with performances and re hearsals f r — , he was always ready o chamber music the more ’ - the better . The true musician s j oy in music making enticed him - - m n , and his perpetually re creating , ever i parting e thusia m s lavishly poured out his gifts .

He seems to have visited the theatre only seldom , and it is right to say that he became acquainted with most of the operas wa he conducted later only as their conductor . This s quite in keeping with his contempt for tradition , which as a rule only gives and takes mistakes , and neither attains nor even strives after perfection . The holiday months Of the summer he spent in this and the following years at home with his parents . The landscape round Iglau is tame , and almost without beauty . It is no n f tragic landscape , rather o e that dreams in the rear o trage i dies , giving cheer and comfort . Its melancholy s subdued by : its charm gentle Slopes awaken longing ; wanderers fare onward , songs resound . Mahler has much to thank this neighborhood its for ; voice is heard in all his early symphonies . He took of the man the soil seriously . Once he meets a Shepherd and ’ his fl ock— what may such a man s thoughts be! Somebody : - replies About the next market day . But Mahler becomes a : ngry The Shepherd lives with nature, he dreams and broods ; he surely has ideas of his own . 20 GUSTAV MAHLER

His kindly sympathetic and divinatory nature brought him near to animals . He understood much of their language , and could pass hours playing with dogs . In the same way , he was devoted to children , which have the candid seriousness of for animals . How many things in his works are children and for childish genius alone ! And it must have been remarked how children understood him . In the preliminary rehearsals of for the Eighth Symphony , at Munich , the cordial relations the children ’ s chorus to him provided many an empirical con firmation Of that which an observer who follows the inner nature must already have known . In this time of his youth everything was foreshadowed that ’ Mahler s character was to produce . Again and again it i throws its light upon h s whole later life . In the blossom are the fruit and the magic of the blossom . And one cannot s tay long enough in the Spring .

APPRENTI CESHI P

The agreeable life of Vienna might have been continued only externalities were concerned— and Mahler would probably have been led to his own creative work outside the traffic of the theatre sooner and (perhaps) more permanently . At the

- same time , we to day , and especially we in Vienna , will surely out not regret that things turned otherwise , and that the young man of hardly twenty went head over heels into an a apprenticeship to the trade of conducting . B ttig says he saw persuaded him , as he its necessity , to pay a Visit to the f “ ” inevitable Agent . And Mahler was o fered an engagement at Hall , in Austria , then not even Hall Spa . The enthusiastic disciple of Wagner and friend of Bruckner— and a summer ! theatre His parents and a few others opposed ; but Prof . E pstein advised Mahler to accept , in order to make a start “ Yo . u somewhere will soon find other places , he said con in sol gly . APPRENTICESHIP 2 1

of 19 ahler went at the age and conducted operettas , nd stage music in Hall at a salary of a month ‘ ” 1 gratification of about 7 cents per performance . r he sought supporters in or out of the theatre is not For anyhow , he had them . he was always of such a and winning manner that he awakened enthusiasm earliest youth , and the same continued until the end . “ - nna Mahler clique , which was formerly SO insulted

o r. uled , came into existence in no other manne When

who — alls , there are always some must follow and that

- nor . either must , can , will , is self explanatory

1 autumn the great doings at Hall came to an end , and “ was . a was similar to be found The lternative Vienna ,

— ssons . N ot of 1 1 2 , and composition till the season 88 8 . nd r Mahler again in the theat e , this time at Laibach

Jarentl of y in a very limited sphere action . It is that in M artha the conductor once had to— whistle the

ose of . summer But this misery passed , too , and in

,er of 1882 he again remained in Vienna and worked at

of Rubezahl . wa position a fairy opera , It s not com ’ tr published , but Mahler s friends say that it was Of

n ortance . p in his development The bright humour ,

ala o w dark , biting , perverse style Call t which e know

r e lyrical and symphonic wo ks , existed already in Especially a March of Suitors is remembered n anied f p by music in the maddest o moods . Just was at the beginni ng of 1883— the first conductor Of

tre at Olmutz died , and Mahler was called upon to

- - . TO Olmii tz as place day , counts a better class theatre ; but at that time things must have been in

Ly . Mahler felt outraged and at once ork to get Mozart and Wagner intrigued o ut of the

as not . e , SO to shame the music He then conducted

. J ose h i nything but Meyerbeer and Verdi , also p n 1 d finally the first appearance in Olmutz of Carmen 22 GUSTAV MAHLER but with what scorn in his heart ! When he wanted to drag his

saw f people with him , and the indi ference which at most “ ” turned the smile at the idealist and his enthusiasm into a

. grin , it was for him like harnessing a winged steed to a plough At times they did do something for the poor idealist— the word Is in theatre language an insult— but that was only out Of pity for his feelings . Mahler wrote at that time to a friend Only the feeling that I must stand it for the sake of my Mas

ors of t , and perhaps even do sometimes strike a Spark their

fire from the hearts of these wretched people , steels my ’ courage f Perhaps things were not really so black as they appeared to

- the idealism Of the impetuous young man . And even to day some people in Olmii tz still have a warm recollection Of the

Kapellmeister of their theatre . ’ One day, however , Mahler heard that a second conductor s post was vacant at Cassel and , having borrowed money for

his see . fare , went to about the place His presence was a “ of R recommendation , and he was engaged with the title oyal ” Director ofMusic . He laboured for two years at this theatre , and amongst the larger operas that he conducted were Der

Frei schutz Hans Heili n Robert the Devi l Ratten , g, , and the ’

an er. e N f g Ang lo eumann s statement , that in Cassel Mahler

Lortzin was given only g to conduct , is an error ; but at any “ ” rate he did not get the classics . Between Olmutz and Cassel there lie a short season Of activity as chorus- conductor of an Italian stagi one at the Carl Theatre in Vienna and a r pilg image to Bayreuth . There the perfection of the perform ances so was an inspiration to him after much ignominy, and r i he was shaken to the roots Of his being by P a s fal . He said the greatest and saddest of all things had appeared to him , and he would have to carry it with him through life . r Afte Bayreuth , he also visited Wunsiedel and the landscape

Of Jean Paul . In the years 1883 and 1884 fall the Lieder eines fahrenden APPRENTICESHIP 23

for its Gesellen . The First Symphony, which depends themes upon two Of them , was also begun about this time .

In the service Of the theatre , he wrote music to some living ’ f Trum eter o S akki n en pictures representing Schef el s p f g , two which was composed in days , and , besides amusing Mahler u immensely , had great success . The living pict res with the music were also produced in Mannheim , Wiesbaden and K arlsruhe .

But his theatre pleased him less and less . He could not n attain to the great works he was bur ing to conduct . Then ff came di erences Of opinion with the Intendant , which at once (perhaps as Mahler stubbornly refused to conduct a parody on

’ ‘ ‘ Tannhauser) were stamped as an infraction ofPrussian subor i i ” f d nat on . o On account such audacity , he was viewed by the theatre folk with pity and aversion . With the orchestra , too , he was too severe in the rehearsals , which often lasted

. m eight hours The worst ca e , however , when Mahler , who was already conductor of a chorus in the neighbouring town of M ii nden was , chosen by several choral societies as conductor

of 1885 . a musical Festival in the summer Of His superior , the In first conductor at the opera , must have felt hurt , and the tendant even demanded that Mahler should decline . Even before this , , Mahler had written to Angelo Neumann , the of future director the German Theatre at Prague . This typical letter was published in the “ Prager Tageblatt Of

th 1 89 . : March 5 , 8 It reads

C 3rd De ember 1 ASSEL , c , 884 . r i Dea S r, erew e he ert of r I h ith tak t lib y int oducing myself to you . I am seco o u or the ea re ere o u Robert the Devi l nd c nd ct at th t h , and c nd ct ,

’

Hans Heili n Frei schutz Ratten an er e c . You w g, , f g , t ill b e able without any great diffi culty to O btain particulars as to my capabiliti es rom ere or ro s e- a er Ub erhorst o f th e Dres e r f h , f m tag man g d n Ope a, es re who knows me well . I d i to change my positi on as soon as oss e i efl e c use ee o re e er or f p ibl , ch y b a I n d m and b tt w k , and un or 24 GUSTAV MAHLER

ere as secon o uc or c o find an a corre tunately h , d c nd t , I ann t y th t f f. Can ou a e use O a ou sponds with what I am capable o y m k y ng — wn ra ses and energetic conductor who I must e vidently sing my o p i

— r u e at his s osa an d who is no t w ou haS knowl edge and o tin di p l , ith t fire an d e us as o wor s of art and the power of breathing nth i m int k , ! b e r e and no t a e u also in to th e arti sts taking part I shall b i f , t k p let me a e our re as soo as os more of your time . Kindly h v y ply n p sible . u Yours faithf lly,

GUSTAV MAHLER .

se Wo ssc uc 13 r oo r. Cas l , lf hl ht , Thi d Fl

Neumann asked Mahler to apply again as soon as the news that he was definitely entrusted with the direction in Prague

- had appeared in the papers . I do not know even to day how it was that the form and content of this letter made such an impression upon me , and made me send a hopeful reply to the Cassel choral conductor , as I was inundated with other ” applications , especially for the post Of conductor .

r 1885 . In Ap il , , Mahler handed in his resignation It was ’ for accepted . In July he was engaged a month s trial at the o the Stadttheater in Leipzig , and with enthusiasm he dev ted

r remainder of the summer to p eparing the Musical Festival . During the quarrel he was obliged to come secretly and under

r all kinds Of difficulties to the various societies in the dist ict . “ ”

r . 29th 30th But , in the end , eve ything went On June and ,

1 st . and July , the Festival took place The soloists were Frau

- BulSS Dr Papier Paumgartner , from esden , the pianist Reise

nauer , the Violinist Halir ; the conductors being Herr Freiburg , D of r . irector Music at Marbu g , and Mahler There were four M ii nden choruses from Cassel , Marburg , and Nordhausen ,

r and an orchestra 80 st ong . The programme consisted of a

symphony concert , a chamber music concert , and a performance ’ “ ” ss - of Mendel ohn s St . Paul . It was the last named concert r o t that Mahle c nduc ed , and with such success that the depart r e ing conducto b came quite a local hero . He left Cassel ,

honoured with laurel wreaths and many valuable presents .

26 GUSTAV MAHLER

D s preme musical delights . The resden mu ical critic Ludwig

Hartmann , who was present at the performance , could still re v el in recollections of it years afterwards . Later , it was ’ Brahms who recognised Mahler s commanding ability after hearing his production of the work in Pesth ; and Bulow was

transported with that in Hamburg . And , most recently , the unforgettable Mozart Festival in Vienna showed that Mahler had ever had a quite special standpoint in relation to Don i e n fl amcd Gi ovanni . H s glowing love for art the people of

Al astersi n ers Rhe in old Valk ri e Prague . Then came the g , g , y , ’ i eli o I hi eni a — Trum eter ! F d , p g , and Nessler s p But the great works now regularly fall to his Share . At a Sunday concert in the theatre Beethoven ’s Ninth

Symphony was conducted by the youthful Karl Muck . This

r i ebesmahl conce t , in which Mahler directed the L scene from

P arsi al r D S chul fenni f , had g eat success , and the eutscher p g Verein made arrangements with the Director for a repetition of the works for the benefit of the Society o n the following

r 21 st 1 6 . r Sunday , Februa y , 88 Mahle had this time to con

— o duct the whole concert , as Muck had left the Ch ral Sym “ ”

. was r phony with the rest There ha dly a week , therefore

r r r only one rehearsal with o chest a and cho us , but Mahler was still able to have a separate rehearsal of the recitative with ’ celli and basses . Then he condu cted the performance with

terri bi lta — b w real and y heart . The effect as indescribable .

of G Mahler received an address thanks (as uido Adler , then

r r r professor in P ague , elates) , upon which were insc ibed the most distinguished names of German Prague and many pro fessors r r at the Unive sity . It recalled his st iving for the

G — r erman masters for Moza t , Beethoven and Wagner . D The critic r . Richard Batke was present at a later rehearsal

of r 1 98 the Ninth Symphony in P ague in 8 , and I have to thank ’ hi m for a score in which M ahler s directions to the orchestra

s are placed opposite the remark of Wagner . It is wonderful to ’ see how Mahler s words translate Wagner ’ s intentions into PRAGUE AN D LEIPZIG techni cal language with extraordinary terseness and exacti i tude . There s as yet no reference to the more recent retinting of the instrumentation . In a letter to the Prague newspapers Neumann con gratulated his conductor and expressed the hope that his

of now career , the Prague portion which was completed , might everywhere be so rich in honours . This letter was at the same time a reconciliation between Neumann and his conductor , h not nf w o , unbending as he was , did always co orm literally to ’ his director s regulations . There is also record in the following weeks of a performance of Cost an tutte of i the f , and a concert nApril for benefit of the - Society for supporting German law students . In the latter ’ G- Mahler conducted (by heart) Mozart s minor Symphony , f ’ m ’ the Scherzo o Bruckner s Third Sy phony, and Wagner s “ f Kaisermarsch . Fraulein Franck o the Prague Theatre ’

of . sang some songs , amongst which were a few Mahler s “ ”

G . One of them , Hans und rete , had to be repeated This was probably the first public performance of works by Mahler . In the summer of 1886 Mahler had to go to Leipzig in pur n f hi sua ce o s engagement . But Prague still counts him as its

own . The Bohemian composers are indebted to him , if only for what he did for Smetana . And at the fir st performance of his Seventh Symphony— this honour belongs to Prague German and Bohemian musicians were united both in orchestra and auditorium . ’ Mahler s activities in Leipzig— in reality only nominally as second conductor— extended over two years from the summer 1 1 2 m of 886 . Since 88 Stage ann had been director of the

Stadttheater . He was a tireless worker , and therefore favour able to Mahler . The Stadttheater gave many operas , and had a very large r! pertoire which required for its maintenance

. For numerous and strenuous rehearsals instance , in March , 1888 , there were eleven operatic performances in which eleven

’ ff etterda erun Fl i D di erent works were given : G mm g, y ng utch 28 GUSTAV MAHLER

Eur an the Three P i ntos Hans man Lohen ri n Frei schu tz y , , , g , ,

Devi l Fi deli o M i non . i li n M err Wi ves Robert the , g He g, y , and

o f1887— 88 2 14 e 54 ff r In the season , p rformances of di erent ope as

fiv e new . were given , of which were and seven newly studied

Forty- eight evenings were devoted to Wagner . To celebrate ’ Weber s hundredth birthday , all his operas were given in a “ ” S i e ri ed Getter cycle . Later , when under Mahler gf and ’ re ertoire ddmmerung were taken into the p , a cycle of Wagner s was r operas was given . Nikisch the fi st conductor ; but he , was of when Mahler came to Leipzig , thinking other positions

so . r to be had , and counted for only half Moreove , he once r - was ill for six months , so that du ing this entire half year the ’ r full musical responsibility rested upon Mahler s shoulde s . During this time he often stayed all day from morning until r late at night in the theatre . He did not lack ecognition ; his relations with Nikisch only improved ; and though he resigned 1888 s to his positio n in May , , he did so because he till wanted “ ” r . o e be first somewhere o other In Leipzig , Mahler c nduct d

r ! nearly all the great wo ks in the r pertoire , and also , in a

r P arsi al R concert , scenes f om f , in which the Leipzig iedel ’ Verein and the Teachers Choral Society took part . 7 ini z r of D r . Max Ste t e tells in his witty fashion all sorts ex traordinary things that happened in the Leipzig period : “ ‘ ’ Young Mahler represented man as expression amongst the ‘ ’ many for whom man exists only as form . He had the best will

in the world to remain polite , but his look , when anybody said anything silly or ordinary which was perhaps quite good enough was for the requirements of the moment , only too eloquent . Before he remembered himself and got his features back again

into the mould of conventional courtesy , everybody had read from them what he really thought Having full recog nition o f was of K for seriousness aim , he a warm friend arl

r of Knu fer Perron , an interested helpe Paul p , and an admirer ’ o f Artn r was r Josephine e s intuitive abilities . That towa ds the nd e of the eighties in Leipzig ; and later , when I read in the PRAGUE AND LE I PZIG 29

’ t ese papers about Mahler s absolutism , despo ism and i m ;atan s , I often used to smile and think of the humorous , s readily sympathetic and uniform kindliness which i terized his attitude in private life towards us musicians .

" ue so , he detested pretension , dilettantism , coquetry i r was a t, that his Opinion inst ntly noticeable , however ’ ct he might remain in outward form . The precision tression at every moment which characterised his whole Showed itself most interestingly and agreeably in his

was o ur cting. It an event in lives when he took the our bars of the Third Leonore Overture in a continual

50 : thus , in the simplest fashion , each one of the descend ’ Of r taves became an element t agic import , until finally

r r sharp lay in maj estic and igid repose , like the wate s

D o i ova which moved the spirit of God . In n G nni he the terzet with the dying Commandant in a fairly rapid

r and , taking it gradually slower and slowe , reached t tremendous climax that the last few bars became an

f All ro of most impressiv e e fect . He also began the eg of e e- i ani ssi mo v mentioned Leonore Overture with a real p ,

o f few of . e which but us had ever heard In short , when

so r conducted , every bar , to speak , gained new interest ” fe . think of the predominantly mirthful episodes which

,zer witnessed and took part in ! most important event o f the Leipzig years was his of v on g the grandson Carl Maria Weber . The Saxon

In on Carl v Weber , whose regiment was quartered in

Sta emann became acquainted with Mahler through g , on asked him to undertake the completion and arrange ’ The Three P i ) f Weber s opera n tos . Captain Weber

:d of in the possibility such a completion . Meyerbeer 31d f a di ferent opinion , and kept for years the manu w ’ w hich Weber s idow had given him , without carrying or e idea . N was Mahler easily convinced ; but after 30 GUSTAV MAHLER

taking the remaining fragments and the grandson ’ s plans set h ome with him and fully considering them , he to work with enthusiastic fervour and had th e whole thing finished in an “ The Three P i ntos incredibly Short time . , comic opera in v on of three acts by C . M . Weber , based upon the text the same name by Th . Hell and upon sketches left by , and selected

of r manuscripts , the composer ; the dramatic part by Ca l von ” G was Weber , the musical part by ustav Mahler , immediately accepted by the Leipzig Municipal Theatre and performed for h 1 ’ 20t 888 . the first time on January , , under Mahler s direction

was . The success was great , but it also continued Until the was o f summer , the opera given fifteen times , the Oftenest all

ir D s o re erto e . operas in the p Hamburg and re den soon f llowed ,

1889 . other towns somewhat later , Vienna in January , It was the first time that Mahler came into contact with the

E - r Vienna Court Opera . ven to day the work is given he e and

e there , though too s ldom . The relation of the original sketches to this revision h as

r often been discussed . Public and c itics found precisely those

Web erish parts really which Mahler himself had composed , and were irritated at the impious innovator where not a ’ of r Single note Weber s composition had been alte ed . The “ word went round that the whole was rather gemahlt than “ ” r gewebt , and even worse j okes we e made . Thus the ever

r witty in Vienna decided at once , afte a lukewarm performance , that the completion had been undertaken merely that a young ’ man might hitch his name to Weber s , and thus get himself r d agged into notoriety . 6 The truth of the matter was shown by Ludwig Hartmann ’ through a comparison with Weber s manuscript . In the years 1816— 2 1 Weber had worked at this composition . In January ,

1826 r of , he was again busy with the ope a , the text which had been written for him by Hofrat Winkler (Theodor Hell) after ’ S r an old panish humo esque . Weber s music sufficed for two

. r u old acts The thi d Mahler pieced together o t of , forgotten PRAGUE AND LE IPZIG 3 1

’ for agments of Weber s compositions guitar , songs and h . so one i ntatas, etc , in masterly fas ion that can scarcely Th eliev e that such a work was possible . at M ahler should ’ ave so steeped himself in Weber s style ought to be signalized ” lfi h we S a unique instance of affectionate unse s ness . And Inst also remember that Mahler had already completed a

m hon Web erish y p y which is anything but , and had begun a i n d co , and that the actual work is said to have occupied only week of his holidays . f The story o the text , which Carl von Weber somewhat lt r old e ed, tells how a young girl , promised in marriage to an bl m n i o e a , s taken from him by her lover after all kinds of uzzlin g Situations and foolery. Performances have shown i at when the players maintain the lightness and movement of i e piece it is quite capable of supporting the music .

The latter begins with a chorus of students . The twenty ne r introductory bars are by Mahler , the chorus is taken f om a ” ’ “ T r i k n f . G u erban e tt . 68 o , Op , Weber aston s solo ( the ” aal Weber ) is by Mahler . On the contrary , the chorus No . was is which described as a clever imitation by Mahler , ’ l T T r i own was w for he h ee P ntos . eber s , and ritten The ’ I tr acte which precedes was arranged by Mahler from themes h ’ f . Annc n . 9 e s the first act The Arietta No , which resembles ’ mf r in Frei schutz 1 ) o t s . 7 g in the , is a triolet from Weber s Op ;

1e of 1 1 . coda , that an unpublished valse composed in 8 6

1 - . 5 he especially popular No , a three part canon , is from ’ l - . 13 . N o . 1 7 Vi vace eber s Op In we find , at the in two four me , the last melody which Weber , already stricken by mortal lness , ever wrote .

r The work is ce tainly shamefully neglected . But it looks though Weber had fallen upon evil days— at least till the “ ” ex t centenary . 32 GUSTAV MAHLER

THE I I C PESTH . F OR F RST TIME D RE TOR

When Mahler left Leipzig (an Italian j ourney probably supervened during these few months) he had no positive offer

for the following season . Negotiations were begun with Ham K was burg , arlsruhe , Pesth , even with New York , but there o f wn hesitancy on both sides . No performance his o works

was to be thought of, and the only auspicious event of the immediate past was the significant artistic and even material ’ The Three P i n tos success of , the entr acte of which penetrated 18th as far as New York . On August he conducted the first performance of the opera during the imperial celebration in

Prague . He began to despair of overcoming the stagnation . But between summer and autumn the decision came ; Mahler

was appointed Director of the Royal Opera in Pesth .

- Pesth has two court theatres , a play house (the National - In te n . 1888 Theatre) , and an opera house In January , , the Ke lev ich dant Count Stefan g resigned , leaving the National

- - Theatre as a well conducted and well frequented house .

On the other hand , the Opera provided trouble enough for “ Ke lev ich o f both , being , as g said , a product the extravagant ” ’ period . At the time when Hungary s independence was “ ” - being emphasised on all sides , a magnificent opera house was

was recte built , and it thought that the future of Hungarian (

o f Magyar) music was assured . But the public Pesth , whose curiously mixed population was not yet won over to Magyar

ism , and furthermore tolerated a German theatre , turned a ” cold shoulder to the national opera , and went there only w “ hen Italian operatic stars were to be expected . The

deficit became terrific , reports were sent in to parliament , and

v n Beniczk see the new Intendant , Count Franz o y , could no u way o t of the difficulty other than keeping down expenses . There was talk of reducing the number of performances ; some r r ff of the a tists we e paid o . Nothing helped . The artistic

negligence was correspondingly great . What with resigna

34 GUSTAV MAHLER

It would avail uS little to tell in detail all that Mahler achieved in Pesth with the comparatively restricted means at f re his disposal . Let this su fice ; Brahms is said to have “ a Don Gi ovanni er r marked , Such p fo mance as they have in ” was Pesth is not to be heard in Vienna . Mahler the central E was figure in public attention . ven his symphony given at a

r n 2oth 1889 own Philharmonic Conce t o November , , under his

r direction . The Hunga ian programme described it as a

Symphonic Poem in two parts . It is needless to say that time and place were not yet ripe for such a performance ; witness how Mahler ’ s activity was not understood to the fulles t extent in a country but gradually accustoming itself to the music of

r E r . Weste n urope , although the best people admi ed him

- But in Pesth , as later in Vienna , the easy going calm of many people was disturbed . They lamented and complained ; and when Beniczky — a straightforward man wh o re spe cted Mah ’ ler s independence and was thankful to him for his help

e r 189 1 r resign d in Janua y , , the reti ing Intendant published a

f r D r r r detailed statement o the benefit of his i ecto . F om this ’ it appears that in the twenty months of Mahler s directorship

r - r of r thi ty one works we e rehearsed , which the following we e

r r a : given for the first time , or evived afte a long interv l P ! cheurs de P erles Fi lle da Re imen t N achtla er i n Granada , g , g , ’ Rhei n old Valk ri e Geor Brankowi ch Er r g , y , g (by kel) , Mailla t s ’ Dra ons de Vi llars M err Wi ves r La P art du Di able g , y , Aube s ,

Tem ler and J udi n Asrael Cavalleri a r r p , , (fi st perfo mance out ’ M ari a e aux anternes Wa en side Italy) , Offenbach s g L , fl schmi ed Tales o Ho mann , f fi , and four ballets . The newly stud ie d M arri a e o Fi aro ohen ri n M erli n Ai da works were g f g , L g , , ,

’ ’ ueen o S heba P ou ee de N urember Al i non D on Q f , Adam s p g, g , Gi ovanni Bankban Er B allo i n M aschera Fi deli o N oce , ( kel) , , , s ’ de J eannet e t . Mahler s enormous activity and organising r capacity we e highly praised , and the continually increasing

profit , which had already replaced the everlasting deficit , was given in figures . At last it reached nearly Gulden 35 HAMB URG . FIRST PERFORMANCES

(about At the same time there appeared in the “ r o f Pester Lloyd a more detailed app eciation Mahler , ” whose artistic tact towards the nation , whose staging (espe cially o f Wagner) and whose educational power in general “ E were generously extolled . ven were the reproach possible that Mahler had not raised the Opera to the level of other royal theatres , it must be said that this could not come about E two or . in even twenty years , if at all verything might be ’ or or denied found fault with , except Mahler s artistic honesty ” his extraordinary capabilities .

r Ge On February 3 d the new Intendant , Count za Zichy ,

his . pianist , composer and poet , took over position He was ’ “ ” n o t in agreement with Mahler s Wagnerian tendency . Then the theatre ordinances were altered and the director lost “ ” r r his autho itative rights . Zichy directed ehearsals . On

‘ 4 h f r the t o Ma ch Mahler gave up his post . His contract ran for eight years further , and the intendance had quite a high

r wa indemnity to pay . Late an attempt s made to get Mahler back again to Pesth . When the newspapers announced his

r reti ement , a telegram from Pollini called him to Hamburg

r l st was his as fi st conductor , and on April he already busy in n w e position . Pesth sent tokens of its appreciation after him . Wahrmann E Count Albert Apponyi , Moritz , dmund von M ihalov ich and Siegmund Singer raised a subscription , of principally amongst the subscribers the Opera , and sent to Mahler in Hamburg a gold baton and a silver vase with the “ To f inscription , the musician o genius , Gustav Mahler, from ” his — Buda Pesth admirers .

HAMB URG . THE SUMMER COMPOSER . I F RST PERFORMANCES .

Thus the director had once more become first conductor . But under Pollini in this capacity he had almost unlimited authority . In his ensemble were artists like Anna von Milden 36 GUSTAV MAHLER

K Klafsk - E burg , atharina y , Bertha Foerster Lauterer , rnestine

- Artner Birrenko Schumann Heink , Josephine , Willy Hesch , r n D . e v e , Leopold emuth He lack d work and va iety as little as recognition or sympathetic and stimulating friend s . The performances under Mahler became celebrated thr oughout of North Germany . Amongst the principal events the Ham

’ fDer Frei schutz Tannhctuser burg theatre were the staging o and , ’ of Rubinstein s Demon (for which Mahler thenceforward

r s G Showed a c ertain pa tiality) , the fir t performance in ermany ’ of Tschaikowsky s Eugene Onegi n (at which the composer was ’ present and distinguished Mahler by lavish praise) , Bizet s ’ ’ D ami leh r F alsta A otheker The B ar j , Ve di s fi , Haydn s p , and

tered Bride Two Wi dows Dali bor . , , and , by Smetana We recognise here the same lines of procedure as during the first

r yea s in Vienna . He conducted other novelties such as ’ ’ Atta ue da M outi n r Franch e tti s Bruneau s q (afte Zola) , ’ Columbus rs Ger r r o f u M an on , the fi t man pe fo mance P ccini s , ’ M anon Of sse o r Werther the Ma net and the same c mpose s ,

Ha l d r el T o r r nse an G et he Cri cket n the Hea th . , In Moza t , F i d i o r . . el . Wagner , , he eigned supreme The composer J B ’ Foerster tells much of Mahler s rehearsing and conducting .

r r His solo rehea sals with the singe s were almost dreaded , but

- - were none the less a master school of musico dramatic art . With inexorable severity and the fiery zeal that always pos sessed him , he demanded the utmost exactitude in the rhythm on fl w n of the music , which the stage he always made to o e tirel r y out of the rhythm of the d ama . Only when everything

r in song , in enunciation , in tempo , in relation to the o chestra ,

out r was worked with the g eatest precision , did he leave the own artists freedom to use their individuality, testing and n weighing in most cases , ot meddling with or only unnoticeably

r directing those whom he t usted . The conductor wrought

out the slightest dynamic and agogic nuances , which the stage

manager supported with those of lighting and arrangement . I have also heard from Foerster a phrase used by many other 37 HAMB URG . FIRST PERFORMANCES genuine and acutely sensitive musicians independently one o f ’ the other : That everything which took shape under Mahler s

fingers was as though born again . And this enormous strain of creative energy was transmitted to the nerves of the hearers . Perhaps herein lies the secret of the man who neither taught nor explained nor even allowed his earlier vehemence ofgesture to appear on the surface , but rather created with the inspired impulse of the true artist . He even created often enough in a literal sense ; for after dnsuccessfully protesting against the acceptance of some inferior or mediocre work , and finally agreeing to it , he amazed everybody , and most of all the com posers themselves , who often declared that they had not ' thought it possible for the music they had written so to sound ’ ae or so to move people . Mahler s d monic intensity could strike

fire out of clay , and he was almost always in such a glow himself

— that he forgot everything theatre , public , artists , and all when not specially and offensively reminded Of them . Then

r one occur ed the outbursts , of which Specht reports during the

Hamburg period . Mahler had already begun with the first of The Valk ri e - bars y , and some late comers were still noisily seeking their places . Suddenly he stopped the orchestra , “ D ’ ” : . turned around and said on t mind me , I can wait

. was And Silence reigned In Vienna it no rare occurrence , “ when the last bars of a movement were interrupted by south ” or for ern applause for some singer other , him to turn and indignantly demand silence , even if audible only to those nearest him . And those who created a disturbance in concert hall or theatre by late coming and early going— in the Phil harmonic concerts in Vienna this is almost good form , as far “ ” as unpopular composers are concerned— were terrified by looks that would have shamed the Philistine , had he not long “ ” since forgotten what such a feeling is like . Naturally everything is natural to the Philistine — h e then sneers at ex citabilit - s y , hyper sensitiveness , capriciousnes , bad temper . ’ was But it only the creator s wrath at the paralysing intruder . 38 GUSTAV MAHLER

Amongst those wh o learned to respect Mahler in Hamburg

r r il was Hans von Bulow . Mahle had al eady heard B low and e nthu the Meiningen Orchestra in Cassel , and had written an ’ was siastic letter to its conductor . Now it the older man s of turn to admire . And he did so with the whole fire his tem

rament pe , and allowed no occasion to pass without singling r Mahler out for p aise . Such occasions presented themselves in the so - called subscription concerts of the Hamburg Society

- e . r of Music Lovers , which Bulow conduct d M ahle always had il wh o r th e to Sit in a front row , and B low , liked to bridge ove

r - r re di stance between conce t stage and audience with wo ds , at dl o f pe e y spoke to him from there , reached him the scores new works , to the astonishment of the assembled public , and

f r often seemed to be conducting o him alone . He invited

Mahler to his house , and once presented him with a laurel wreath , on the ribbon of which was written , To the Pygmalion ” - r . e of the Hamburg Ope a House Hans von Bil low . Wh n

D r 1892 co n Bulow fell ill in ecembe , , Mahler at his request

'

r s rse . ducted the following conce t . The illne s became wo Bulow resigned his post in 1893 and nominated Mahler as his

. 1 2 of r 1 94 successor On the th Februa y , 8 , Bulow died at r 2 o f Cai o . The penultimate concert of the 6th was in memory ’ D r . r r . Hans von Bulow Mahler s admi er , He mann Behn , a

art r . passionate lover of , spoke a few wo ds of remembrance ’ After this Mahler conducted a movement o f Brahms German R B ‘ l ’ equiem and the Eroica . iI ow s body was brought to

Hamburg and , in accordance with his wish , cremated . The r r bu ial ce emony , conducted by the Senate of Hamburg , took ’ “ K A f r place in the church of St . Michael . lopstock s ode u e ” stehen , j a auferstehen , was sung . It was as though the spirit of the dead musician had once more saluted his friend , and at this service Mahler received the inspiratio n for the final choral

of s K movement his second ymphony , which contains lop ’ r stock s verses continued by Mahler , c owning the maj estic

edifice . Until then no other ending attempted had appeared 9 HAMB URG . FI RST PERFORMANC ES 3

worthy of the beginning . There are other cases in his works out where he had similar inspirations ; visions , dreams , of which seem to speak voices from another world .

1 894— 95 of sub Mahler then , in , conducted the next series in scription concerts . They were eight in number , the last ’ “ ” cluding Beethoven s Weihe des Hauses and Choral Sym phony . On the other programmes we find the Pastoral Sym ’ ’ C- phony , Schubert s maj or Symphony , Schumann s First , ’ R ’ Bruckner s omantic , Berlioz s Fantastique and Carnaval m in re a . , and the Siegfried Idyll The fourth concert was in R The Demon memory of ubinstein , with selections from and the Ocean Symphony . in As Mahler had found a master Bulow , he found in Bruno n e w r r Walter , fi st conductor of the Vienna Cou t Opera , an intelligent disciple . Walter was able to mature under Mah ’ ler s example as conductor at the Hamburg theatre , and later ’ D r in Vienna . He became the composer s companion . u ing the Hamburg period he made the fo ur— hand piano arrange

f has l ment o the Second Symphony , and subsequent y often enough shown how deeply he has penetrated into the spirit of ’ Mahler s work , perhaps best as he rehearsed and produced ’

i ed von der E rde 1 1 1 . the master s posthumous L at Munich , 9

But there were other friends , and Mahler loved to delight them w hi with chamber music at his house . It as at the same time s relaxation from the theatre . Foerster has even yet not for ’ gotten the impression he had from Mahler s piano -playing in “ ” the Geister trio . He had never before been so conscious of the supernatural element in the music . And the admirers of the conductor and artist became active and sympathetic f furtherers o the composer . In these years his star was at last in the ascendant . In the summer of 1892 Mahler conducted an ensemble

(most of which , soloists , chorus and orchestra , belonged to the D Hamburg theatre) at rury Lane Theatre , London . The performances of German opera which Sir Augustus Harris 40 GUSTAV MAHLER

Tri stan gave , together with French and Italian works , were , h Ri n Fideli o. D ow the g, and Paul ukas has described Mah ’ i f ler s reading of the Th rd Leonore Overture a fected him . The success was so great that Harris was able to announce ’ E performances of Wagner s works in nglish .

In the autumn there was an outbreak of cholera in Hamburg .

The theatre began later than usual , but still during the plague .

Mahler held out pluckily and luckily . A year later , as isolated cases still occurred , Mahler himself fell a victim , but soon recovered . In the summer holidays of 1893— 96 Mahler li v ed at Stein 1 4 r . 89 bach on the Atte see There , in June , , in a quiet little

s hou e , the Second Symphony , which was begun during the 1 5 ’ was . 89 Leipzig period , finished In August , , after a few weeks work , the plans for the Third were ready , and the composition

r r f Wunderhorn . o completed in Hambu g Seve al the lyrics , “ ” “ ” s r D as such as the Fi chp edigt , irdische Leben and the “ ” Rh einle endche n r — g , we e also written about this time the h i l n h n f R e n e e dc e o . g , it is said , in a couple hours The spring now flowed uncontrollably after having long been choked .

And the flood spread out over the land . D 12th 1892 On ecember , , at the fifth Philharmonic concert ’ r of in Be lin , Frau Amalie Joachim sang some Mahler s lyrics with “ ” Der orchestral accompaniment , Schildwache Nachtlied and

“ ' ” r r M h iI . Ve lo ene I t was the first attempt in Berlin . In the autumn of the same year the First Symphony was played in K Hamburg , in addition to which Frau Schuch and ammer “ ” Sanger Bulss performed Humoresken (Wunderhorn li eder with orchestra) . Ferdinand Pfohl wrote cordially about these

r s . was r wo k It of greater importance , howeve , that , through

R r K s . the influence of ichard St aus and Prof retzschmar , the Firs t Symphony was set on the programme of the Tonkii nstler

1 4 . D Festival at Weimar in June , 89 The Allgemeine eutsche T nk n r Musikverein founded by Liszt , which arranges the o ii stle

42 GUSTAV MAHLER

’ ments of the Second Symphony under Mahler s direction . Schuch made the Second Symphony known in D resden in the

— 1897 97 . r season of 1896 In Ma ch , , Weingartner conducted r s the second , thi d and ixth movements of the Third in a concert

- of the Royal Orchestra in Berlin . The old fogyish audience was of these concerts took fright , and the work not produced r r r in its entirety at that time . Weinga tne however , late again took the field for Mahler in his essay on The Symphony since Beethoven , but unhappily not as conductor of the r s as Vienna Philharmonic conce t , at least long as Mahler lived . In the last Hamburg years negotiations were begun by various court theatres with Mahler ; but the Vienna Opera

r r finally engaged him as conducto . B ahms , whom Mahler

s 1896 had visited at his summer re sidence at I chl in , was con v in ced of his capability as artis t and man and had warmly recommende d him . Mahler again visited the then ailing but still hopeful master during the last days of his life . And simultaneously with the news of his d e ath came the n otifica ’ r tion of Mahler s engage ment for the Vie nna Opera . Sho tly

e con before (in March) , Mahl r had been acclaimed as concert

s r . ductor in St . Peter bu g

I . THE MASTER . V ENNA C OURT O PERA LATER W ORKS

AN D PERFORMANCES .

The ten years that now follow (1897— 1907) are still recog nised one r s r G as of the g eat epoch in the histo y of erman Opera , ’ equal in importance to Carl Maria v o n Weber s and Richard ’ ’ th e D r s r Wagner s direction of e den Ope a , and Liszt s activity

. r in Weimar As in Bay euth , and as a development of the

r Bayreuth ideal , the st uggle against the difficulty of daily per formance r o was fought out , in pe petual opp sition to the nature “ ” o f this richly gifted but characterless town ; a style created ,

s and festivals celebrated , uch as can neither be disavowed LATER WORKS AN D PERFORMANCES

nor forgotten . And all this from a man who could have done greater things in his own branch of art— an art wholly uure lated to the transient phenomena of the stage— but who was able onl y on holidays and in pauses to think that he belonged in reality to his own art - a man who had seen through and despised the falsehood and sham of the theatre in a wretched period when art is the slave of the heaviest purse ; who knew by experience the miserable and degrading connection of art

o f with business , and inspiration with handicraft , and had seen how the daily traffic of the smaller theatres coarsens the out artist , wears the listener , and how the apparent , outward f is perfection o the larger ones only disguised corruption . r ! Salvation , salvation f om the nightmare of the present 1 0 ’ In 9 8, as I thought Mahler s work endangered because insipid “ successors ” were taking pains to destroy its last out r remains , of which the soul had al eady been driven , I published a detailed history of these deeds and of the opposi “ ’ ” 6 tion to them— Gustav Mahler s Heritage The book was

. was combative , and had to be so It not fortified with irre ”

f bl r . F r uta e facts , nor did it p etend to be o I did the work “ ” myself, and nobody had provided me with material . And

as History no longer proposes to light up past and future , “ but simply to be informed my work could not fail to gain ” the praise of readers who count -and also the blame of ” - r the well info med , which even went so far as to inspire a

- counter pamphlet . And , while referring those who wish for of details these ten Mahler years to my earlier book , I would “ ” warn obj ective readers . Goethe once said that the real

o o f c ntent of all history is the struggle belief with unbelief .

And he who possesses a belief in great men , in nature , and in

r the greatest art , sees t uth where he recognises belief . To

such readers I may still recommend the book ; for , though ”

r . the letter may perish , the spi it will remain At Mahler ’ s advent the Vienna Court Opera was tram m l ’ e ed . by Jahn s illness In Vienna , once in his position, the 44 GUSTAV MAHLER

theatre-director has every opportunity to take it easy and let

. things go . This is in the very air If he is naturally self

or indulgent , should physical weakness oblige him to spare

o f . are himself , it is usually the beginning the end His days r of numbered , the cha m novelty is lost , his opponents become

inexorable — and in Vienna it is always the fashion to be an

Opponent . In the seventeen years of his directorship Jahn had really become old and weary . A company of splendid singers no longer formed an ensemble ; discipline tottered ; the repertoire consisted principally of fashionable French sentimentalities ;

r of the deficit , the continual d ead the parsimonious manage ment , was increasing . In Short , things were ripe for renova new tion from top to bottom . This was the work the con 1 l th ductor had to undertake . On the of May he conducted

hen ri n r rs Lo g after a single ehea al , traditionally one of the ” f r r r . was . good pe fo mances It a conquest How di fe ent , new how much more delicately and fervently , how the well known work sounded in all its splendour ! Ludwig Speidel wrote at that time , Mahler is a small , thin and energetic

- figure with sharp cut , intelligent features , who involuntarily recalls Hermann Esser . And the conductor resembles the f so o . man , full energy and delicate comprehension He con ducted Lohengri n with material expedients which took on an

s r almo t spi itual character . He began the dreamy motive of the Prelude with extremest delicacy , and only at the climax of r the wo k , where the brass enters with full power , he seized f the entire orchestra with a swift , energetic gesture . The e fect was magical . He showed his mastery in every detail .

He stood in living touch with the orchestra , with the chorus , with the separate soloists ; for none did his signal fail There could be no more delicate and practical way of sparing the invalid director than setting such an artist by his side . ' r the O era Herr Mahle will work like artistic leaven in p , if he is allowed to work at all ! ” LATER W ORKS AN D PERFORMANCES 45

Dutchman he Flyi ng was the second Victory , and therein “ ” 1 st i ler discovered the Opera chorus . On the of August ” t dire c vas appointed deputy , a mon h later temporary ,

another month saw him definitely director . But even i R re this , in the town of the faithful disciple , Hans ichter , ’ - r Ri n r lad freed Wagner s life wo k , the g, from the customa y ” w . no e ts and mutilations And began a ceas less work , struggle against convention — a tyranny o f genuine

r - r .tive artistry . The claque disappea ed ; late comers we e

>idden entrance during the performance ; the drama in the ’ do was Wa nef s r r awakened , in g spi it , in the older wo ks he reperto ire and especially in the great works of the Ger r s o f e I maste s . The singers became member an ensembl learned to act without the usual operatic poses and k e s . In works that were newly rehears d , Mahler de ed war (as early as against the panoramic display ” ’ naturalism of the o ld regime ; in the Wolf s Glen only tral shadows were viewed ; in the scene of the Norns ich till then had been no real thread was

.wn The M arri a e o Fi aro . g f g was studied and shortly rward radically re -studied ; the revolving stage was used

- .he r Cost an tutte r Guth eil fi st time in f ; with Ma ie Schoder , was promptly engaged and pushed forward in spite of he r r and critics , came the unforgettable pe fo mances of the ’ ’ r Wi ves Ho mann s Tales re - f y , and of fi created over O fen ’ I f f s head in the spirit o Ho fmann himself . Then came ’ ’ A otheker Lortzin s O era Rehearsal r dn s p , g p , Siegf ied Wag

' ’ ’ Bdrenhauter Demon I cl , Rubinstein s , Tschaikowsky s an ’ ’ P i ue-Dame Sme tana s Dali bor D amileh and q , , Bizet s j , ’ ’ linsk s Once U on a Time Strauss s F euersnot y fairy opera p , , ’ ’ ’ Bundschuh Thuille s Lobetanz r r Dot M o er s , , Fo ste s n , Ballo i n M aschera r r Ernan i Ai da (unde Bruno Walte ) , , , ’ Hu uenots Zai de Fideli o Ri enzi g , Mozart s , , . These are

r r the most rema kable events of the fi st years , in which l n a ce and beauty blossomed from ruins . In the maj ority 46 GUSTAV M AHLER

s wa of the new works an under tudy , often more than one , s

o so o ready for each r le , as to avoid the aband nment of perform

anecs and its unpleasant consequences . The deficit of the

r Opera disappeared ; and , in spite of the fact that the orchest a ’ ’ players salaries were increased through M ahler s representa

r r r tions , the e still remained a conside able p ofit even when the h Intenden dan t raised the price of t e se ats . Public and press

new s r were enthusiastic ; the inge s that Mahler engaged , M ildenbur r Guthe il amongst whom were Anna von g, Ma ie

K r e s - u er r Weidt Schoder , Selma urz , Be tha Fo r ter La t e , Lucie ,

s e r VVeidemann Grete Forst , Jo i Pet u , , Slezak , Mayr and

e o r Moser , were gre ted in the m st f iendly fashion ; even the “ ” ej ection of former favourites wh o would not confo rm to

his severe ideals was n o t laid to his account . Inste ad Of

f o r recounting the e fects of such energy on Mahler and on the s , I will rather quote a fe w of his remarks during thi s period :

as s There is no such thing tradition , only genius and tupid ” ”

r r . ity . In every perfo mance the wo k must be born again “ r s Humanly , I make every concession ; a ti tically , none what ” “

. a ever I butt the wall with my he d , but the wall gets a ” — hole knocked in it. And lastly : Others care for themselves and wear out the th e atre ; I wear myself out and care for the ” theatre . I know that Mahler spoke these words ; and even if

e f r it were not so , and had they be n said somewhat di fe ently ,

s they are none the les true . Unfortunately , the truest is that f about wearing himself out. In the fullness o his youth and

o f was strength , Mahler thought little it when he called upon ,

was as in Pesth , to restore whatever out of j oint , although he can have had no illusions as to the instability of what can be

our ficklen ess done for the theatre of time , or the of favour

and applause .

r In addition to the labour of di ecting the opera , he gladly

undertook the conductorship of the Philharmonic Concerts . LATER WORKS AND PERFORMANCES 47

— 1 1 He conducted them from the season of 1898 99 until 90 . The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra is the orchestra of the

- Opera House , which has formed a kind of republic for its

f s - Sunday concerts . Apart from the evils o elf government

r s and polyarchy insepa able from its con titution , it is perhaps really the best orchestra in the world , as it has often been ’ called , and can take up anybody s glove , if it likes . But it R does not always like . After Hans ichter , whose ways and tradition were dear to everybody , Mahler led this orchestra

to o from victory to Victory . And here , , each work that his [ mis n r baton touched was born again . All deceptions and u de standings disappeared , weaknesses were removed or concealed , familiar works revealed hidden secrets . The kingdom of beauty extended its boundaries as but seldom heretofore . old f When Mahler played an , agreeably pedantic piece o R ameau , he was all severity , rhythm , discretion ; with Berlioz ,

r a wild , unspa ing , yet inwardly controlled phantast ; with

e Schumann , a helper and r producer of that which the piano composer must have expected from the orchestra ; with Bruckner he succeeded by means of some secret or other in binding design and by - design so firmly together that these mighty symphonies were forced into architectural unity ; there were no more gaps , nothing irrelevant , not even a trace of - — ! of self will . And then Beethoven He was the regent r these three years , whom Mahler honou ed upon altars ever E new . Revelations were the gain of his fervour . ven the of audience the Philharmonic Concerts , not always in devo “ tio nal so mood , often the slaves of fashion , of position , cul ” was ture and society , were transported . In this period , it not only almost impossible to obtain a seat , but the concerts sometimes had to be repeated , even on interpolated dates (a

hi - i r t ng absolutely unheard o before o since) , such as the Ninth Symphony in 1 900 and a concert having o n its pro E gramme the uryanthe overture , the Jupiter Symphony , and B ’ f eethoven s Fifth . The artistic and material fecundity o 48 GUSTAV MAHLER

these years has not been surpassed . It is so much the more n e s e is o n ecessary to accentuat thi , as the att mpt made all “ ” o s s occasions to conceal it , the lower the c ncert ink , and “ ” su erficialit r p y , empty cha m and cherished indolence seem to c e lebrate similar victories .

r Mahler the conducto had an aim , which only Wagner before him had sought with such tenacity to attain : Distinct

e r e e rs r ness . The xpe i nc of many yea had given him une ring

e s o f s e o f knowledge of the capabiliti each in trum nt , the possi

D f r i i i f r . s o was b l t es o every sco e istinctne s , him , an exact

Hi cr ce di hi r s . s es n s o ratio of light and hade , sto ms , gr wing

b ar no w r for from bar to , taking b eath a moment and anon

orti ssimo his i s o s crashing into f ; cl maxe , btained by the simple t of means ; his whispering pi ani ssimo; his instinct for the need ful alternation of tranquillity and agitation ; his sen se for the Sharpness of the melodic line ; all these were elements which hi hi equally went to make up s p ower . Add to this s outward

r r o f s s r attention to and inwa d hea ing detail , hidden econda y parts and nuances which o thers hardly noticed in the score ;

s r o f r wh o and la tly , a hypnotic powe will ove all had to hear

r r God D and to obey , a powe f om (or from the evil , as many

— D was Go d . said but this evil from , too l) Instead of

r s vehement gestu es , however ignificant and realistic they might f e s . be , a glance su fic d , a quiet inflection , a mere uggestion Performers and listeners felt the ease and absolute certainty of r r th e ~ this conducting , the const aining fo ce of this will , con

r r t ol of an almost supernatu al force . No words can adequately describe this magical power , which must be experienced . ’

E . ff r One who is filled with T . A . Ho mann s myste ious pre

r sentiments , to whom these thoughts which pe haps reached the extremest depths , still to be discovered , of the hidden

— springs of music have become a living reality , would have recognised in Mahler the realisation of s uch possibilities ; a

r o realisation which had been elegated to the realm f dreams . But he who has experienced M ahler can no longer compare

50 GUSTAV M AIILE R

com Owing to the disorder of his hearing , which ended in

le p te deafness , Beethoven had lost the indispensable contact

with reality , with the world of physical sound , precisely in that epoch of his creative work in which the mightiest climax of his conceptions forced him to seek out new means of expres

o r r sion , and to drastic meth ds in handling the orchest a the e E tofore undreamed of . qually familiar as the above is this other fact that the construction of th e brass instruments in his time was such as to render impossible the execu tion of certain

successions of no tes necessary to the formati on of melodies .

h as o rse o f Precisely this deficiency , in the c u time , brought about a perfection of these in s trume nts ; and not to utilise this development in order to attain the high est perfecti o n in the ’ performance o f Beethoven s work s se ems n o less than sacrile ge . “ R r wh o his r rid th e exe cu icha d Wagner , all life st ove to ’ tion of Beethoven s works of a negligence which had become ‘ f E o f insu ferable , indicated in his essay On the xecution ’ ’ I! o r Vol . Beethoven s Ninth Symph ny (Complete Wo ks , ) the way to a realisation of this symphony as nearly as possible ’ rr r s s r co esponding to the compose intention , which all ecent

r s conductors have followed . The conductor of the p e ent

r r o e conce t has done the same , f om a c nviction gain d and

r r st engthened by having lived himself into the wo k , without

essentially exceeding the bounds set by Wagner . “ s of re There can , of course , be ab olutely no question ‘ ’ r of Beeth o instrumentation , alte ation , or improvement ’ r r - r ven s wo k . The doubling of the st ing inst uments long ago

r — — became customa y , and led also a long time ago to an

- increase in the wind instruments . This serves exclusively the n w purpose Of increasing the sonority , and in no wise is a e

r r l rO e . o chest al assigned to them In both these points , which concern the interpretation of the work both as a whole

r and in detail (indeed , the clea er , the further one goes into ’ r r detail) , p oof can be found in the sco e that the conductor s nl or o y intention was , not arbitrarily obtrusively , but also LATER WORKS AND PERFORMANCES 51

‘ ’ to of not misled by any tradition , follow the will Beethoven into the apparently slightest detail , and in the execution not to sacrifice the smallest thing the Master wished , or to allow it ” to be drowned in a tumult of sound . The matters in question were the doubling of the wood

of wind , the employment of a third and fourth pair horns and

(in the last movement) of a third and fourth trumpet , the

- emphasizing of pauses and expression marks , the reinforcing ’

of . r and lessening the sonority Fu ther , Mahler s remarkable ’ - 95 experiment of performing Beethoven s String quartet , Opus , - f by the whole string orchestra , in order to enhance the e fect of “ ” the wretched instruments and to make it possible to perform

r the work in a large hall , ended in an outbu st of pedantic E “ ” wrath . ven this experiment followed a precedent which nobody at the time cared to remember . At the Mozart Festival in Salzburg in 1891 Jahn performed the Adagio from ’ - Mozart s quintet in G minor with the entire string orchestra .

-fiv e Under Mahler , twenty works by Beethoven were per

- fift r . formed , and y two by other compose s Amongst the ’ novelties were Bruckner s Fifth and Sixth Symphonies ,

’ ' ’ ’ Festklan e Rob Ro G F Liszt s g , Berlioz s y, oetz s Symphony in , ’ ! Aus I tali en C sar Franck s Variations symphoniques , by

i D ofak . Strauss , works by Bizet , Tscha kowsky, v and Smetana

’ own 1899 Of Mahler s works , the Second Symphony in ; the Li eder ei nes fahrenden Gesellen and some of those from Des Knaben Wunderhorn r (with orchestra) , and the Fi st Sym

in 1 1 2 r 90 . 90 s phony , 0 In , when Mahle had cea ed to be

of r r was conductor the Philha monic Conce ts , he invited by the orchestra to conduct the first performance in Vienna of the

1 900 r Fourth Symphony . In , Mahler conducted five conce ts with the Philharmonic Orchestra in Paris during the Exhibi

. 1901 Das kla end tion In , at a concert of the Singakademie , g e Li ed it was 1 02 P was given , and repeated in 9 with the hilhar monic Orchestra under Mahler ; a week later than the Phil f harmonic performance , a repetition o the Fourth Symphony . 52 GUSTAV MAHLER

1905 In , the orchestra took part in the concert of a young “ ” Vereinigung schaffender Tonkunstler (Society of Com

r pose s) , Of which Mahler was honorary president , wherein he Wunderhorn Ki n dertoten performed his Li eder from the , the

' k r li eder and the remaining Li eder after RiI c e t. The concert had to be repeated a few days later ; likewise the first perform o ance of his Third Symphony , which he c nducted in a Phil harmonic Concert , had had to be repeated immediately before

D e 1 905 Or (end of In ec mber , , the Philharmonic ’ h tra r c es gave , under Mahler s di ection , the first performance of the Fifth ; in 1906 the Konzertverein gave for the first time the

r 1 907 Sixth , also unde Mahler ; and in Mahler said , with the

Second Symphony , farewell to the Philharmonic Orchestra ’ r r and to Vienna . Until Mahler s death , only six pe fo mances o f his symphonies were given by other conductors in Vienna ;

r his Li eder had quite disappea ed . D r It should be said that Mahler , as irector of the Ope a , had forbidden the members of the Opera to sing his lyrics . (After now him , such propriety was not observed . ) But that death

are . has made him fashionable , the Sluices of piety opened

Hardly a vocal concert without Mahler , and in a single winter all his symphonies (with the exception of the highly important

was Seventh) were performed . In Vienna , this contrast espe ciall was di y painful , but also in other places it not to be s “ ” E r guised . verywhere he was ours . A provincial pape involuntarily brought the relation Of the German public to “ these things into the correct formula : Seeing that Mahler of died some time ago . it becomes the duty conductors and public to take cognizance of his works . His connection with the Philharmonic Orchestra was dis “ in 1 1 r solved 90 . The Philharmoniker love peace and comfo t ;

r ! anything but excitement , anything but ehearsals But

r Mahle was inexorable with others as with himself, never gave

r s in , wo ked tireles ly , and embodied the whole nervousness of n the modern man and musician . Thus , much may be explai ed LATER WORKS AND PERFORMANCES 53

w in hi D that as harsh s severity . iscord arose and increased . ’ Philhar In the theatre they were Mahler s subj ects , in the ” monic republic they would show him who was master . ( “ Gustav Mahler ’ s In the few weeks of the theatre holidays the composer 1 came into his own . In 899 the Fourth Symphony was begun

1900. in Aussee , and completed in Several Of the separate

r orchestral lyrics we e composed at this time , for instance the

Ki derto en li er v l 1 1 of n t ed Re e e . 90 first three the , and g In and 1 902 M aierne on e , in the quiet of a cottage near gg the W rther

' see RiI ckert Ki ndertotenli eder , the lyrics , the fourth and fifth ,

and . the Fifth Symphony In the following years , also at

M i rn 1 wa e e . 906 s a gg, the Sixth and Seventh In Mahler at E 1 work on the ighth . In 908 in Toblach he completed the ” i ed von der Erde str L , Chinese Songs with orche a , which are 1 bound together into a symphonic work . In 909 the Ninth

w s 19 1 Symphony a composed and in 0 the Tenth , of which part

is . written , but which is not to be made public A creative mood of the greatest intensity the almost convulsive libera , ~ tion from the fullness of inward Visions th atwas the recreation

f . o this man , whose body seemed to rival his mind in strength Here it may be briefly mentioned that Gustav Mahler was on 9th 1901 r married the of March , , to Anna Maria Schindle , a E daughter of the Vienna painter . The ighth Symphony is

so dedicated to her , this work typical of the man and artist , and the only one that bears a dedication . One of the two f 1 907 children o this marriage , the elder daughter , died in in M aiernegg : the emotion of the father had been represented

K der o r Hi r six years previ ously in the i n t tenli ede . s count y ’ r house where the child s death occu red was abandoned , and Mahler passed the following three summers in Toblach

Al t chl derbach . r 011 ( s u ) in a large peasant house Q uite nea , ’ “ ” the edge of the forest , was Mahler s workhouse . His grief at the death of his daughter (at whose side he wished to be buried) ; the knowledge of his heart- disease ; a new and over 54 GUSTAV MAHLER

powering revelation ofnature ; these are th e springs from which

the Li ed von der Erde sprang . It would have been the Ninth “ ” r r N Symphony . But Mahle held back f om a inth , which seemed to lead the musical world to new expectations and at the same time to be fatal to the composer ; since the great “ ” in hs . N t , no composer had yet completed a tenth That is “ ” why the Chinese Songs do not bear this title . The next of so work was , in spite all , called , and , curiously enough , r Mahler has not finished his Tenth eithe . Publishers now began to interest themselves for the Direc ’ E r Hofmei tor s compositions . ven before the Vienna pe iod

r H s ster in Leipzig , upon the rep esentations of amburg friend ,

h ad taken the sc ore and piano arrangement of the Second . 1892 r o o f r s o Earlier still , in , th ee b oks ly ic for voice and pian 1 898 forte were published by Schott in M ainz . Then in the Newspaper Company of VValdheim - Eberle in Vienna published “ of the First and Third , with the support the Society for the ” r furtherance of German science , art and literatu e in Bohemia , was to r as is stated on several copies . This support agreed afte a detailed report from Professor Guido Adler of the Vienna

19 Das kla en de i ed was . University . In 00 g L added The sale of these works o n commission was entrusted to the firm of 1897 Joseph Weinberger in Vienna . The same firm had in already received the publishing rights o f the Li eder ei nes fahrenden Gesellen . The Newspaper Company obtained the

1901 firm Herzman sk - D e h Fourth in , and the of y linger was

given the commission . The Newspaper Company also pub

li h i eder rh r 1 4 s ed the L from the Wunde o n . In 90 the Fifth E 1 Kahnt appeared in the dition Peters ; in 905 issued the Sixth , ’ Ki ndertotenli eder Revel e Tambour sell the , g , the g and five Li eder Rii ckert. after Bote Bock took the Seventh , and the E w ighth as given the Universal Edition in 1 9 10. The rights

of r all these works , also the late ones , are now in the hands of the Universal Edition ; only two books of lyrics remain with

Schott , and the Fifth with Peters . LATER W ORKS AND PERFORMANCES 55

A of bout the turn the century , the previously rare per

m . anees increased in number The Second Symphony , in te of the trouble critical enemies give themselves to dis wa f dit it , has made its y by its e fect alone , especially since a performance by the Munich Hugo Wolf Society on the

.h r 1 900. wa of Octobe , The Fourth s also performed for r 25th N fi st time in Munich ( ovember , immediately

erwards . as R r Berlin followed But , icha d Strauss has well

I arked r - was r r f r , the tu ning point the pe fo mance O the Thi d

T nkii n stler v r o 1 2 . the Festi al in C efeld in June , 90 The n h n p o y had been completed since 1896 . It achieved such raordinar r n y success , that the ,Work Be lin had despised ow

m r ste ed f om triumph to triumph , awakening everywhere

r utmost enthusiasm . In Ba men , for instance , the last v ement to had be repeated immediately ; in Vienna , too , a r r whole wo k had to be repeated within a week . Once mo e ,

’ ’ ) n Strauss s To nkimstler recommendation , the Festival Basel (1903) gave a performance of the Second in the cathe 1 . . 18th t on On October the the Fifth wen its way , begin

rz nich r g with a Gii e Conce t at Cologne . Fried laid the ’ ndations of Mahler s reputation in Berlin with a perform

: f new r r e o the Second . The orchest al ly ics and the i dertotenli eder were sung in Vienna in January and immedi l n o f Te n y repeated , and also put o the programme the Istler 26th Festival in Graz (May , On the of May ,

6 Tonkii n tler E , the s Festival in ssen brought the first per

r nance of the Sixth , which F ied immediately repeated

— uks to the munifice nce of a Mahler enthusiast in Berlin . 1908 came the first performance of the Seventh in Prague th f two 12 o September) , and years later (on the th of 1 9 1 E was r tember) , in 0, the ighth hea d for the first time i ed von der Erde was r r Munich . The L only pe fo med ’ 20th N e 1 9 1 1 er Mahler s death) on the of ov mber , , in the ni ch memorial concert by Bruno Walter ; the Ninth

I h n 12 2 rd p o y 19 (June 3 ) , also under Walter at the Vienna Si l ca Festival . 56 GUSTAV MAHLER

Mahler was o ne who could afford to wait ; even the Eighth

r r o was e Symphony was ready fo u yea s bef re it produc d , and it was not really his fault that it was performed at last . Wh e n the first rehe arsal had shown that everything sounded as h e

was s o f r . wished , he careles fu ther performances He created

h ow . afresh , well knowing long his works will live He Often said of th e Li ed von der Erde and the Ninth Symphony that

r he wished he could hea them both once , by himself , and then not bother any more about them . And he himself Often put diffi cultie s in the way of proposed perfo rmances when he r n fe ared that the works would not be hea d for their ow sake .

r r F or instance , he fo bade the pe formance of his Seventh in “ r r — r es Vienna du ing the c isis of the anti Weingartner p ot ts , “ ” r because he wished to avoid any demonst ation for himself . ’ r - o It is not by chance that , during Mahle s stage directi n , no

r first performance of his wo ks was given in Vienna . We have i eder h w . already told o he acted with his L In truth , not

r r s e eve y a ti t , esp cially nowadays , has this careless patience , r h f e e . w o o this confid nc , this supe iority But he is sure the future need have no care for the present .

e hi r . An In spit of all , Mahler must have loved s wo ks d it was his r r o ne s s g eatest j oy to hea that some , of who e hone ty he w s e r a s s r . a sur d , had taken plea u e even in one of his ly ics And

or e t w nothing gave him m e d ligh , no honour as dearer to him ,

r r than a worthy perfo mance of his wo ks .

r These figu es and events were purposely anticipated .

is That which now not to be described , but only suggested , the ’ grandest period and the tragedy of Mahler s directorate and

It is n ot our purp ose to tell of the anti-M ahler machin atio ns of Weingartner ’ r n his re c ra of th r B du i g di to te e Vienn a Royal Op era as M ahler s successo . ut it is ne essar to men o n em as e are se era mes re erre to in the rese n c y ti th , th y v l ti f d p t

n work . S uch hi ts as are give n (w hich suffi ce d for the musicians who reme mber “ ’ those days o fd i sho n our) fi n d for the mos t p art a fuller tellin g in Gustav M ahler s ” — ~ er a e ace D r . S e an n f r w In H f a adm r o s o a r n . it g p t , i able pie ce hi t ic l iti g

the ases Wll l Ch o ur I a e ere ore en the a er ook as a re eren e . c cc h v , th f , giv l tt b f c ’ [Translator s note !

8 GUSTAV MAHLER

i R ff . Metzner, oller , Ho mann , Moser Mahler was plann ng a

n R own . new staging for Tri sta , oller brought him his The

director was enthusiastic ; Roller was engaged for the Royal

r r of two . Ope a , and the wo k the men began ’ Mahler ’s and Roller s goal was to renew the repertoire from G the foundation . The best works of the erman stage were was reborn in riper artistry , and their eternal value proved by Tri stan the fact that they Showed n ew beauty in the new style . ’ of was the beginning . And as the second half Mahler s ’ G I hi eni a Fi deli o directorate closed , luck s p g , a Mozart cycle , , ’ E ur anthe Rhei n old Valk ri e ohen ri n G Tami n y , g , the y , L g , oetz s g the S hrew Rin of , were produced , and the whole of the g, ’ beron . Weber s O , and many other things , were planned Then ’ Corre idor come the novelties , amongst which are Wolf s g , ’ ’ ’ oui se Falsta Pfitzner s Rose vom Charpentier s L , Verdi s fi , Liebesgarten; various works newly rehearsed ; all this with ever-increased rehearsal and care in preparation— an achieve

ment whose quantity alone demands admiration . And had of these conquests , these Victories imagination over the stage “ ” of as it course is , over the resistance of a court theatre

had all this not been in Vienna , the whole world would have f f known and spoken o it . Out of the experiences o this time I

quote a few lines from my earlier book , where I cannot alter

the form they have assumed . These quotations speak of

ff — Tri stan Fi deli o what a ected me most deeply the new , , and

Don Gi ovanni . “ Tri stan und I sol de. Even during the prelude earth

sinks , and only music remains . The mysterious delicacy, the o rastin lashing impetuosity of the strings , c nit g storm and

calm , are controlled by Mahler as perhaps never before .

Breathless stillness draws the glance to the stage . The curtain ’ divides . A section of a ship s deck , with a protecting canopy .

- ’ Semi obscurity , as if to suggest Isolde s gloomy, revengeful

wo e . The dominant tint orange , apparently realistic ; for the royal Ship the softened rusty red of North Sea sailing-Ships and LATER WORKS AND PERFORMANC ES 59

ideal colour , conveying to the vision the unity of mood of u fl arin wildly p g scene , fluctuating between death and the of st Vivid consciousness life . Such a psychology of colour already familiar to old- time science — Kittel-Brangane :s in every way to comprehend the superhuman traits of

mistress . The oftener one sees the Isolde of Anna von b r i i den u s ts . g, the greater living reality She is the greatest i f gc singer o the German stage . She possesses the gift of T e d . o g y understand her acting is to approach the Greeks .

raises her arm , turns her head , kneels ; and the artist ws more by intuition than he haply might learn from

z t sche or Bur ckhardt . One first realised this in her de . To imagine her , followed by Mahler and Roller into Tr i stan . uttermost depths , is to imagine the Vienna m h r edes , or now and again Winkelmann , personates the e e , r u f one accentuating his maste f l strength , the other his su I g. Both were schooled in Bayreuth . Tristan enters

> ugh a narrow opening , accompanied by heroic sonority of

— brass destiny . They taste the wine . A terrific climax

r f r o ked up to the close o the act . The next shows a fai y

castle with a marble balcony . The night is close with

- i n . ctat o ; the dominant tint , lilac blue Notice here the

plement of the earlier orange , the ripening completion to of promise love , at the same time the evocation of sweet

of twilight secrecy now become colour . In the far dis

- e sea sk . be the , the dark blue y full of stars The music e erfe c s almost Visible , grows plastic in its indescribable p

at the same time as though transported into another world . l out e , stamping the torch , signals with the veil , to the hm of the orchestra — then united and surrendered to

— n sk . ta . A vivid streak across the y daylight and treason

light of morning . Lastly , the group from Melot to

i n r ga e , with the e ect and then stricken Tristan in the

i : t. Then the issue The chill emptiness only harsher ; a i sunlight bathing desolate ruins . Tristan l es at the foot 60 GUSTAV MAHLER

of a protecting tree in the middle of a meadow . The earth of his ruined home receives him before he enters the real rest of the Li ebestod. “ Fi deli o . It opened with the pleasing , but not at all com

- E . edy like overture in One has only to feel the bitter , nowise idyllic mood that Mahler discovered therein , and lend expression to it . But the first scenes really contain much that is idyllic , and Mahler accentuated this mood by uniting the m as far as the march in B flat in a special decoration — a ’ - small room in the gaoler s house . The stage picture narrow

s r s - and intimate in a my te iou half light ; only at the quartet , “ ” “ ” i of Mir st so wunderbar , a faint ray hope lights up the R out Gov ernour room with gold . occo goes to bring the his

vi vace letters , the curtain is closed , the march played quickly ( ) , in whose sharp rhythm the drum awakens tragic expectation .

r new o . With the last ba s , the scene pens The soldiers are

out - hastily marched , Pizarro Weidemann already bullying

r . them . He is p oudly clad in menacing red (Wilde says that even a costume can be dramatic . ) The scene is a dark prison

r s on of cou t with blackening wall , only the left the spectator a few branches peep over , as though in derision . The light

r r cannot be st ong . The prisone s issue from a hole in the wall ,

r ri r : sca cely da ng to breathe , their song a mere fea ful whisper “ ” Wir sind belauscht mit Ohr und Blick ; the Shadow of the

r sentry pat olling the wall on the left falls over the stage .

The act closes almost inaudibly , in indescribable sadness . “ F ’ lore stan s r . In the next dungeon is a f ightful , black vault

r r e f r He e , too , the eye eceiv s the e fect of the ter ible drama and of r r the aging music . Anna v on M ildenb u g as Fidelio incor ’ “ ” e r p rates Beethoven s Immortal Beloved , whose spi it hovers

r of over the da k abyss the work . Boundless j oy of liberation ; r Leono e and Florestan prepare to mount towards the light .

N ow r T r the cu tain falls . h e G of the last cho d leads at once

r r into the fi st bar of the Thi d Leonore Overture , which stands of here and can stand nowhere but here , as a symbol the whole ; LATER WORKS AND PERFORMAN CES 61

ff n su eri g and fidelity , longing and j oy , spiritualised and shorn f - f our of o stage e fect , again pass before spiritual vision purged all earthliness . Stage and absolute music complete one ” another ; and as the symphony intensifies the effect of the on is opera , the ensuing j ubilation the stage a further exalta tion following upon the orchestral music , heightened a hundred fold by the j oyousness of the scene— an open landscape flooded f with sunlight , into which a corner o the prison wall barely protrudes . The full width of the Opera stage is cleverly utilised to add unlimited visual scope to the exulting C— major of the ’ music , and to proclaim love s redemption unto the ends of the earth . “ Do i ov n G anni . The overture begins with brazen might

Alle ro m o . olt and goes over into an orgiastic tempo ( g , the “ ” ’ of absolute allegro Wagner s essay On Conducting .

- The curtain rises and the stage is shown without side wings , “ ” in whose stead are towers , high prisms covered with grey cloth , which , with a simply ornamented ground cloth , form the frame wherein the whole piece is played . (The fixed stage decorations of the Teatro Olimpico at Vicenza bear a certain D 19 5 . 0 resemblance to them ) Here , in ecember , , are the

' towers of the Munich Kim stler- Theater and of the Mann heim Ideal Stage . So it is here , confronting the eternal f uninfl uen ced problem o human passion , by any naturalistic mood , that Roller simplifies , idealises , invents a style . But “ ” the towers are not immovable ; they take part , conforming

- to the changing stage pictures . At about the height of a

- story window like openings are made , and the sides of the prisms that face inward are removable ; thus windows in

or . buildings , loggias and niches , can be produced

The first scene shows a terrace , bounded at the back by a balustrade ; the towers On the left belong to the palace of the

Commandant . In the background is a park , darkling over which is a deep-blue southern sky ; from left to right mount i eu shadowy black cypresses . Starlight . The terrace s 62 GUSTAV MAHLE R

Th e intensit livened by red azaleas picturesquely grouped . y of colour is heightened through having the Whole prospect cut out

is . of black and blue velvet , that , not painted The back ground for the Champagne Aria is a baro que palace in a D on G garden overflowing with colour . iovanni salutes the arriving guests from one of the towers . The finale is played in a brilliantly lighted hall . The towers are niches ; in the mid dle of the stage three tribunes are placed for the musicians . Elvira ’ s chamber (beginning of Act II) is supposed to be in ’ one of the towers on the right ; D on Giovanni s serenade was accompanied by Mahler on the cembalo , and the recitatives ’ n of D E also . A dark hall o the ground floor onna lvira s house ; the only light on the stage Shines through the scarcely E opened huge portals . lvira sings her aria of shame and dread in the modest room of an inn , by the flickering light of a i dim lantern ; she too s following after the seducer . The churchyard is steeped in blue-gre y ; the moonshine weirdly lights up the monuments . In the middle the mighty equestrian statue of the Gov ernour ; the two rear towers are

s . monuments . In the background , towering cypre ses The s of - r cene the letter aria is a na row room , still hung with funeral decorations . The background , covered with black velvet , bears a portrait of the Gov ernour ; six candelabra with burning

— - . a candles Sudden change broad , red tinted hall in baroque D n G style , with dining tables and musicians . o iovanni , in E white embroidered silk , sits feasting . lvira warns once more she hurrying away , staggers back , flees across the whole stage uttering a frightful shriek— and the stone guest appears D on G . and drags iovanni into the depths The sextet , in which Virtue celebrates its triumph , is omitted . “ M ildenbur D Anna von g is onna Anna , and plays the part ’

E . . . f according to T A Ho fmann s tale . She loves the knightly villain, the Victorious man , and through all thoughts of revenge seems to will but one end to the now executed deed Don that the feeble Octavio will fall for her honour , and that LATER WORKS AND PERFORMANCES 63 i’ in G n iovan i , for the second time a bloodstained Victor , will t now fail to overcome the unprotected woman . The tragedy nforced duty and untamed desire was expressed in masterly ’ . to o Gutheil s E hion Incomparable was Frau lvira , in ary glance all devotion and still without ever sacrifi cing her ” ni ty .

The I hi enia who last resuscitation , p g , showed Mahler , grew 3h on each completed work , entirely new paths . (The work “ i not been given since Filled with our knowledge G ’ the Greeks , he disparted luck s intention from French i m was ss cis to . t , which it outwardly forfeit The stage , oo , i M il nb r k on the style of the antique . Frau de u g and Frau theil resembled , both separately and together , the most j uisite Greek statues ; a ring-dance seemed to have been rm t ed from some Greek vase . The scenes rose to View ‘ ’ — 1 passed j ust like antique bas reliefs [Goethe! . The con 11‘ s and arrangement o f the stage supported this illusion of fs was e , which here revealed earlier than in the Munich

- nstler . . Theater A bright curtain formed the background ; y at the close the unveiled prospect of the harbour of

[is was seen . The music chiselled in heroic proportions , ” e by note . ’ l e t one of those who savoured Mahler s art with delight

f — .nd they were the true aristocracy o Vienna not one could

' e said to what unknown realms of beauty this path ,

mi . quered step by step , ght have led Much later , I i of i rd Mahl er say to a young musician , in d smissal adm ring “ our Iments : All these were only essays , we had to feel ” r forward ; the real achievement would have followed . mi ht his companions , felt , of a truth , how much g have

) wed ! But the end was near . a too t is very likely that in other pl ces , , the general public lld have failed to recognise such art . But it would at least

was u d . e been respected . In Vienna it o trage The rea for this Vienn ese peculi arity may be found in Kfirnber 64 GUSTAV MAHLER

* G ’ ger , the application to this case in ustav Mahler s Herit

r was . age . But M ahle himself partly at fault He had been

upright and harsh , had disdained society , had written “ ” 6 neither Explanations nor other feuilletons . He had

. also , by living in his work , lost touch with the world And to nobody does the world pardon this less than a theatre

s director . Thu there arose , fomented by a certain public opinion , a revolt against the man who had scourged private “ ” D - Slothfulness . issatisfied theatre goers , seekers after change , all kinds of unprincipled , undisciplined folk , rabidly attacked D him with the meanest , most shameful devices . isgust

- seized Mahler , the high minded man and artist . Suddenly ,

1907 s . in the summer of , he re igned his position At the news of was him the threatening danger , an address presented to containing a vehement protest against the senseless grumbling

of . was and stupid outbreaks rage It Signed by poets , writers ,

s mu icians , painters , scientists , members of parliament , noble

- men , art loving citizens . The second demonstration for the departing man was occasioned by the magnificent performance of the Second Symphony which M ahler conducted in Novem

— - 1 9 7 . ber , 0 It was the greatest an unforgettable celebra tion . But perhaps the farewell at the station was more f a fectionate still . As the hour of his departure became known from mouth to mouth and from man to man , hundreds collected h fD in the early morning on the platform . On the 9t o ecember F Mahler left for America . or several years he was to conduct few : opera for a months each year the composer , longing for

for own f . freedom to live at last his work , had accepted the o fer

One just reproach may , perhaps , lie against Mahler . He thought he could celebrate festival performances amid the daily traffic of the theatre . Such performances , in which he himself arranged and rehearsed every slightest detail , demanded

Kurnb er er Fer n an n o e The mos m or an mo ern d s and u s . g , i d , v li t p blici t t i p t t d wr er of German A r r A r n n i ensure e e e us an o e e . S e h s it ust ia. C d s v ly t i i d l c e “ ” ’ S e e r n e o n Trans a or no e . i g l i g (p litical feuilleto s) . [ l t s t !

66 GUS TAV MAHLER

us s o e have advanced , and with the in tituti n for whos welfare we worked . “ s o u wh o s And now , my heartfelt thank to y have tood by

e ss s — wh o e e me in my difficult , often thankl , ta k hav help d me

s e re s o o e s for and fought by my Side . Receive my inc t g d wish your future car e ers and for the pro sp e rity o f the C o urt Opera

s s Theatre , who e fortune I shall continue to follow with the ” — G s . liveliest sympathy . u tav Mahler

It was no robus t man that now left Vienna . The terrific

his wo agitation of his life and experiences ; of rk in the theatre , which had almost always begun with a clearing away of refuse and the re- erection of a ne w edifice from the foundations ; of his r r so Visiona y recreative wo k , which he had often to interrupt

u ers ar s in the struggle against mis nd tanding and vulg ity , e pe c iall rs s w s e his y in the last yea ; all thi had a t d him away , and

e was heart had become diseased . Lat r this to be fatal to him . ’ Hagemann has d e scribed Mah ler s d e parture to America as

Ho e re his r r is . a t agedy of culture . The te m e xact w ver g at

s e e r n o t e e fo r success , an arti t and man lik Mahl could count th r that which he was ; and o n thi s side all good Europeans thirs ted

his i r after knowledge . It s a disg ace for the German world and for his Austrian home , that Mahler did not then find a

s r r o f po t where he , inte nally f ee , would have been the cause a thousand good things . He would have been a bestower , for that he was obliged to be .

In America , Mahler conducted twice each month at the

o f r . theatre various works Moza t and Wagner Later , a new w Philharmonic Society as founded in New York . It placed w ’ a new orchestra of his o n at Mahler s disposal , with which

1909— 10 - he gave in forty six concerts , and in the following

- - fiv e . season forty eight of the pre posed sixty Then he fell ill . At the theatre he had conducted only a few further perform

ances .

In Europe he conducted latterly performances of his sym LATER WORKS AND PERFORMANC ES 67

1910 he prepare d the firs t performance of the Eighth in T to a Munich . hen he went Tobl ch , where the Tenth was w l on hi s ir composed . He as cordia ly salute d fiftieth b thday 7th s i u ( July, And we thought , e pec ally after the tri mph of E i the ighth in September , that t was a new dawn . But it AN INTRO DU C TI O N TO M AHLER ’ S WO RKS

D co ita ion s Audisti opprobrium corum , omine , omnes g t e E adversum me . Are not we , in whom the ighth Symphony is a living memory, reminded of these words of a seeker after “ Go d : D orationem — Et the living omine , exaudi meam D niat. clamor meus ad te v e e profundis clamavi ad te .

sancte Veni , spiritus But it is only the inscription on an Old Tyrolian house in the

- : village of Alt Schluderbach , where Mahler lived three summers “ Thou hast heard their reproach , O Lord , and all their imagina tions against me . It is striking that the very house that sufficed for Mahler ’ s not easily satisfied requirements for solitude and quietness should bear precisely this Sign . As it often happens , to him that has ears to hear , a divine dispensa tion , a supernatural voice , seems to make itself heard in such a coincidence . For there is perhaps no living musician except Pfitzner who f has been more wounded by silence and indif erence , and cer inl ta r . y none mo e Violently abused , than Mahler The mad chain extends from those unproductive theory-teachers who knew from the first that Mahler ’s “ boundless will ” could be realised only by a Beethoven , to the just discharged operetta 6 composer who dared to write of the Sixth , that the harmonic “ ” and thematic work in it were equally null . I have already attempted to explain why such arrogance Should be vented 68 ’ AN INTRODUCTI ON To MAHLER S WORKS 69

on . on precisely Mahler But , the other hand , the number of ff admirers increases too . Men of such di erent natures as the East-Prussian musician Otto Ernst N odnagel ; the French R artist and observer William itter , Catholic and antisemite G as he calls himself ; his compatriot eneral Picquart , a liberal politician ; the conservative conductor and writer Georg GOhler ; the radically modern composer and theorist Arnold SchOnb er g ; Alfredo Casella , the Italian enthusiast in Paris, Bruno Walter of the Vienna Opera and Oscar Fried of the ’ of - Berlin Society Music Lovers , these last two Mahler s anointed disciples ; all these men point to Beethoven and in ’ of f his name speak the value o Mahler s works for the future . F or or But can these with their , the opponents with their A ai nst ! N O g , bring conviction , at any rate not with words f (which could at most speak o technical perfection) . School masters and quacks may dare approach Mahler ’ s music with

— their censorship but of his art only this art itself can speak , only performances . And the impartial have their pleasure in them , and would continue to do so , did they not learn from ’ the next morning s paper that such monstrosities could find ” favour only with snobism and misguided inexperience ; that f n the whole is spurious , mere e fect , cunning co trivance . “ ” Thus is a system out of words prepared . Is it of any use to e disprove it with words , or to attempt with words to a com lish p anything , where Mahler says in his music the highest things that even music is capable of! As though Schopen hauer had not proved for us the impossibility of comparing music , the image of the world in tones , with all other artistic activity ; and had not gained for us the privilege of treating f of art from the standpoint o intellect , thereby stating one the a most important laws of modern esthetics , and preparing the f i way or a new culture wh ch , as Nietzsche said , will see science ! i . s with the eye o f the artist No , no words What language ’ “ capable of in the consideration of Mahler s works is either to see how far he deviates from the ordinary and what he ven 70 GUSTAV MAHLE R

E of tures (as Ph . manuel Bach has stated the business such or considerations to be) , to speak subj ectively and in symbols

of one . of the conviction , born experience , with which they fill

And if anywhere , surely here should wisdom be placed as hi highest aim , instead of science ; that wisdom w ch bends its ” steady gaze upon the entirety of the world . My book has from the beginning sought to go the second of ’ these two ways . It has shown that Mahler s is the personality

out out of enthusi which , of its tragic tension , of the excess its out of asm , of the primitivity and unity its being , has trans muted all the deceptions of appearance into reality . The musician Mahler has similarly struggled as the interpreter of

of . high works , as the tolerator and renewer the stage The a wings of the genius grow stronger , s his will requires more ’ r st ength . How Mahler s knowledge developed still remains to be indicated ; it reveals the essence of him to Show that he “ ” could and had to dare the stupendous . The symbols of

r - expe ience were our starting point . They shall be the begin

of o ur . ning , middle and end considerations

In the presence of this grave , it is not possible to do more than this . I at any rate do not dare to do so — to-day even less than at

r — my fi st attempt recognising more and more , as I do , the of greatness the task . But I hope that we shall soon receive a small and also a larger book upon Mahler ’ s works from Arnold ’ h n h S c O b erg . He w o knows this master s incomparable Theory of fAr Harmony (which might equally well be called Theory o t, or of the World) — a master because in the truest sense a creative artist ; he who has enj oyed instruction from him in s m any form whatever , or seen his drawings after various y o f phonies Mahler with the inward Vision they demand , such an one will realise how much S chOnberg has to say about

r ch . r Mahle , and S Onb erg will wish to say it F equently in the ’ r of Theo y Harmony , which is dedicated to Mahler s memory , s r E Dec e o o h his mu ic is al eady mentioned . rnst s y , to , wh as ’ AN INTRODU CTION TO MAHLER S WORKS 71

o is done s much for Hugo Wolf , planning an Introduction to ’ Mahler s works , which may be recommended in advance . I must therefore hope for the patience of new readers ofthis book ; of its perhaps they will still gain , by the modesty suggestions , to by the change from facts symbols , by the accentuation of of the unity and solitude this life , at least for the time being , ’ an idea of what Mahler s works are . My intention is to convert , not to understand or to j udge . Intelligence errs , but not sensibility .

Almost exactly a year before his death , just as he was ' about to begin the Tenth Symphony , Mahler told his Parisian r f iend Casella some very curious things about his works . In them he distinguished three periods : The first includes the m Sy phonies I to IV ; the second , V to VIII ; the third begins I! with , although it is not clear from this whether by Ninth

r r Symphony the Li ed von de E de is or is not meant . And this see seems to prove , so far as I can at present , the peculiar position of the Eighth . Certainly the Ninth Symphony sur

r us o of . p ised , t o , as did each work this genius But I almost think that both this work and the Li ed von der Erde lie along F . or the same road as the Seventh , only far beyond it ( the ’

of . latter , too , shows a new aspect Mahler s art It comes from a quite different world and throws a quite new light upon the earlier works , although it might be grouped with

f . the Second , but from a di ferent standpoint ) Frankly, we are therein quite unhistorical and probably also quite un biological . And it would seem quite certain that the present is not the time to approach the volcano “ with screws and ” hammers , and that the best way is to waive all questions of ” periods , however interesting and authentic they may be . h f v o ne W ilst speaking o di isions , however , thing must be noticed— that after the Fourth Symphony a distinct change ’ takes place . Till then , Mahler s works were purely subjective ; a great and intensely personal struggle with the world and the universe ; desire and searching from macrocosm to microcosm ; 72 GUSTAV MAHLER

of of a continued song the j oy and pain heaven and earth , as i the soul of Faust imagined them ; of victory and pac fication . It will be noticed that all these four symphonies call for the aid “ ” of so sa words , as to y quite distinctly what they are rej oicing f and su fering about , even the First , which is only apparently

r orchestral music , as the fi st and third movements are formed o ut f i eder ei nes ahrenden Gesellen n o the L f , certainly ot without

. i deep significance In the Second and Third Symphon es , apart from the movements where the voice is used , there are two instrumental movements which are taken from the

Wun derhorn - i eder fi r L , and which certainly fit in with the gu a

r tive content of the work . Two othe lyrics from this collection are taken over as vocal movements , one into the Third and another into the Fourth . In all there is such a strong , indi ’ - vidual life experience , that the music demands the poet s

o w rds , which , banishing all doubt , must speak in symbols as o f the universal ego . It Shall be seen later that in spite of “

r . two this , no p ogramme is intended or implied The “ ” “ Wunderhorn Re v el e ballads from the , g and the Tam ’ ” b our sell g , which are outside the collection , and whose work r manship indicates a later style , close this portion of ou examination . Another lyric — this attempt at an interpretation of the

r highest and f eest spiritual experience is not , of course , literally ” exact , but even the close proximity of the dates is clear from

— r our preceding remarks this ly ic , which for the man Mahler is a programme in itself, leads over to the works that follow , to symphonies V , VI and VII . It begins with the words , “ Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen ” (I am lost to the world) , that is , not the cosmos , from which music can never hiloso escape , but the world in the sense of the Christian, the p

- pher worldliness . The world has lost the artist Mahler , ” Whom She had never possessed ; the composer who turned into music his perception of earthly and heavenly life h as “ ” - become a tone poet ; as though , moving in lofty spheres , he

74 GUSTAV MAHLER

was hardly known in music before Mahler . Whoever has ’ interpreted Mahler s being in each of its various modes of

r of exp ession as a perpetually renewed experience the universe, will not be astonished to find its purest expression in his music , “ E ” especially in the symphonies . xperience , to be universal , begins on the roadside and extends to infinity . Some fea “ ” tures in the most every-day music (such as the cries of Paris ’ oui se of so in Charpentier s L , which Mahler was fond) , a dance of of peasants , a march soldiers , airs from the open road , in the o f G gaudy dress the wandering ypsy minstrel , a motley mixture

— from motley Austria all these elements are gathered together , r - dignified and made part of ou most lasting art treasures . “ “ ur These are the banalities of Mahler , about which o cul ” r d tu e musicians speak in such a superior tone . Suppress these elements , and Mahler becomes untrue ; it is his nature to refine such clay, to eat with publicans and sinners . Q uite apart from the many places in which he represents the resist

of ance vulgarity, where he exaggerates it in order to employ it as a medium . His media (of expression) and their extravagance that f ’ is another convenient catchword o Mahler s adversaries .

But in executing the gigantic plans of these symphonies , which

u of r seek to b rst the bounds mankind , shall the composer e frain from utilising all the means over which he disposes ! of Has not every extension content led , of necessity, to an ex tension of form ! — as though that were not almost a definition

- of real works of art . Or do other present day composers ! exercise abstinence in these matters It would be unapt , even if they did . It ought to give us pleasure that the lan f of guage o music is growing richer , whereas that words, which a few poets and masters have in their keeping , is daily in growing poorer . They who sound the retreat the battle , wh o constantly whine about the lost simplicity of (say) ’ and Mozart s music , should once and for all consider that life of E death forwards go . Even before the performance the ighth ’ AN I NTRODUCTI ON To MAHLER S WORKS 75

Symphony , the thousand executants went to not a few “ ” heads . Pause here and reflect on this reflection ! f But , some say , the import o the work is not on a par with of the expenditure means . For we have (thanks to the Devil) a host of learned writers and art critics who are able to gauge

, of exactly with infallible measures the latest model , the of spiritual content every work past , present and future . “ ” They have always been there , and know for certain what “ ” Beethoven wanted to express , and in what degree he was successful . The result is to be found in the histories of litera

r s ne w ture which child en must swallow at chool ; the various , “ ” of even popular presentations the history of music , whose stupidity disappears in comparison with their danger ; and so

. on So Mahler has been spitted and dissected ; and , right ! “ the Spiritual bond , the content , was not to be found which for could j ustify , instance , the use of song or of celesta . But

e o n w r ur lif fares s iftly , and pe haps o weighers and judgers would wear their dignity better were they less lavish of esti mates Of value . This is no reason for surrendering the right of being en thusiastic about Mahler . One can be carried away by conviction and enlightenment ; fault-fin ding can only sneak upon us . But at least people should be more cautious in

r who of condemning an a tist , careless success , without chang or e t ing yielding a j , has tirelessly striven after the highest n of goals . This is ot a defence a great will , where only the power to realise it counts— although it has rightly been asked how many , especially in our time , have possessed even the great will— but a warning against placing too much reliance on “ ” the infallibility of lofty understanding . f too ! R But is no t Mahler e fective with small means , ead the score of the Fourth Symphony, where no trombones are used , individual instruments are often employed as in chamber ff of music , and most magical e ects are conjured almost out of 12 et se . of nothing . (See page q the score, and coda last “ of hat movement , page Or, the lyrical works, take Wer 76 GUSTAV MAHLER

” ! its dies Liedlein erdacht with tiny orchestra (two horns , and “ of the p ercussiv e s only triangle) ; We die schonen Trompeten ” s blasen , which contain neither bassoons , drums nor trom ’ ” Tamb o ur sell instru bones ; and the g , where , with quite full mentation otherwise , flutes and trombones are omitted . The

r s Rii ckert ly ic Show peculiar moderation in the orchestration ,

r ten li eder that of the Ki n de to is an absolute novelty . Need we r i ed von der Erde recall the magical colou ing of the L , where only the How is considered and not the How- much! The

f How effect never su fers . finely everything is thought out even the pianoforte arrangement of the orchestral lyrics , as concert performances have shown . The musician who can thus renounce may also exact ; he who weighs his means so e e xactly cannot be called xtravagant . ’ A few words may be said as to Mahler s means in general f and a ew indications given as to the grammar of his language .

His themes are wide in curve , and there is no short rest fol

lowed by repetition and development . A theme extending

over forty bars is no uncommon thing , and long breath is the

r rule . The p egnancy and distinctness of the whole are never

lost . The invention always flows out of the melody ; and the

melos s , even if one at first think of others , at the second hearing

s belongs po itively to Mahler . People have always tried to “ ” ’ s find remini cences in Mahler s music . Whenever it is possible to think of a similar passage in Beethoven or Wagner

— and that only in the earliest works in Schubert or Bruckner , “ ” is it is noticed by every ass , as Brahms said , and it of course

without the slightest importance for the whole . (Walter Scott called this occupation a favourite task of pedantic stu i i p d ty . ) The outspoken rhythm of the themes is especially s m characteristic , being in many lyrics and often in the y phonies like a march and intentionally recalling the harsh

shrillness of military marches and funeral processions . Mah ler ’ s harmony has been called “ unmodern ” both in praise and

blame . But it has been learned from all the moderns since ’ AN I NTRODUCTI ON To MAHLER S WORKS 77

Bach and Chopin , and often in the course of its development

of very nearly equals the most audacious innovations , such of S chOnber as those g and the young French school . The

independence of the parts often leads to harsh passages . Such are most often explained by a combination of themes appearing

accompanied by their original harmony . For his counterpoint

becomes constantly richer and more ruthless . It seems at times as though a theme were not harmonised but counter

pointed , as though there were no such thing as a superposition , of but only a j uxtaposition melodic elements . But finally the whole is resolved by means of passing-notes and mighty “ - o ld a organ points into the di tonic system . More ques ” tionable - are the whole tone scales , which race up and down , resto of p , at the end the Fifth Symphony . In the Sixth they

are masked in the horns by anticipations (score , p . but

are quite distinct in the first Serenade of the Seventh (score , 120 page ) in cor anglais , bass clarinet and bassoons , over a

smoother parallel movement of the basses . The most modern

of r progressions and formations fou ths appear . But they are almost exceptions, as though Mahler wished to Show that he “ ” too . could do that As a rule he is the last diatonic writer , of as he has been called , and at times an almost sacerdotal sim li i p c ty which derives directly from Beethoven . Precisely in the Eighth Symphony he revels in tonic and dominant of

Eb. of r In general , the prudent use modulation is rema kable ,

abso especially in the earlier works ; but , when used , it is with lute psychological keenness and significance . Wagner , too , never modulates without reason or for the sake of doing so ; a fact which he specially calls attention to . Just as little does

r Mahler seek audacious o peculiar harmonies , simply to f astonish with them or to charm with some ef ect of sonority .

Mere sound , in contrast to the young French school , has absolutely no value for him ; he is bent on giving a theme everywhere . Even the most insignificant secondary theme is absolutely plastic and Vocal . His counterpoint has already 78 GUSTAV MAHLER

been discussed . It is specially opulent in Symphonies V and I r ! . The last movement of the forme is an example of ’ r Mahler s art of fugue . To p aise his instrumentation were his wearisome repetition ; even bitterest enemies are Silent here . Mahler speaks the language of every instrument and knows its limitations exactly ; and he often uses them for special effects or where their sound is forced , or mysterious , raucous ; for instance when the trumpets and bassoons are employed in

r . their highest range , o flutes in their deepest His string writing produces all shades and mixtures in full and muted tones ; sometimes the strings are struck with the stick . In all critical places the stroke and the tone- quality of the position f are distinctly marked . His manner o using the wind is

- characteristic in marches and march rhythms , often in the of manner military bands , shrill and piercing ; and again , to of - exemplify the brute force every day life , as in the Sixth E Symphony . The Clarinets in ! of the military band are also “ r to en characteristic of Mahler , although Be lioz uses them ” canaill r r s e (vulga ize) , which al o penetrate through strings ’ “ ” R r and loud wind (Berlioz Instrumentation , edited by icha d D r . Strauss) , and lend piercing colou to the marches rum and ne cymbals have sometimes to be struck by o player , as in the * - r military orchestras ; kettledrums , tam tam , bi ch rods , tam b ourin e , xylophone , clapper , are also used here and there in the f later symphonies and lyrics . In the finale o the Sixth there comes twice a terrific crash of the whole orchestra , reinforced

of . by a hammer dull , not metallic , sound Sometimes large bells are required , and cowbells in the Sixth and Seventh Sym phonies ; in the latter there is a guitar ; in the Seventh ,

E i ed von der Erde . ighth , and the L , a mandolin The new celesta appears immediately in the Sixth and in the later lyrics, used in especially virtuoso fashion . The harp often appears solo ; it not only plays chords and arpeggios , but leads

*’ “ I\ivo a o s the ze of the wr s use to e a or a e e of s ee ron f g t si i t, d b l b pi c h t i lying on a table . ’ MAHLER S LYRIC S 79

the melody . The harp goes together with the pianoforte in “ ” E the lyric Um Mitternacht . The ighth makes use of the E harmonium , the Second and ighth employ the organ .

is . In all this opulence there nothing arbitrary , no excess Not a single instrument can be omitted each has its par t in the f n a work and something o its ow to s y . In all the multiplicity of and diversity the scores , they are not for a moment con fusing ; the Master is recognised at once in the clearness of the arrangement , and in the distinctness and positiveness of each direction . Just as Mahler the conductor and stage manager used to elucidate everything with a single word , the instructions and remarks in the scores strive , despite their

t o f . brevity , o exclude all possibility misunderstanding how How well the composer hears , and well he knows certain “ ” “ of habits players , such as smudging , going through the “ ” ! out of his motions , and shirking All this is to be read

. For E a directions in the score instance , in the ighth , in ’ place where both choruses , children s chorus , and seven soloists “ enter together fortissimo: It is absolutely forbidden for the representatives of the solo-parts to spare themselves in this ” unison passage . In all the voices there sounds entreaty, pleading , almost menace , for they sing the weighty words ” sensibus ! Accende , accende lumen And now to the several works !

’ MAHLER S LYRICS 80 GUSTAV MAHLER

or cannot be missed , else , if we did perceive their real sense , we should chase them from their platform and Sing for our ” v on rni in selves what we like best . Thus writes Achim A m “ ” - of his essay on folk song , prefacing Part I the Wunderhorn E - t over a hundred years ago . ven to day , when we have go is so much further in music and especially in lyrical music , it still the case that our concert singers can rarely make anything ’ of a folk- song ; and Mahler s lyrics are almost all in the spirit

- of the folk song , homely , simple , but never silly , never trivial , or playfully ironical . One would think them meant to be

- r wh o sung by the music love , avoiding the countless song “ ” “ recitals of the season , stays at home and sings himself . But even the music -lover sings only what he sees on the ! programmes . And who arranges the programmes They

r a e decided upon according to their commercial value , Often “ ” not at all by the singer but by the manager . In Vienna , m ’ for instance , a celebrated singer ight sing Mahler s lyrics so was D one adv is long as he irector . Thereafter , no found this able ; but then the next Court Opera Director was all the more

zealously favoured in making up programmes . (And well we know what these programmes look like ! Even of Schumann a and Brahms , it is always the same few things , which count s “ ” r of winne s , that are given , or else are sung in the manner

- - S o Se . : i not and ) Once more It s explainable , but pardon

able . And precisely these lyrics which could lead people without trouble to Mahler should be given to “ such as have an under ” of standing song to ponder over . I do not allude to their “ ” e eff ctiveness . (Some may recall the tasteful Mahler pro grammes and great success of Madame Cahier and Maria

Freund . ) I mean for people who themselves really enj oy and ’ For demand music . such , Mahler s lyrics are better fitted than

any others . Most of them are culled from popular poetry ; very few rest - m . upon other poe s AS Nietzsche says , in the folk tun e the

82 GUSTAV MAHLER

texts— this collection which Arnim and Brentano dug like a hoarded treasure out of the German past . But Mahler first 28 became acquainted with the collection at the age of , and it is extraordinary how the words he chose for his earliest airs resemble the old songs in form and mood , without being either forced into a certain manner or disturbed by reminiscences of i eder ei nes ahrenden Gesellen others . These are the four L f

(Lays of a Traveling Journeyman) . The score and piano r 1897 D arrangement , which appea ed in , bear the date of ecem

1883 . ber , In the first the Gesell laments : Wenn mein Schatz Hoch ’ frOhliche r zeit macht , Hochzeit macht , hab ich meinen trau igen ” Tag . (When my sweetheart has her wedding , j oyous wed ’ ding , tis a sorrowful day for me . ) Neither the familiar walk through the fields nor the solitude of his little chamber can “ ’

. D e s comfort him Abends wenn ich schlafen gehe , denk ich

an mein Leide . (At evening , when I go to bed , I think upon

m i — . te my sorrow ) Faster and slower p , three and four beat rhythms , alternate immediately in the four opening bars , and

o as later throughout the wh le work , but j ust naturally as in old folk-tunes (Prinz This regular-irregular beat “ r is quite usual with Mahle . The mood remains quiet and

sad r r . until the end , as the sco e demands f om the voice The strings are muted ; the wood-wind intones a hurrying

motive . After a peaceful intermezzo (the comforting voice of i nature) , the melancholy of the beginn ng returns , but leads D G . over from minor to , Where it remains All four lyrics ni D avoid their ope ng key . The second begins in and ends in B the dominant of . It is the morning walk , where the bluebell

and the finch announce the beauty of the summer day . But “ ’ no : there is luck for the wanderer Nein , nein , das ich mein , l ” b uhe n . ! mir nimmer kann (No , no What I will can never

bloom for me . ) This melody is the theme of the first move is ment of the First Symphony , but in the latter it at once ex

tended , apart from the altered instrumentation , comes to a ’ MAHLER S LYRICS 83

n ax is m of , i itated , but is still , in spite its new garb , exactly a of i ed des ahre e melody the L f nd n Gesellen . A remark in score indicates that the second lyric Should follow immedi ly after the first . All four form a unity ; the mood of the ces suffices to make this clear . At the beginning of the t and second verses the harp accompanies the voice , and

2 for n words are (unusually Mahler) here a d there declaimed . i ce B , thrice the orchestra soars up , lastly in maj or . The “ ” stenin - g sunshine , flowers and birds call Good morning . Ited horns and strings die away as though disappointed . D r e third lyric begins wildly in minor with full o chestra , in “ n mered- : luhe nd out quavers Ich hab ein g Messer , ein

sser . in meiner Brust (I have a glowing knife , a knife “ . hin my breast . ) The pain lessens . Very softly : Wenn ’ ’ st hn in den Himmel seh , seh ich zwei blaue Augen e . ’ ’ nu im seh r ich gelben Felde geh , ich von fe n das blonde ”

im . sk ar Winde wehn (When I gaze at the y , I see two s e eyes ; when I go through the yellow field , I ee from afar

nd . : tresses blown by the wind ) Suddenly , again very loud ’ l auffahr o enn ich aus dem Traum , und h re klingen ihr ” v ! out of r ernes Lachen , o Weh (When I start my d eam , ! l hear her Silvery laughter sound , ah me ) And a fresh out ’ ’ r : s t fo the last time Ich wollt , ich lag auf dem schwarzen ’ ” on kOnnt nimmer die Augen aufmachen . (I would I lay

black bier , might never ope mine eyes . ) It dies away ; cor ;lais and bassoon and Viola once again recall the movement h t e beginning, a delicate downward passage for strings , l the end is reached — a deep E flat in double- basses and - r p, together with which tam tam and d um are struck, and E music ceases . The fourth begins in minor, in march “ D v on thm . ie zwei blauen Augen meinem Schatz , die ” t tw en mich in die weite Welt geschickt . (The o blue

3 of my sweetheart , they sent me out into the wide world . ) d ll of of i ua y the episode develops , that the third movement as First Symphony , similarly introduced and orchestrated 84 GUSTAV MAHLER

im F . sent en there , and closes in minor The poem ends not “ Ich bin ausgegangen in stiller Nacht , wohl fi ber ni die dunkle Heide ; hat mir emand ade gesagt , ade . Mein Gesell war Lieb und Leide ! Auf der Strasse stand ein Lin ’ im denb aum ; da hab ich zum erstenmal Schlaf geruht , unterm

' BliIt n fi D Lindenbaum ; der hat seine e ber mich geschneit . a ’ wie wusst ich nicht , das Leben tut , war alles , alles wieder ! ” gut . Alles , alles ; Lieb und Leid und Welt und Traum

(I fared abroad in silent night , all over the darkling heather ;

- - none said good bye to me , good bye . My companions were love and sorrow ! By the re ad there stood a linden-tree ; ’ s - twas there I rested first in leep , under the linden tree ; it snowed its blossoms over me . Then knew I not how life is

. : sore , and all , and all was well once more All , all Love , ! sorrow , world and dream ) This fourth lyric , of nameless beauty even with the pianoforte , may be recommended to all who sing ; taken by itself , it is also suitable for a female voice . r 1892 The fi st Book of the lyrics , published in by Schott , i eder ei nes ahrenden Gesellen bears a similar character to the L f , and seems to have been composed about the same time . It contains two lyrics after Leander and two folk -songlike com ’ Don J uan positions from Tirso de Molina s , the form of the ’ story that was best known before Mozart s day ; so Mahler had

r already found the source of the sto y of the stone guest . Of these two , the Serenade is intended for an accompaniment of wind-instruments the accompaniment of a harp is recommend “ ” “ ” ed for the Phantasie . The fifth song , Hans und Grete ,

- t . is called folk song , but Mahler probably wrote the poem oo ” - - It is a dance song in easy waltz tempo, and the beginning readily reminds one of the Scherzo of the First Symphony . “ ” E 1806 fir D K arly in , the st part Of es naben Wunderhorn was published with a dedication to Goethe . On the 2l st of January Goethe already published a long criticism of it in the “ ” “ : Jena Allgemeine Literaturzeitung . He wrote But this book will find its most suitable place upon the piano of the ’ MAHLER S LYRICS 85

Iateur or of s master music , o that the poems contained there may enter their true sphere , either set to familiar old melo as or w or God fitted ith other suitable tunes ; , willing , with w ni , sig ficant melodies inspired by them . Mahler , at any Je , succeeded in finding these new and significant melodies i ner than other modern composers— no comparison is in nderhor Ided . The Wu n gave him the words he had been

k for. ing Once he had found it , he no longer needed to f hi n ite poems o s ow for his music . These songs are most ’ il own i y Mahler s , for they are truly na ve . His settings of poems in the Wunderhorn are contained in ’ loks 2 and 3 of Schott s and in the two Books of the Univer “ ” E : ZwOlf san K dition Ge ge aus des naben Wunderhorn . ’ t n Revel e Tambour sell e come , separately, g and the g (orches 1 Kahnt . score published by , piano arrangement in the Uni l E rsa dition) . All these were distributed over the years - 1 01 r 38 9 , the period from the First to the Fou th Symphony

shall follow the order of publication . ‘ T Um schlimme Kinder artig zu machen . ( o make

- ht . r ug y children good ) Cuckoo calls in fou ths , to be “ ticed again in the First Symphony . Ich ging mit Lust ’ rch einen griinen Wald . (Thro a green wood I strayed D l . j oyously ) Soft , delicate chords in maj or , a simple , his irming figure for the singing o f the birds . He goes to

G . aetheart. A lovely change into maj or In the evening

D . lad knocks in vain . maj or again The nightingale “

not . ! gs all night long , but the Sleepy lass will stir Aus

- (Off! off is the march song of the departing lansquenet ,

ile the maiden weeps after him . Her coaxing grows more “ i r ent , but s always overbo ne by the loud heut marschieren

- : (to day we march) . And the man has the last word ’ Blumelein a Mai blii hn gar Viele , die Lieb ist noch nicht a fl oweret (In May blows many , and love is not yet “ ” Aus is repeated with intentional double meaning . ’ t- for . repetitions in Mahler s lyrics never occur merely the 86 GUSTAV MAHLER

sake of the musical line , whatever may have been said about E fi his use of music and words . ach has its suf cient significance , E even its art . This should also be noticed in the ighth

Symphony . “ Starke Einbildungskraft (Strong Imagination) is another dialogue . The girl demands that she shall be taken at the “ : time arranged . The boy replies Wie soll ich dich denn ’ ! nehmen , dieweil ich dich schon hab Und wenn ich halt ’ ’ so alleweile an dich gedenk , mein ich , ich ware schon bei ” ’ ! N ow dir ( , say , how shall I take you , when you re already ! mine And when I haply think of you , it really seems to me ’ then as tho I were with you . ) The whole thing is easy and “ - e ll r e o . Zu j y , with ma k d f lk song rhythms In Strassburg auf ” ’ r s s on der Schanz (At St a burg the fort) the pipe sounds , and immediately afte rward s is heard the song of the captured ”

r v l . Swiss me cenary , in a motive that recalls Re e ge How ’ “ ’ art Tambo r s ll r far Mahler s had progressed in the u g e , whe e the subj ect is similar ! “ AblOsung im Somme r Kuckuck hat sich zu Tode “ gefallen ” (The Changes of Summer Cuckoo ’ s killed him ” self by falling ) becomes later part of the Third Symphony . : If the cuckoo is dead , the song knows what to do Wir warten ” ’

sie zu . auf Frau Nachtigall , dann fangt an schlagen (We re D ’ waiting for ame Nightingale , then she ll begin her singing . ) “ — . 7 7 9 . The series of fifths (p , bars ) is remarkable Scheiden

- und Meiden (Leave taking) brings , with swift , bold musical ’ uprush , the confession (Wann werd ich mein Schatzel wohl “ ’ Und ist es nicht morgen , ach war es wohl heut ; ’ r es machte uns beiden wohl g osse Freud . (When shall I get “ r ! - my sweethea t And if not to morrow, would it were to ’ day ; twould surely give both of us great The touch ing “ Nicht wiedersehen contains the melodically and har “ monicall r herzallerlieb ster y rema kable line , Ade , ade , mein ” Schatz (Farewell , farewell , my dearest love) . ” “ Selb stgeffihl (Self-esteem) ; the words ich Weiss nicht ’ MAHLER S LYRI CS 87

Vie mir ist (I know not what I feel) survive even to — day in “ ” D r Steiermark . With e Schildwache Nachtlied (The Sen ’ ;ry s Nightsong) begins the series of lyrics with orchestra ; a ' eal ballade , a dialogue between the blunt , devout soldier and h - . e seductive fay . Again the march rhythm and the changing > eat ; at the close a delicate dying- away — vanishing — of the

Vhole - artl orchestra as in a dream (the harp p ) , accompanying “ b e o f : repeated words the text Mitternacht , Mitternacht , ” feldwacht (Midnight , midnight , outpost) , which seem spoken “ ” - — — i s . e a though half asleep Verl ,rne Muh (Lost Labor

Ewabian . song) Again the maiden begs , hesitatingly , breaking “ lown at each attempt after the first words ; her lad mag holt ’ Th Iit (don t care to) . e tiny orchestra is handled in masterly ' ” im n lii ck ashie n . Trost U g (Cheer in Sorrow) is the fare V of w who one ell t o , loving another , would rather part than

h zz r hi give way . So the u a saddles s horse and the girl sings : ‘ D u du SchOnste glaubst , bist der auf der ganzen weiten Welt

Ind ! . auch der Angenehmste ist aber weit , weit gefehlt ’ Yo u think you re the handsomest fellow in the whole wide ’ v too ! . orld , and the nicest , But you re sadly mistaken ) ‘ ” Wer hat dies Liedlein erdacht (Who was it thought out this

. l ong) dances simply and at last j oy ous y through the orchestra . ‘ ” D E r cor as irdische Leben ( a thly Life) evokes , with anglais , “ ” hr ee horns and divided strings , a weird agitation ; sombre , tressful activity ; the hungry child is put off until everything

3 harvested , threshed and baked , and in the meantime starves . “ “ Such is the prudence of the earthly life . St . Antonius von ” ’ ’ of adua Fischpredigt (St . Anthony Padua s Sermon to the fishes) is the uncouth story of Abraham a Santa Clara with

. G .n ironical turn to the subject oethe described these verses “ ” .s incomparable both in meaning and treatment . The f aint , finding his church empty, preaches to the fishes , and the ” - - rhole finned river folk comes to listen . Sharp snouted v tockfish r ike that fight the whole time ; s , eels and stu geon , rho go to make the best dishes of aristocrats and are therefore 88 GUSTAV MAHLER

aristocrats themselves ; even crabs and turtles . But the “ K sermon ended , ein jedes sich wendet die rebse gehn k Stockfisch K zurii c e , die bleiben dicke , die arpfen viel fressen , ” n die Predigt vergessen (each o e turneth about . The crabs walk backward , the cod stay thick and awkward , the

on . carp eat all they come , forgetting the sermon) And “ ’ ’ : Die fallen fall n Mahler repeats Predigt hat g , hat g e .

r . (The se mon gave pleasure , gave pleasure ) The fishes come of swimming along to the rolling , rowing movement the music .

One can almost see how their stupid bodies rock , how they ’ move their fins , gape around , and then (Violas , cellos and basses with springing b ow) stupidly turn away . The piece is taken over into the Second Symphony as scherzo . Then fol “ ” lows the exquisite Rheinlege ndchen (Rhine Legend) “ ’ ’ R Bald gras ich am Necker , bald gras ich am hein (I reap

r mow on R . of on the Necka , I the hine) The effect the very

r — one small orchest a must be noticed one flute , oboe , one

on e . clarinet bassoon and one horn , besides strings Then the m ” f gloomy Lied des Verfolgten i Turm . (Lay o the Prisoner

. who in the Tower ) The maiden loves him Sings outside , but the prisoner renounces her , so that his thoughts may remain “ ” free — We die schOnon Trompeten blasen (Where the beau tiful trumpets blow) is for me perhaps the greatest of all ; these strange passages in major where the ghostly lover appears , the approach of morning , the sobbing nightingale , which frighten s the maiden still more so that she suddenly bursts into tears ; the change into minor at the first glimmer of day light when the stars go out; the close . Allwo die schonen

’ riIn m Trompeten blasen , da ist mein Haus , mein Haus von g e ”

R . asen (And where the beautiful trumpets blow , there is my house , in the greensward below . ) Once again , as in despair , “ ” the trumpet sounds — The Lob des hohen Verstandes (Praise of Lofty Intellect) is the contest between nightingale

as . and cuckoo , with the s as umpire The nightingale does well , but the critic cannot take it in , whereas the cuckoo sings

90 GUSTAV MAHLER bility of a similar misfortune happening to himself did not “ ’ ” so exist . The first , Nun will die Sonn hell aufgehen n w sun (And o the will rise so bright) , seeks in vain for conso

lation in the Universe . Again and again a double stroke of “ lo ke s i el Ein Lam lein the G c n p sounds like a doleful reminder , p erlosch in meinem Zelt ” (Within my tent a little light is e sun : spent) , and di s gently away with the greeting to the “ Freudenlicht of Heil sei dem der Welt (Hail , j oyous light all

r . the wo ld) In the second , the eyes of the dead children

— onl onl ne w . brighten again y eyes before , y stars In the third ,

the voice with its empty fourths , deep , muted , as though

cor . speaking alone , j oins the sorrowful anglais melody The on r glance seeks the vanished child the th eshold , beside the

entering mother . A violent outbreak of grief , and all becomes

low G of . Silent again , only a the harp is struck Then Violins “ si and horns begin a hurrying melody , Oft denke ich , e sind ” nur ausgegangen (I often think , they are but gone abroad) . A furious storm ; the children would never have been allowed

- . Glocken o ut in this weather . Anxiety is vain to day The s iel is p heard again , and over the celesta and violins sounds in ‘ r - maj or like a c adle song the message ofhope and lasting peace . In these Ki ndertotenli eder Mahler has rescued the most

of Riickert valuable part ; his veiled , often enough masked

of . sentiment ; a bitter , chaste , masculine way feeling He ’ r thus exercised his powe over this poet s words , as over the underhorn W in earlier years . But in this case it was possible

only to his far maturer art .

is Some day , when Mahler better appreciated , the klagen ” 18 des Lied will again be remembered , which he began at and

20. for completed at It is soprano and tenor solos , mixed

chorus and orchestra , and may therefore be called a choral work ; but in its arrangement it betrays the original intention

of r r making it an ope a . In the orchest al prelude , the themes

follow one another just as in an opera overture . Then begins the story ’ MAHLER S LYRICS 91

‘ Be m We e au im kiI hlen n i id nb m, Tan , Da fl attern die D ohlen un d Raben ; Da liegt ein ble nder Reitersmann

' U er BliIten un d B a er e r nt l tt n b g aben . D or ist es so i und o v on Du t l nd v ll ft, Als ein We n e urc i L ging i n d h d e uft . O Leide ! O Leide !

B the w ow- ree w ere o the oo ( y ill t , h c ol w d , The daws an d the ravens are flying ; With leaves and blo ssoms covere d y ou a r- a re horsein an i A f i h i d s lying . ’ Tis all so mild and balmy there ’ As e wee ro th e air w nt a ping th . 0 sorrow ! O sorrow ! )

A minstrel goes by , sees a bone shining through the grass , of out : keeps it and carves a flute out it as of a reed and , as he plays , it is the lament of the murdered knight that resounds he had been murdered by his brother in order that the latter

r might win a great lady . The minstrel car ies the song of lament into the world . He comes to the hall of the newly married pair , where the second part begins , as in the theatre , with rej oicing in chorus and orchestra . Once more the baleful f o . flute is played , and loudly accuses the king fratricide The marriage festivities cease ; the castle sinks into the earth .

rr w l— ol 0 so o The words are by Mahler , after an d German

r f story . They are as su e and e fective as the music , in which the young artist for the firs t time trusts his wings and already E o soars on high . ven if the score , s tardily published (not till

- betrays many alterations by the mature , ever improving master , this first form must still have had strength enough to restrain Mahler from putting it away from him , as he did many other youthful works . Perhaps he respected it because it showed him how strong he was , and that he might still go

. h forward as he had begun The instrumentation, t e setting of the chorus , are admirable . 92 GUSTAV MAHLER

’ MAHLER S SYMPHONIE S

However important his lyric compositions may be , Mahler f is primarily a symphonist . But he makes use o his mastery over the human voice also in his symphonies . He does so r in five of the ten great works we a e to examine . What was for others exceptional , the use of song and chorus , is for him a new

r s form . Afte Liszt , Bruckner had let the in truments speak

r alone . B uckner was the last composer beyond whom he had to go . At the outset the movements follow each other like great of songs ; at first comes an interchanging , a variation , the first old and second themes . The form , a garment already o ut ’ it grown , is thrown round the young giant s body , who feels as a fetter to every movement . And he weaves for himself a new

the o f a garment after pattern the old , such s had served his

s predece sors , and thenceforward his power is unrestrained r one when he hu ls the titanic themes amongst the other , knots and binds them together , when he recommences the of ended play the development , mastering with courageous grasp the arts of the old teachers . The symphony ofBeethoven ’

r . was ca ried by Bruckner into Wagner s aura Mahler , whose nature it was to widen existing bounds , bears it on still fur

r the . Where Bruckner worshipped , Mahler is tempted , wrestles with and subdues the tempter , and only after the visions in the wilderness comes transfiguration on the summit of Tabor . But have not interpretations of this struggle influenced the new form ! Is not this form conveyed allegorically into the ! D ’ music o not Mahler s compositions follow programmes , overt or hidden! Did not they decide the new form!

A chance has made such questions possible . In the main Mahler has always advocated the View stated by Hoffmann “ K : e reisler Music opens for man an unknown contin nt , a world that has nothing in common with the exterior world of

94 GUSTAV MAHLER

The whole is entitled Titan . ’ And now call to mind J e an Paul s Titan and his endless aberrations and chasten ings ! The only relation between them ’ is expressed by Jean Paul s remark about the romance : It “ - - really should be called Anti Titan , because every would be sealer of heaven finds his hell therein — If one thinks of all the other hints at words and work s o f Jean Paul (and considers

n ow r m that the Andante is emoved) , one ust ask , What has all this to do with the First Symphony ! It was nothing but

of s an accommodation to the demands the day , a conces ion which ended in confusion . The whole was understood so much the less .

r r o for I have recalled this p og amme nly to check once all , ’ the talk abo ut Mahler s earlier works being programme ” “ ” r th e se music ; as for the late ones , even best informed not could , even if they would , pretend to think so , after Mah

r ro ler had withd awn all p grammes whatever , however much “ it might have interested them to know wh o was being buried h . b earer w o during any given funeral march In general , the interprets rather than listens likes nothing better than to “ ” investigate what the composer meant by his works . Of f ~ . o course , he meant nothing whatever But by means a sym

one . bol , an image , may better understand his works Beet ’ ’ r are hoven s headings and inst uctions , and Schumann s titles , ’ r intended to be thus unde stood , and in this sense Mahler s symphonies can here and there be described in words ; often

r the wo ds of the vocal movements themselves invite it . I always regret , for instance , that the titles of the movements of the Third Symphony should have been abandoned . They ’ r : — were , forme ly Pan awakes ; summer s advent What the flowers of the meadow tell me— Wh at the beasts of the forest tell me— What man tells me— What the angels tell me— What

— love tells me . Originally this was followed by the last move n ment of the Fourth Symphony , as may still be recog ised by the thematic relationship . These titles are certainly not MAHLER ’ S SYMPHONIES 95 necessary for the understanding of the work ; but it may be significant that they were revived on the programmes of the ’ 1907— is Berlin performance in that , after Mahler s vehement declaration against “ programmes ” before the Munich Hugo

1 900. Wolf Society in Naturally, they must be taken only as images for the recipient , not as programmes for the creator , who - with ever increasing vehemence demanded music , only : music . Bruno Walter puts the matter finely If we under stand the titles Mahler gave his works in the mystical and e only possible sense , we must not xpect any explanation of the music by means of them ; but we may hope that the music itself will throw the most penetrating light upon the sphere of emotion which the titles suggest . Let us be prudent enough to free these titles from an exact meaning , and remember that ‘ in the kingdom ofbeauty nothing is to be found except Gestal ’ tung , Umgestaltung , des ewigen Sinnes ewige Unterhaltung . ’ ’ Th eternal (Formation , Transformation , Mind s eternal recrea tion . ) Should we attach to those programmatical schemes fixed names the ‘ transformation ’ would prove us wrong in the , , ‘ of next minute . We must not think that which the flowers of ’ r our the meadow tell , but of eve ything that touches hearts ” with gentlest beauty and tenderest charm . On being re

so quested to do , Mahler himself once even undertook a similar supplementary interpretation after a private performance of the Second Symphony . ’ of When the notion Mahler s programmes , and the still “ more dangerous one of the suppressed programme , are once cleared away , the pure musical form remains behind , which is of derivable solely from the development the music , from the

r of . unity of the work , and f om the character the great creed ’ Bruckner, not Liszt , is Mahler s forerunner , but only a fore ’ r runner . And , as with B uckner , Mahler s symphonies fol lowed each other , careless of time or success , and he was obliged to hold them back for years . He never became doubtful of

not f himself , even under the influence of the greater e fective 6 GUSTAV MAHLER

ness and productiveness of the theatre , the way to which would have been short enough for him . These creations ’ awaken but slowly out of the s core . Mahler s time was not

r was r us . yet come , that of certain othe s eve with

r On attempting to sketch a pictu e of these works , I am able to give only what the present moment allows ; any final judg ment , any entering into details , is forbidden by time and cir cumstances for many years to come . Where impressions are et as s forth , they must be taken only images ; they follow no secret programmes .

First m o D f hi Sy ph ny ( maj or) . The work o a lyrist in s twenties (completed at a time when the younger men

— if off were disciples , indeed , they ever shook the bonds of To und discipleship . Richard Strauss had not yet written d

‘ er r V kla ung. And in these same eighties this symphony was written , a work of such originality (quite aside from all “ ” “ ” interpretations and interlineations ) — musically a feat

one of . that might have been convincing , had any known it

not one of Perhaps a symphonic masterwork , but emotion and

. onl a b in invention ; of sonority , of personality And still y eg H . ow ning beautiful the introduction is , suggesting the - A melancholy of the Moravian plains over a long sustained , down to which the minor theme in oboe and bassoon dreamily sinks ! Thereupon the up - striving fanfare of the Clarinets ;

- - the fourth becomes a cuckoo call in the wood wind , a lovely A song in the horns ; then , still over the pedal , a gradual rolling ’ re movement , first in the divided celli and basses , like the f ’ awakening o the earth after a clear summer s night . The ’ tempo quickens , the cuckoo s call becomes the first notes of the “ ’ first Li ed ei nes fahrenden Gesellen : Ging heut morgen fiber s ’ Feld (O er the fields I went at morn) . The whole melody, here in symphonic breath , is sung softly by the strings , turns into the dominant , mounts in speed and strength , sinks back iani ssimo - p , and is repeated . An actual repeat Sign ; save in

98 GUSTAV MAHLER as to sound thoroughly vulgar) and in the strings (scratched

D e r - with the s ticks) . iscordant ev y day life , which never lets

s s D go its hold . Then harp and wind take up a oft , treat it as G dominant , add the maj or third Of , and the Violins sing the “ - — D : D lay of the sheltering linden tree . eliverance a wusst ” war wi . ich nicht e das Leben tut , alles , alles wieder gut

h ow wa (Then knew I not life might be , and all again s well m - with e . ) J But the barrel organ canon straightway starts up r again , dies away finally and leads di ectly into the last move

. R r s ment aging , a chromatic t iplet rushe downward , a theme from the development of the first movement announces

r r itself , eve ything fe ments and fumes , clinging fast to the D ’ F . on key of minor Over a pedal flat , the cello movement “ and the fourth motive from the first part n e w sound

r r triumphantly in D maj or . This elationship and simila ity o fthe themes in different movements is still more emphatically

r s r developed by Mahler than by his p edeces o s . An even

r r r louder climax , whe e seven ho ns must be hea d above every a C thing , even the trumpets . They sound like horale from f ! paradise after the waves o hell . Saved

r r He e is art , unde standable in images , but still , at least in “ is unneces intention , severely symphonic . A programme

r . n sa y Apart from the digressio s of the last movement , the r r e wo k is not mo e difficult for hear rs than for players , and one which stimulates a genuine interest in Mahler . It arouses a desire to become acquainted with his other works S c d S m ho C re On the other hand , the e on y p ny (in minor) quires a very large orchestra (ten horns alone) ; the percussion employs fiv e extra musicians besides the two drummers ; m organ , alto solo and a mixed chorus are added . It is a sy f ’ phony o destiny . Mahler s subsequent explanation implies who (in the first movement) the death of a hero , is fallen in

r for of Promethean st uggle for his ideal , the knowledge life

- and death . Abysmal depths are stirred . A well nigh endless funeral march rises Sharp and trenchant from the restless , ’ MAHLER S SYMPHONI ES

- declamatory basses . Consuming lament in the wood wind .

so r Then suddenly the change from minor to maj or , characte istic of Mahler , in horns and strings ; very softly , a first promise

of . consolation But , quick as lightning , the convulsion of the beginning returns . The rolling basses sink down into inaudi bili ty . A lighter secondary section ; modulation ; the basses

- burst through the march rhythm , the passionate raging is D renewed . evelopment . In the funeral march a chorale is heard , which swings forward from gloomy resolution to j oyous promise , and is repeated in the last movement . But here only despair may triumph . A repeat in the principal key , much

r shortened , the motives crowded together as though af aid to

r spread themselves . Harps and basses int oduce the coda ,

: I m avi which slowly advances , but only to speak an epilogue p um ri e rui d fe nt nce . The chord of C maj or immediately goes

r ! ove to C minor . (Sixth Symphony ) A swift descending run , and the colossal movement ends . A long pause . Then an A intermezzo in flat remembrance and retrospect . The strings

- B begin a dance tune . A horn leads to the key of , changing

E D . flat enharmonically into sharp Lively, youthfully gay

- triplets over an unmoving bass . Once more the dance tune , ’ with a counterpoint in the celli . After a subdued variation f - o the mobile theme , the dance melody creeps back for the i zzi cato third time , this time p in the strings and lengthened by

. on r interpolated imitative measures Further , more g and fatherly enj oyment .

The next movement (0 minor) , a scherzo in form , is St . ’ Anthony of Padua s sermon to the fishes . A second typical

figure ; the hero in manhood goes forth into the world , and sees how stupidity and vulgarity, like the fishes of the legend , u ato are incorrigible . The trio , beginning by a f g , mounts from

C—D-E of step to step , , reaches a point repose , and Sinks back

— R f into C it was only another sermon to the fishes . eturn o

of the scherzo . An outcry disgust , and then even the tireless

progression of this movement refuses to flow onward . 100 GUSTAV MAHLER

C It ceases in ; and , without interruption , the alto solo begins in D flat : O ROschen ro t! Der Mensch liegt in grOsster Not ! ’ D er Mensch liegt in grOsster Pein ! Je lieber mOcht ich im ! Himmel sein . (O rosebud red Mankind lies in sorest need ! Mankind lies in sorest pain ! The rather would I be in heaven !) “

. v on G And will not be turned aside Ich bin ott , und will

zu G G wieder ott ; der liebe ott wird mir ein Lichtchen geben , ” wird leuchten mir bis in das ewig , selig Leben . (I am from Go d God r , and must to retu n ; my kind Father will give me a

r light , shall light me to ete nal , blessed life . )

Attacca the fifth movement . A new affliction ; death and is j udgment are at hand . But the storm of the orchestra D interrupted by reassurances . istant horns spread the terror

- of . of the last day Q uite softly, march like , the chorale the “ n R first movement sounds . A refere ce to the coming esur ” “ f r rection motive is heard . The dead arise and march o ward in endless procession The cry for mercy and

r grace sounds te rible in our ears . Fear and hope struggle “ r o f in all hearts . The Great Call is heard ; the t umpets the apocalypse sound the summons ; amid the awful silence we seem to hear a far , far distant nightingale , like the last quiver in f g echo of earthly life . The chorus o the saints and the ‘ : a heavenly host begins almost .inaudibly Auferstehen , j d ! ’ auferstehen wirst u (Thou shalt arise , arise from the dead . ) The splendour of God appears . It is no j udg

n . ment ; there are o sinners , no righteous There is no r of punishment and no reward . An i resistible sentiment love ” penetrates us with blest knowledge and Vital glow . The a ca ella chorus , with soprano solo , begins pp with indescribable ff K ’ e ect . It sings lopstock s ode ; an alto proceeds with Mah ’ “ : 0 dir ! ler s words glaube , mein Herz , es geht nichts verloren

D du d du . ein ist , was gesehnt , dein was u geliebt , was gestritten

Flii eln . Mit g die ich mir errungen , werde ich entschweben ” h z ic . Sterben werde , um u leben (Oh , believe , my heart , to ! is for thee shall naught be lost Thine , what thou didst long ,

102 GUSTAV MAHLER

Signal Retreat , the coach departs , and the forest talk re

n ow . commences , but altered and more excited The animals become rougher and coarser , squalling and wrangling tire lessly together ; the horn is once more heard in the distance , and the animal s amuse themselves with running about until the

wh o end . People are friends of nature , which Should really

s o ur be alway in thoughts , will only need to listen to this “ ” r r sche zo with variations , and eve ything will become uh

derstan dable .

Once again comes the human voice , a contralto solo . A

r th e m s motive hea d at beginning of the symphony , and the y ’ terious r chords that followed it , int oduce Zarathustra s “ o D runken Song . Man gives v ice to his deepest longing and

r r r De desire : Eternity . Without a b eak follows a ly ic f om s

K be u r or — na n W nde h n . A choir of boys intones its bim bam

e : with the bells , and a f male chorus sings

ES sun gen d rei Engel e inen sussen Gesang ; re u e de m H a Mit F d n e s selig in immel kl ng , Sie au z e fr hlich au a e j ch t n O ch d b i ,

D ass Pe trus sei v on S und en fre i . U n d alS de r H s s zu s e sa s err J e u Ti ch s ,

' Mit se inen s lf Jimge rn das Ab endmahl ass ; D a sprach der Herr J esus : Was stehst du denn ’ ” We ich an seh so wein est du mir ! nn dich ,

ree a e s re a u e so (Th ng l we singing d lc t ng, ’ Full j oyous the S ound rang thro heaven along; And full o f j oy were they to see

That Peter n ow from sin was fre e . s he L r es u a e sa e And a t o d J s at t bl t , With his twelve di scipl es th e supper ate ; “ S aith J esus : Wherefore stand est thou here! " I see thee She dding many a tear)

A contralto voice alone (magna p eccatrix)

’ ” nd S ich we e du uti er Go ! U ollt nicht in n , g g tt

S u n ot ee ou erc u Go d! (And ho ld I w p , Th m if l ) The chorus of angels : “ D u so s a we ll t j nicht inen . N wee ou n r ( ay, p th o mo e . ) The contralto replies “ ’ Ich hab ii b ertreten die z ehn Gebot . The ten o a e s a e ( c mm ndm nt h v I b ro ke . )

But the remedy is there :

L e e n ur Go a e Ze i b tt in ll it , ’ S o w rs du er a e die s i t l ng n himmli che Freud . ’ Die s e reu ist e e se e S a himmli ch F d in lig t dt, ’ Die s e re u die e E himmli ch F d , k in nde mehr hat! ’ Die s e reu e war e ro b ereit t himmli ch F d P t , ” Durc esu e zur h J m and All n Seligkeit .

Lo e then b ut God for e er r v v mo e , ’ F r e I o th e heaven s j oys shall b e n store . The o s o f ea e a e no en d j y h v n , that h v , B es w er ou os we ! l t city , hith th d t nd The j oys fo r Pe ter and all the rest re esus e Prepa d by J in h avenly re st . )

r orchestra Bells , ha ps and the whole , except the Violins , which do not play in this movement , exult . That is what the

r angels have to tell . And Mahle dares go straight from the land of Zarathustra into the Christian heaven . Both are of images , and only the love that desire and that heaven is

. of meant The last movement speaks this love ; a sweet , noble , serene adagio : since Beethoven there are but few that can compare with it . After this work Mahler wrote a shorter and more peaceful “ ne Fourth S ho G o , his ymp ny, in maj or , which is usually becomes so considered to be gay . But it only ; it has to struggle through many a cloudy moment ; in its bright noonday we are often stricken with a panic dread . The work is , as far as

- material is concerned , easy to perform . Wood wind and

r r st ings are fairly numerous ; there are , however , only fou

fi . is hor s ; trombones , none at all The instrumentation 1 04 GUSTAV MAHLER

’ masterly in the extreme , and Mahler s art was scarcely ever

r r r . g eate than in this modest wo k In any case , the Fourth should often be played and studied . At the very beginning , there is a satisfied but almost cautious gaiety . The movement is exposed quietly and with ease ; it is developed with greater freedom and variety than any preceding work . Three bars of the introduction also play an important part . Suddenly comes

of the repeat , entering in the very midst the first part , and with it the friendliness of the commencement returns ; towards the close it becomes an almost Mozartian j ubilation . In the

r second movement , a sche zo in character , is a slow Violin tuned a whole tone higher , which sounds sharp and piercing ’ r like a count yman s fiddle . Only one being can play thus

- D . r and on eath He is very good natu ed , lets the others go h i r w o . dancing , but they must not fo get s making the music

s b ow r When he let his fall , the othe players try to overtake him ;

are they in maj or , but even that sounds creepy enough , as in the sermon to the fishes . Then the piece becomes somewhat

r n . livelier (T io) , but the ghostly theme returns and remai s

Another violin enters , less piercing (not tuned higher) . At last the glassy tones die away . The third movement , poco “ ” adagio , begins peacefully, with an almost supernatural composedness . Constantly more lively variations of the theme , which , suddenly reaching an allegro molto , return as

transfi urin . suddenly to the calm of the beginning , g g it Only o f of once , near the end this part , the theme the last movement “ is betrayed . It begins very complacently, and a soprano solo sings , with childishly gay expression , absolutely without Des Knaben Wunderhorn parodying , to words from that we are now really in heaven :

Wir e esse die sc e reu e g ni n himmli h n F d n , ir D rum tun W das I rdis che meiden . Ke in weltlich Getummel HOrt man nicht im Himmel ! ’ Lebt alles in sanftester Ruh .

106 GUSTAV MAHLER

’ is a auf Er e Kein Musik t j nicht d n , a r Die unserer ve rglichen k nn we den . Elftausend J un gfrauen

Zu tanzen sich trauen . C acili a mit ihren Ve rwandten

Sind treffliche Hofmusikan ten .

(N O music on the e arth is there e r w ours o r That v e might ith c mpa e . Ele ven thousand vi rgins Are dancing witho ut urging ; C e cili a an d all h er relations r Are exc ellent cou t musici ans . )

E ven St . Ursula , austerest of saints , smiles at the dancing . “ ” o f She smiles the smile the prelates , as Mahler once said , s of old of the kindly , tony smile church monuments , the smile the conqueror . ’ s Mahler next symphonies , the Fifth , Sixth , and Seventh , r form a unity by themselves , in the same way as the fi st four . f Bruno Walter tells o a dream he once had , in which he saw Mahler striving upward at constantly shifting points of a

n . mountain . This dream is a true o e After the struggling of the Second and Third , the truce with the gentle warning of of r so the spirits in the Fourth , the life the earth su ges much

s . more tremendously in the Fifth , and demands to be traver ed

This latter work begins with the epilogue after a great sorrow , and surmounts it . But , in the Sixth , fate has no mercy ; it is ’ the only work of Mahler s that ends in the wildest despair .

- In the Seventh he is on the mountain tops , far from earth , and as though convalescent looks down upon it from above . The triple struggle with the spirit of heaviness : at the same time a struggle with his own technique , with the new means which bring ever greater knowledge . Here again I have “ “ interpreted there is not the slightest trace of a pro ” gramme . The form becomes , especially in the Sixth , the ” of k i n regular classical one . And the possibility spea ing - images will guide us more easily through these di fficult works . MAHLER ’ S SYMPHONIES

F h S The ift ymphony opens with a long , gloomy fanfare in C sharp minor , which leads into a stern funeral march . A A G as turn into flat ( sharp dominant of C sharp) . Then an episode of passionate lamenting , with osti nato double

. basses The funeral march returns altered , and dies away in a passage that bears a distinct resemblance to one of the Ki dertote li e r n n de . A second episode , a variation of the first , and a coda of a few bars only ends the song-like and expository

. of movement Like a great development it , the second rages

- forward . The theme is developed from a Viola part of the r ea lier second episode . Then the secondary section in the episode itself , exactly in the tempo of the funeral march .

The repeat after the exposition , which still stands in the small score , is cancelled , and the development begins . It is inter ru ted p by a quotation from the funeral march . In the repeat , “ ” the cutting ninth motive of the beginning binds everything

f s together , e faces and di places the themes . In a new cropping

so of two intensifications D out ( to say) the coda , into ; at the c of ulmination a chorale , from which the victory the last move ’ m - - - - o . ent Shines . Close in minor , will the wisp like A ter rific of scherzo indicates the turning . In immensity proj ection ,

n harmonic and specifically contrapuntal art , it is something

- . of . heretofore unheard , even in Mahler The melody does

I - o t disavow the character ofa dance tune . The fourth and fifth n o v ements also go thematically together . An almost feminine A dagietto , scored for strings and harp alone , is immediately

- ne Ollowed by a Rondo Finale . This is o of the most com ’ i licated movements in Mahler s works . The second principal

- heme is taken as fugue subject , and forces ever new motives

e tc the fugue . One of these seems , characteristically enough ,

0 be taken from the Lob des hohen Verstandes . When one he fugue begins for the second time , a counterpoint shows

f the principal themes of the Eighth Symphony . This time

' l n n m o fl f A “ b e r e n e w e d Ada o i p ffn n r n e e e ds fro m it A d e v e 108 GUSTAV MAHLER

e of alter d , repetition the rondo ; triumphant finale with the D chorale as in the second movement , and close in maj or after

- exultant whole tone passages . The S ixth S ymphony (A minor) was marked Tragic

. diminuen at the first performance A maj or triad which turns , on - do , into minor , borne chiefly by tapping drum beats , goes

- through the whole work as leading motive , appears like a force of destiny , and at the same time a symbol of harmonic restless

o ld of ness . The form the symphony is perhaps more closely ’ adhered to than in any other symphony of Mahler s , even though powerfully intensified . The apparatus is specially large ;

r b ass and percussion dominate the orchestra , and the very weight of the tone-masses seems directed against external o of one foes . It is the most passi nate , most despairing works , that struggles with and strives to surpass itself . Both the relationship and al so the similarity in character and shadowy colour of the motives are even more marked than usual . No where a liberating maj or which remains for long . Mysterious twilight tones mingle with the merciless march -rhythms of the

s s first movement . Cele ta , divided trings and cowbells sound

ZEolian on distantly like an harp quiet mornings , as the passing wind s trikes it ; a chorale is he ard ; but everything is

r drowned by the c ude weight o f the rush forwards . In the as Andante , which brings back more seriously the same mood

of . For the Adagietto the Fifth , is a chary repose a moment

- it even becomes pastoral idyllic . In the scherzo a grim “ ” humour flashes out . But it is not frank . A grandfatherly Trio is a place of refuge amongst the scurrilous succession of ideas . The returning scherzo is yet more ghostly . A finale which lasts half an hour surpasses all the outbreaks of the ff a first movement . The first development is broken o by f fearful crash o the whole orchestra , with a dull blow from the

r - of hammer falling , like a falling t ee . The march rhythm the commencement introduces a further development . It seeks l i of tranquil ty . A second crash falls . Repetition all fear and

1 10 GUSTAV MAHLER

The pinnacles gradually grow purple , and morning light trans forms the weird aspects . f The more deeply this symphony a fected me , the more I liked my symbolical interpretation . A work , leading upwards new and forwards , pointing towards a new land and a future of music . May this experience more and more often become that of all listeners . E hth S m hon E The ig y p y, in flat , with the greatest apparatus Mahler ever made use o f (besides the largely increased orches

r r t a the e are two mixed choruses , a chorus Of boys and seven

is r r soloists) , the f uit of the g owth in discernment and maturity r o f the man and artist in the course of twenty years . It is a e turn to the problems of the Second ; wherein was announced the promise o f self-gained protection against death and an nihilati n o , the certainty of immortality , as a reply to the ques

o f E tion death ; while in the ighth , after ardent supplication , salvation through work and love is revealed by a mystical cho

r r rus from a world where all things t ansito y are but an image . The union of the Latin church hymn with the last scene in

Part II of Faust is , in spite of the dominating chorus , a Sym is - of phony , which proved by the clearly defined sonata form the first movement— a symphony which employs the human voices as instruments * without treating them as such ; they do not vie with the orchestra , the choral writing itself being of the ’ most wonderful sonority . Faust s course to heaven is the

of Veni creator s i ri tus reply and fulfillment the hymn , p , T

- here overflowing with desire , in the impetus of a march rhythm , then carried to the climax of a fugue . Saintly hermits on the sie slopes above begin at the words : Waldung , schwankt

* Wa n It e ms on ere o g er has already said this of the Mi ssa S olemni s . s e ly h t fit exa ctly .

The H mnus Ven re a or s r us a ord n to one ra on om ose j y i , c t pi it , cc i g t diti c p d “ b C ar ema ne not to b e onf se w the sun e S e uen e en y h l g , c u d ith Whit tid q c V i , ” eancte s ir us is enera a r u e to Hrab anus aurus Ar s o of p it , g lly tt ib t d M , chbi h p a en e 76 l d n f th M y c (7 M ahler compose d a less fami iar re a i g o e text . MAHLER ’ S SYMPHONIES 1 1 1 h e . ran And now heavenly visions come floating , which r as G D ecall ( to oethe) the churchyard frescoes in Pisa , or ante

. e cs a i cu and Swedenborg Pater t t s (perhaps St . Francis of

D — Assisi) and Pater profundus ( ominick) first , then the verses ofthe Pater seraphicus are passed over— the angels bear f “ ” ! ing the earthly remains o Faust . The gerettet (saved ) is “ ” of u sensib us exactly the counterpart the accende l men , and the grandiose resemblance that exists between the themes of the first and second parts becomes quite clear in its relation “

. : Erdenrest z ship When the angels sing Uns bleibt ein , u ” “ i of i tragen peinl ch , it is an exact repetition the motive n ” E firma nostri corporis . verywhere begins a triumph of f redemption through the medium o supplication . One of the G penitents , otherwise called retchen , points out the newcomer, who quickly resigns himself to the celestial force and is borne Im le ae thereby . It sounds as at the p superna gratia , qu tu ” creasti , pectora . The wise become fools in heaven ; the maid

transfi ured . en , g by love , has become wise She prays now “ ” “ zu Vergenne mir , ihn belehren and the hymnus Veni , ” creator spiritus is intoned . From word to word , from tone

is . Al l is is to tone , the unity knotted together that transitory but an image .

A last climax , a final culmination , leads from the first whisper of the chorus mysti cus to a new outburst of undreamed of glory of sonority ; and following the significantly repeated “ ” “ ” - onstriv in n of ewig and hinan , the ever g so g supplication of the first beginning , now as a broad , j oyous chorale , comes to rest in the majesty of heaven . How incessantly Mahler penetrated into the meaning of these last verses of Goethe , which most people simply accept , and seemed to find in them the arcana of artistic crea 1909 : tion , is shown in a letter written to his wife in N ow the interpretation of works ofart is quite another mat

as . rati onal i . e . ter, you know from the plastic arts The part , , that which has to be separated from the intelligence , is nearly 1 12 GUSTAV MAHLER

always the inessential part , and in reality only a veil which of covers its form . So far as the soul has need a body nothing can be said to the contrary— the artist must take his means of representation from the rational world . Wherever he or has himself not yet penetrated to clearness , , as should be said , to completeness , the rational elements overgrow the artistic and inconsistent ones , and demand urgently an explanation . ‘ ’ is -u of Faust , it is true , a proper mix p all these things ; and , as of of its creation occupied the whole a long life , course the stones o ut of which the edifice is erected are quite unequal and often enough have remained merely material . The result is that one must approach the work in various ways and from various directions . But the principal thing , all the same , is

dr . the artistic unity , which cannot be expressed in y words Truth is imparted differently to every different person— and for everybody differently at different epochs ; j ust as with ’ for — Beethoven s symphonies , which are everybody and at

f — every di ferent time constantly something new and different . Shall I tell you then in what state my ‘ rationality ’ finds itself ‘ ’ as concerns these last verses of Faust ! At any rate I ’ — I r . shall try don t know whether I shall succeed o not Well , I take these four lines in the most intimate connection with what precedes : on the one hand as a direct continuation of of what goes before , on the other as the apex the enormous of has pyramid the whole work , which shown us a whole of E world figures , situations and developments . verything points— at first indistinctly— from scene to scene (especially in Part II , where the author himself had so far ripened) and n ever more consciously to this o e end ; unspeakable , hardly realised , but ever ardently perceived . E I a f r alisa verything is only the m ge o something , whose e tion can be only the i nsufii cient expression of that which is Tra si or here required . n t y things may perhaps be described , reach is a but what we feel and surmise and never , that , wh t reali sed is im can here never become , but which durable and

1 14 GUSTAV MAHLER

* I hope I have expressed myself clearly . In the case of such unrati onal infinitely delicate , and (as said above) things , the danger of being led astray by mere words is constantly near . ” That is why all commentaries are so odious .

THE LAST STAGE AN D LAST WORKS

o 19 10 E In September f , the general rehearsals for the ighth

Symphony began in Munich . Mahler came from Toblach

r o ut r after a cold and rainy summer , wo n with work and al eady more than half ill . But he at once regained his wonderful

who e strength , and those wer present at these twice daily

r renewed exertions , felt with pleasu e how the work was growing with each . The choruses came from Vienna and Leipzig , then

was came the soloists . But theirs nothing compared with

- the j oy of the children from the Central Sing Schule in Munich , who had long since closed a firm bond of friendship with

Mahler . In the streets they greeted him with shouts , and he had praise and affectionate sympathy for them on every

r occasion . For both pe formances the twice three thousand seats — se many people does the great Exhibition Hall hold

out. were sold Friends , admirers , j udges , enemies, had come

* It is fi n i r a er u to re er the o n in a rans a on . In h s e e dif c lt d p i t t l ti l tt , M hl un ers ore the words r n e ere in a s w i are ose of the Chorus d c d p i t d h it lic , h ch th “ ” mysti cus that closes the S econ d Part of Faust

Alles Vergangliche Ist nur ein Gleichni s ;

D a n i s U zulangl che , ’ Hier wird s Ereignis ;

D as U n es re e b ch iblich , ’ Hier i st s getan ; D as Ewig-Weibliche

Z e uns n i ht hi an .

“ ” One has a won er u ee n of re n en the nes in a i eral sense . d f l f li g adi g betwe li , l t ’ n or [Tra slat s note . ! THE LAST STAGE AND LAST WORKS 1 15

from all parts of the world . It was shown here for the fir st time that this generation really had an idea of what a man n f 12 like Mahler signified . And as o the evening o the th of September he stepped before his thousand performers and

a of raised his b ton , the jubilation the festive crowd hindered the commencement for minutes . Then all became still .

And then . the last notes died away . All was still for an instant . And then the storm broke loose from performers as well as hearers and continued for nearly half an hour . Nobody moved until Mahler had appeared again and again . Then all was over with the good manners Of the ’ r r child en s choi . They ran down to meet the quite helpless victor , seized his hand and rained flowers upon him . Outside the carriages were waiting , but when Mahler came , with happiness such as he had hardly ever before experienced wa written on his features , he could only slowly find his y through the still excited crowd . The j oy on the second evening was no less . It seemed as though Mahler had at least reached

f r the summit o his life and fame . It only seemed so . Ti ed , he departed from Munich that had given him so much . (And it ’ would be unj ust here to forget the services of Mahler s man E who ager , Mr . mil Gutmann , stimulated , arranged and carried the performances through . Mahler often enough lost “ ” courage and patience . ) The critical reflection of these old r days was without brilliance . The f iends remained , but now the old opposers were there , too , even if they spoke with incomparably more respect . Wh at is said in this book about the relation of genius to its time and its adversaries was r repeated exactly . I call to witness the Strassbu g University ’ Professor Robert Holtzmann , whose essay on Mahler s ” Eighth Symphony and the Critics fitly characterises the in o f extricable confusion . Holtzmann takes note a question cer

— tain opponents have recently brought forward that of race . For on this occasion some of the more rabid of his enemies ac cused him not only of Jewish but also of superficial Romanish 1 16 GUSTAV MAHLER

- f G was music making . The true essence o erman art said to be

wh o unattainable to this man , had worked and created at the very centre of the circle of German culture . Holtzmann finds sagacious words to meet the foul-mouthed materialism and f gall o such theories , and others to warn against setting an f exaggerated value upon the opinion o the critics at all . Some day it will be necessary to say more about the status of writing on musical subj ects .

Mahler remained a Short time in Vienna , and acquired an of estate in the mountains the Semmering , where , near the town , but still in the quietude of nature , he intended building f or . a house , a place him to work The whole Winter he and

o his were busy with the plans . As early as Oct ber this time

f r f he left o America . There began the second season o the

Philharmonic Orchestra under his direction . In the first

— six year forty concerts had been given by the Society , which Mahler had completely transformed after having taken it over in a state of serious artistic and material difficulties . -fiv e This time there were to be sixty , as the greater number of concerts promised a greater gain . Mahler agreed , for an only of slightly increased salary, and the weight a multifarious activity soon weighed upon his shoulders . Had this been the only weight ! Whilst attacks of the illness (angina) of the

m r previous su mer and autumn recur ed , troubles also arose f i with the committee o the Philharmon c Society . Mahler was n - certai ly no easy going master in America either . In the of service the works he demanded everything attainable , and manmuv res he did not seek to do so by means of social , which

all his life long he had never known . He also let fall many a

sharp word , which , although unpremeditated and as quickly

forgotten by him , were remembered and intensified by those

m — they struck . A ongst the ladies of the committee ladies had brought together the means for the undertaking— there

were ambitious ones who sought to make their influence felt . If this emphasis upon material influence was perhaps typ ically

1 18 GUSTAV MAHLER friends had expressed their sympathy : professors at the

r unive sity , the orchestra of the Opera , artists Of reputation sent him messages , and gave him pleasure therewith . Mah ler ’ s feeling at having returned amongst friends confirmed the ’ He was doctor s opinion . well knew that he in danger , per haps even gave himself up . In such a condition it is but human to encounter fate by flight . With the greatest difficulty he

r was brought to a sanatorium in the neighbou hood of Vienna . The tearful remarks about this last j ourney had better have “ ” been left unsaid . Mahler did not wish to die only in Vienna .

And even if he had , what an honour for the town that had now even allowed him to live in it ! 18th On the of May , all hope was suddenly given up , the

e d cline began in the afternoon , and an inflammation of the lungs ’ led . G rapidly to the end At eleven O clock at night , ustav

- o f fif . Mahler died . He had not reached the age ty one ’ N ow of r was , cou se , every one s conscience awakened , and ’ in the flood of oratory that poured over Mahler s bier were to e of f be h ard expressions respect , regret and a fection . In the prepared and even unprepared articles that were published ,

r many be autiful things were said of him . But still mo e dis tortious ; and not a few remained incorrigible even in the face

r to o r r of death . Othe s , , especially in me cu ial Vienna , behaved ’ r e me rily , as though th y had been on Mahler s side from the

r r e . G s fi st , and had neve b haved scurvily u tav Mahler was dead ; he could n ow disturb no more ; he might be as great a man as people please d . Meanwhile the body was brought for burial to the cemetery o f G of of rinzing , a little Village suburb Vienna , at the foot

r the nea est hill of the Viennese Forest . It was placed in the ffi tiny chapel , j ust big enough to hold the co n and the first

r r wreaths . The remainder , f om everywhere whe e Mahler was known and loved , were so numerous that they had to be ’ placed along the whole path to the grave of Mahler s little

r his . daughte , for he had wished to be buried beside child THE LAST STAGE AND LAST WORKS 1 19

Three inscriptions have remained in my memory : The rich one h a — , who s caused us that deepest grief no longer to possess the saintly man Gustav Mahler— has left us for life the im hi ” perishable ideal of s work and works . From Arnold o “ Sch nberg and some of his pupils . The grieving Fourth G R f allery of the Vienna oyal Opera , in ine faceable remembrance . ” “ Figaro ; Fidelio ; Iphigenia ; Tristan . The Teaching Staff

- and Pupils of the Central Sing Schule , Munich ; to the Com E poser and Conductor of the ighth Symphony . Mahler had wished for a simple burial unaccompanied by “ word or music , and people were thus deprived of their spec ” “ tacle . In order to deter those who wanted to have been there , and also because the small church and cemetery of G rinzing did not allow it , both were closed , and admission was

- allowed only to the holders of entrance cards . And even then many who had them were obliged to wait outside the church . Thence the coffin was carried through streaming rain to the

- burial place , and immediately on arrival interred without fur

r ther ceremony . The crowd , still many hundreds , was sca ce able to speak . The rain had ceased , a wonderful rainbow ’ was became Visible , and a nightingale s voice heard through the silence . Then fell the last clods , and all was over .

A splendid memorial was immediately to be raised . None of of marble or stone . Mahler had often spoken the lot of was poor and unrecognised masters in his art . And it in a certain sense fulfilling his wish to undertake the care of such as deserved support . Even before the funeral , a number of wealthy friends had collected , at first amongst themselves , without intending to make their action public . But as the result sufficed , an appeal was issued for an international ’ foundation which bears Gustav Mahler s name . The details of arrangement and administration are not yet definitely to determined , and this will not be easy do , as it is intended to prevent any later intrusion of professional and academical

“ music ; for the present Frau Alma Marie Mahler , who has 120 GUSTAV MAHLER

Dr . chosen Richard Strauss , Busoni and Bruno Walter as off advisers , will ward the danger . n And o e other statement . In the Regiecollegium of the K Opera , apellmeister Schalk proposed that no performance on of Should be given the day the interment . Director Gregor and the other members agreed ; but sanction from above was not forthcoming in time . And neither during his illness nor after his death did the Court once think of the man who had exhausted himself during the ten years he served the

r Imperial Opera , and b ought honour and wealth to the

. to institute Needless say , the corporation of Vienna also kept silence . ’ Mahler s works will now profit by performances worthy of u them and their composer ; to be s re , they are also at the “ ” mercy of that sensationalism which masquerades as piety . E r n verywhere du i g last year celebration festivals , perfor M mori am I n e . manees , took place Is it not typical that in ’ Vienna after Mahler s fiftieth birthday not a single thing of his own was performed ! whereas now no less than six sym Das kla ende i ed sa phonies and g L , to y nothing of countless

i eder e abend . E L , were given in a single winter ven the Phil r out ha monic Orchestra , which year in , year , diligently held aloof from Mahler , desired to Show that it is not the last its a amongst orchestras , and waited upon subscribers with to symphony . Or that after Munich , no town was able “ fulfill the enormous requirements of the Eighth Symphony so 191 1 — 12 long as Mahler lived , and then , during the season , no less than fifteen performances were counted . Com of posers will see what they have to do . Thus the neglect years was to be made good ; it is to be hoped that it will not provide an excuse for continuing that neglect a season later . We have already mentioned the posthumous works in this book ; let us now consider them in detail . Mahler used to say that his works were anticipated exp eri hi i ences . That is in keeping with s V sionary nature and

122 GUSTAV MAHLER

r fo one laments the withering of natu e in g and frost . Es gemahnt mich an den Schlaf . Sonne der Liebe , willst aufzu du nie erscheinen , um meine bittern Tranen mild trock ” of nen! (It reminds me of Sleep . Sun Love , wilt thou never appear to dry my bitter tears with thy mild ray! ) The whole is in the manner of an Andante ; accompanying the dragging string- figure the wood-wind sighs over long organ D points . The words are sung by a contralto . eep melan ch e ly dies quietly away , to be suddenly banished by a gaily “ Von - -P agitated movement . der Jugend (Li Tai o) (Of

Youth) this third poem is called , at the beginning playful , gay and j oyous . The singer (tenor) has a beautiful picture before him : a small porcelain pavilion where friends sit pleasantly together drinking , chatting , several writing ” verses . Suddenly a change into minor ; in the water they see the reflection of all this . But serenity soon regains the

How upper hand . beautiful , that everything should be stand

on . is ing its head in the porcelain pavilion It already past , so whispering , shadowy , and still full of soul and meaning ; of but the reflection youth , now only the reflection , cannot be f wh o e faced . He has seen it prepares himself for farewell ; ha he must imagine that everything s its reflection in the water . “ ” Again a ch arming lyric begins Von der SchOnheit (Li-Tai -Po)

(Of Beauty) , almost a minuet . Young girls are plucking

flowers by the riverside . Boys are exercising their horses by ’ the water s edge . And the fairest maiden sends long looks “ ” “ r full of desi e after him . Ihre stolze Haltung ist nur

Verstellung . In dem Funkeln ihrer grossen Augen , in dem Dunkel ihres heissen Blickes schwingt klagend noch die Erre gung ihres Herzens nach . (Her haughty pose is a mere f pretence . In the sparkling o her great eyes , in the dark depths

r i of her ardent glances , the e trembles the dolorous Vibrat on of e her agitated heart . ) AS a minu t once more (which alternates with a melody almost credibly Chinese) the music dies away .

In the middle section the steeds prance in , pant and rear . e — is They are almost Visibl but it only the reflection , the picture in the water .

D Der Trunkene im Fruhling . (One runken in Spring

- - Po . tide . ) (Li Tai ) A poem almost without equal . A bird of speaks to the drunken one , who is oblivious the world , of the spring ; penetrating through the wild , captivating song , the mel e d of ff y a Single Violin , which a ects by its simple goodness . Out of deep dreaming (the words are by Mahler and quite in Mahler ’ s “ ” . Der style) the drunken one listens Vogel Singt und lacht .

. t (The bird sings and laughs ) But the man , o whom the won f to der o the blossoms has nothing say, drinks and sings and “ Sinks again into sleep . Was geht denn mich der Frii hling ” an! Lasst mich betrunken sein l (What care I for Spring! ! Let me be drunk ) Mad , delirious harmonies , audacious even for the composer of the Seventh Symphony ; quite stormy until the end .

D er And then the last word , Abschied (The Farewell) , put together from two of the poems (the first by Mong-Kao

- Jen , the second by Wang Wei) by Mahler himself and con

- siderably altered . It is the lower voiced singer that has this ’ number . (I would decide in the second part for a man s ” voice : even Der Einsame im Herbst Should be sung by a man , however wonderfully Frau Cahier seized the Spirit of the work at the first performance . ) The music is here naught

- but expression , and well nigh rhapsodical speaking , sighing , 124 GUSTAV MAHLER

Ich suche Ruhe fur mein einsam Herz ! Ich wa e a der He a e er S a e ndl n ch im t , m in t tt ! in i r Ich werde ni emals d e Fe ne schweifen . Still ist mein Herz und harret seiner Stunde !

' Die e e Er e allii b erall bliIht auf li b d , Bliiht auf im Lenz un d grunt aufs n eu Allub erall un d ew ew aue i , ig, ig bl n licht d e F ernen .

(I seek repose for my l on ely heart ! ra owar o e we - a e ! I t vel t d my h m , my d lling pl c

I never shall ro am afar . is ear an d wa e fo r its our ! Still my h t , it th h rou me e er w ere the ear ear o o s A nd v y h d th bl m , It blooms in Springtime an d again grows gre en d e er e er ow ue roun a ou an s a . A d b t , v , v gl bl , di t nt hills )

This ewig (ever) is heard ever deeper and softer . And

r with it dies away this penetrating lament , ove uneasy chords on the celesta , without having found the peace of a final ch ord . What a mystery are these words and this music ! What a “ tremendous mystery ! Sombre are life and death . Did Mahler depart thus , unconsciously uttering this decision with the hypnotic power of his genius ! Many things lead us to think that he had , though so young in years , mea sured his own days ; that he had grown out of a world that he had read to the heart of , and which could mean nothing more ! to him . But he to it Was it capable of appreciating the fullness and purity of his being and his actions! Did it not “ ” “ ” find the same everywhere , and the good in the first or even the first that comes! What could appearance signify to him! N th S m h n Laments and questions ! The in y p o y, which was performed for the first time at the Vienna Musical Festival 1 12 W in June , 9 , by Bruno alter , follows in the path of the

i vo r Erde br L ed n de . A azen resignation ; a supernatural

and . solitude , beyond j oy pain ; a farewell without bitterness ’ Mahler s orchestra , alone, speaks it ; an orchestra more per

A C O NVERSATI O N O N TH E N IGHT O F H IS D EATH

AN EPILOGUE

f We were going along the Shore o the lake in the May twilight .

The great city was far distant . Pinetree trunks were flaming

sun . was in the last rays of the sinking Frau Agnes j oyful . ” - T . o morrow , he will be dead , I thought a She sang a few bars of Brunnhilde . I w s astonished to thus “ : hear the soulful lyrical voice . Then she said Often I hate

Wagner . But I should like to sing his music , to be able to

sing it on the stage . For the artist he gives the greatest hap ” in p ess and the richest outlook . Lohen rin I nodded . The Prelude to g descended in my f imagination . We had to speak o its tones ; and once more I saw the man who had unsealed it for the living . “ ” “ Outlooks into the future , I said , are opening themselves to -day— perhaps — (such as with Kokoschka ; and Arnold h S c Onb erg follows proudly his own path forwards) . But dur ing these days , the whole future seems to me to be veiled . who : He is to leave us , opened the outlook into the past He taught us , in the highest sense of the word , the development of the opera . It is to him that we owe Beethoven , Mozart , G luck and Weber . And I , Frau Agnes , have not lived in a vain . For I have heard and seen all these things , I h ve ex ri n pe e ced them and borne witness of them . A few years , and nobody will believe it , nobody seize it . And it also will ” belong to the past . “ Tell me more ; more , She said .

Fi deli o. E I think of very tone , every beat , every step , — was every gesture , was tragic , supreme, a redemption THE NIGHT OF HIS DEATH 127

D esire , Woman , Man and God. I think of the symphony eo or L n e. I thi nk of streaming sunlight ; of the j ubilant of f Beethoven in the last scene all , that o the liberation . I think of Don Gi ovanni; of the velvet splendour of a southern starlit Sky ; ofa gay castle ofa conversation in a churchyard at which we shuddered ; of the cutting sonority of the cembalo

l of — and (he played it himse f) ; the raging finale , all blood red Eur a t hellish . I think of y n he . It had become all law and ' splendour ; the whole present shone in it . I think ofIphigeni a. There stood the Chevalier Gluck and celebrated his right as n though through Nietzsche and Hofmannsthal . He who is o is of the point of leaving us , he it that created what none us who hoped for such festivals of German art had ever dreamed

of. was Here the attainment and the end , the summit of of was ten years work , possible through this man alone . Here ” a master , a creator , a consummator . “ Frau Agnes asked : What path led him so high ! And was r how this possible fo him , after twenty years of the theatre! ” “ Because he had seen through the theatre . Because he had grown up from his own music . Because the present blazed in him and was fanned by past and future . Because he n f formed a thing of his ow out o what was foreign , and some thing for the distant future out of what was his own . What ni the lyrics and sympho es contain is , for us , for all , and for

ou f r . who y because o the best , still buried treasure Those judged , explained the musician by means of the conductor and the interpreter . Those who seek knowledge will learn to nl interpret others by interpreting their own selves . O y he w n so who as himself a su could , like him , look steadily at the

sun . ; who , himself a Titan , unloose Titans Only he who had faith , could endure his daimon . “ Urli cht How beautifully you , Frau Agnes , sang his from Wunderhorn n - of ! the , this turni g point the Second Symphony e ro That is the way to his nature, as I have perc ived and p 128 GUSTAV MAHLER

- claimed it in the feast days that my life has vouchsafed me .

And you must not ask , not doubt ; great kingdoms open them

. who selves only to faith , submission and patience Those belong to the churc h invisible belong to him , and must belong D of to him . o you remember what you said at the close ’ Reinhardt s Second Part of Faust ! That here we must de

of spair words , that all words were no solution , and that still no music on earth could lead into this heaven ! But you will learn , like the twice three thousand in Munich , to experience in this Eighth Symphony the heavenly music to Faust ’ s

- o . consummation . It will be ever present t us in these verses We shall ever demand these works and melodies redeemed by

— ne striving when the time is no longer o of transition , when it no longer worships the critic ; in an approaching time of when wisdom will be knowledge , in that the next great ou liberation . We feel it coming . We are helping , y , I and

- F r . love . o all are building who have grace and good will All , ll ” a . are laboring for the work . Amen

We went home ; after hours of profound emotion , during d which we had thought of what must come, the mi night was passed . The musician with the chiselled head of a young “ ” saint came to meet us . He is dead , he whispered , and stood in the uncertain grey of the morning twilight .

130 GUSTAV MAHLER

r Works 2 . Ly i cal

a . With pianoforte accompaniment Schott Co .

ea er Friihlingsmorgen (R . L nd ) e a er Erinnerung (R . L nd ) Hans un d Grete (Volksli e d) “ ” S erenade aus D on J uan (Ti rso de Molina) “ Phantasi e aus Don Juan (Ti rso de Molina)

From Des Knaben Wunderhorn

U m s chlimme Kinde r artig zu machen Ich ging mit Lust durch e inen grii nen Wald Aus ! Aus ! Starke Einbildungskraft Zu Strassburg auf der S chanz ' Ablcisung im Sommer S cheiden und M e iden Nicht wiedersehen ! S elb stgc fuhl

b . With orchestral accompaniment Universal Edition “ From Des Knaben Wunderhorn

D er S childwache Nachtlied ’ Verle rne M uh Trost im U ngluck v Wer hat di es Liedlein erdacht D as irdische Leb en D es Antonius v on Padua Fi schpredigt J Rhein legen dch en Li e d des Verfolgt en im Turme Wo die schOnen Trompeten blasen Lob des hohen Verstandes Es sungen drei Engel e inen sussen Gesang ” w U rlicht (Alto Solo from the Se cond Symphony)

Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (Gustav Mahl er)

Wenn me in S chatz Ho chzeit macht ’ ’ Ging heut morgen uber e Feld APPENDI! 13 1

’ Ich hab ein gluhend Messer Die zwei blauen Augen v on meinem Schatz

Kindertotenlieder (Ruckert) ’ ’ N un will die Sonn so hell aufgeh n ’ N un s wo aru so u e a e eh ich hl , w m d nkl Fl mm n Wenn dein M iitterlein ’ J Oft e sie s nur us e a e d nk ich , ind a g g ng n , In di esem Wetter From D es Knaben Wunderhorn Rev elge

’ D er Tambourg sell Five Lyrics (Ruckert) Bli cke mir ni cht in die Li e der ’ Ich atmet einen linden D uft J Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen Li ebst du um S chonheit U m Mitternacht

Arran ements 3 . g K Di . ahn . . v on e t C M Weber , drei Pintos F

Die C . Mozart , Hochzeit des Figaro F Peters “ Arrangement of the Vi enna l o y al Opera.

G. J . S . Bach , Suite from his orchestral works . . Schirmer for - Arranged concert performance , the continuo part filled

out.

’ — T r m r n r t n r n m n B . i a r N . he publ she s n es he e give efe o pia o ar a ge e t and so “ ” f K n r n r a e m n a ure s ore . In the ase o the e o e e e Rev el e D er c ll d i i t c c i d t t li d , g , ’ T m r ll nd he s ckert the u s ore is u s e a b ou se a t r a er Ru b . F . g , ly ic ft , f ll c p bli h d y C

Kahnt N achfol er Le z and of the S e en S m on b Bo e Bo k g , ip ig, v th y ph y y t c ,

I o k bo u Mahle r I . A Fe w B o s A t

ews a er and ma az ne ar es are ere om e as e r n (N p p g i ticl h itt d , th y a e o ly with 132 GUSTAV MAHLER

G . 1905 . 3 . Richard Specht . ustav Mahler Berlin , ’ ” d Art ! . 1 E 905 . William Ritter . tudes tranger Paris , “ - . Die 5 . Ludwig Hartmann . Weber Mahler drei Pintos .

rnffihrer N o . 80. Schlesingers Ope , “ G E . Ein 6 . Dr . Paul Stefan . ustav Mahlers rbe Beitrag zur neuesten Geschichte der deutschen Buhne und des ”

. 190 Herrn Felix v on Weingartner Munich , 8 .

(And i ts pendant)

D a r E . 1909 . Paul Stauber . s wah e rbe Mahlers Vienna, “ G D edi ted b . 7 . r . Paul Stefan ( y) ustav Mahler , ein Bild

nli hk it . 1 1 seiner Perso c e in Widmungen Munich , 9 0. R With contributions by Auguste odin , Conrad Ansorge, G m Gerhart Hauptmann , uido Adler , Angelo Neu ann ,

initz r Max Ste e , Hugo von Hofmannsthal , Hermann R Bahr , Oskar Bie , Julius Bittner , Alfred oller, Marie h i - Pfitzner - Gut e l Schoder , Hans , Anna Bahr Milden G r burg , Ferdinand regori , Max Bu ckhard , Carl Hage

s R R mann , O kar Fried , Stefan Zweig , omain olland , R G Gohl r ichard Strauss , Arthur Schnitzler , eorg e , Max R D Schillings , Max eger , Paul ukas , Bruno Walter, r K R G m . Alf edo Casella , William itter and ustav li t “

Dr . 8 . Paul Stefan . Gustav Mahler . Eine Studie ii ber P li hk i erson c e t . . und Werk Munich First edition,

1910. d September , Second enlarged e ition , Novem

191 1 . ber , Third and Fourth enlarged and thoroughly 1 12 revised editions , March , 9 .

Two other important works about Mahler are in prepara; tion and may be mentioned here :

Arnold Schonberg . A Lecture on Gustav Mahler, held in 1 9 12 E Prague in May, ; an nglish translation of which has

been undertaken by the writer . R h ichard Spec t . A large Biography of Mahler .