Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth) Gustav Mahler he horrified contemplation of death was a least initially, he imagined the work as being Tcentral experience in Gustav Mahler’s life. performable in versions with the two solo- The subject weighed heavily on him as he ists and either orchestra or piano, the piano composed Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of version being considered a full equal of the the Earth). He had not begun to recover from orchestral setting rather than a poor relation. the shock of his four-year-old daughter’s re- He did go on to compose a Ninth Symphony; cent passing when, in the summer of 1907, fatefully, it would be his last, and his Tenth his physicians informed him that he was remained an incomplete fragment. suffering from a heart condition that would A friend had presented Mahler with Die probably prove fatal. They advised him to chinesische Flöte (The Chinese Flute), a col- give up all strenuous activity, including the lection of Chinese poems assembled and conducting by which he earned his liveli- translated into German by Hans Bethge — hood and the hiking from which he derived more accurately described as poetic para- spiritual nourishment. He wrote to his friend phrases than literal translations of the T’ang Bruno Walter: Dynasty texts. Their basic philosophy both reflected Mahler’s death fears and offered a At a single stroke, I have lost any calm and measure of consolation. The message is that peace of mind I ever achieved. I stand now nature — the earth — goes on, perpetually face to face with nothingness, and now, at renewing itself, but that man’s experience of the end of my life, I have to begin to learn it is limited to a brief span. Mahler launched to walk and stand. He reined in his walking but otherwise In Short plunged ahead almost suicidally. That au- Born: July 7, 1860, in Kalischt (Kaliště), tumn he traveled to New York to prepare for Bohemia, near the town of Humpolec his conducting debut at The Metropolitan Died: May 18, 1911, in Vienna, Austria Opera, and in the fall of 1909 he accepted the Music Directorship of the New York Philhar- Work composed: 1907 through 1909, mostly in monic. Given his health and the relentless the summer of 1908 strain of his activities, it is perhaps surpris- World premiere: November 20, 1911, by the ing that he managed to live almost four years Munich Tonkünstler Orchestra, Bruno Walter, after receiving a diagnosis. conductor, with Sara Cahier, contralto, and Mahler seems to have tried tricking death William Miller, tenor with Das Lied von der Erde. He subscribed New York Philharmonic premiere: January 3, to the superstition that composers did not 1929, Willem Mengelberg, conductor, with survive beyond their ninth symphonies (à Margarete Matzenauer, contralto, and Richard la Beethoven and Bruckner). He according- Crooks, tenor ly avoided calling this his Ninth Symphony, Most recent New York Philharmonic which it essentially is, since Mahler’s sym- performance: April 22, 2016, Alan Gilbert, phonies often include prominent parts for conductor, Stefan Vinke, tenor, Thomas vocal soloists. On the other hand, it is distinct Hampson, baritone among his ostensible symphonies in that, at Estimated duration: ca. 58 minutes JANUARY 2020 | 23 into his Bethge settings immediately after on November 20, 1911, six months after the receiving his 1907 “death sentence,” and composer’s death. Walter wrote: completed the orchestration in New York during the 1908–09 season. While calling Das Lied von der Erde is the most personal for a large orchestra, Mahler deployed his utterance in Mahler’s creative work and resources selectively, almost as a chamber perhaps in music. Invention, too, which, be- ensemble with vast possibilities. ginning with the Sixth Symphony, was oc- This is among the most introspective of casionally of less importance in itself to the Mahler’s works. Such ear-tickling details great symphonic artist than as mere materi- as the chinoiserie of occasional pentatonic al for his creative forming, regains its highly scales (as in the third and fourth songs) do personal character and, in that sense, it is little to obscure that this is a valedictory quite in order to call Das Lied von der Erde masterpiece of autobiography. The finale the most “Mahleresque” of his works. is one of Mahler’s greatest movements. A half-hour in duration — and therefore near- Instrumentation: piccolo and three flutes ly as long as all that has come before — it (one doubling piccolo), three oboes (one dou- comprises two of Bethge’s poems (with a bling English horn), four clarinets (one dou- final verse of Mahler’s own appended), and bling bass clarinet) and E-flat clarinet, three a desolate funeral march provides no relief bassoons (one doubling contrabassoon), four from its heartbreaking sense of yearning horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, and regret. timpani, bass drum, cymbals, triangle, tam- Mahler never heard Das Lied von der Erde tam, bells, celesta, two harps, mandolin, and performed. Bruno Walter led its premiere strings, plus mezzo-soprano and tenor soloists. Mahler’s Twilight The widespread image of Mahler as being overwhelmingly sick and depressed in his final years is to a large extent based on the way his wife, Alma, depicted him in her writings and later com- ments. The Mahler biographer Henry-Louis de La Grange argued that this may not be accurate, and that Alma was skewing the truth to justify her own romantic infidelities. An alternative view to Alma’s was expressed in 1948 by the conductor Otto Klemperer, whom she was apparently intent on seducing not long after her husband’s death: It would be a grave mistake to regard Mahler as a world-weary man. The best biography that has been written about him is by his wife Alma Mahler, who also emphasizes these traits. I myself, since I was privileged to know Mahler, can vouch that he was of a very lively, even cheerful nature. He could become very angry only with those who failed to do their duty …. The last song in Das Lied von der Erde is Der Abschied. It was his farewell to life, and the piece is profoundly mov- ing. Right at the end can be heard the words: “I go, I wander, I seek peace for my lonely heart.” For even if, as I say, he was by nature lively and by no means world-weary, he was nonetheless a Alma and Gustav Mahler on one of his customary strolls in lonely man. He died too early. the countryside 24 | NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC Texts and Translations Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde, with texts from Bethge’s translations in The Chinese Flute Das Trinklied vom Jammer der Erde The Drinking Song of Earthly Sorrow Schon winkt der Wein im gold’nen Pokale, Wine in the golden goblet is beckoning, Doch trinkt noch nicht, erst sing’ ich euch But do not drink yet. First I’ll sing ein Lied! you a song! Das Lied vom Kummer The Song of Sorrow! soll auflachend in die Seele euch klingen. Let its mockery laugh itself into your soul. Wenn der Kummer naht, When sorrow approaches, the soul’s gardens liegen wüst die Gärten der Seele, lie desolate, so erstirbt die Freude, der Gesang. Joy and song wither and die. Dunkel ist das Leben, ist der Tod! Dark is life and death! Herr dieses Hauses! Master of this house, Dein Keller birgt die Fülle des goldenen Weins! your cellar holds the fullness of golden wine! Hier, diese Laute nenn’ ich mein! Master, this lute I call my own! Die Laute schlagen und die Gläser leeren, Strike the lute and empty the glasses. Das sind zwei Dinge, die zusammen passen. These are things that fit each other. Ein voller Becher Weins zur rechten Zeit At the proper time, a goblet full of wine is ist mehr wert, als alle Reiche dieser Erde! worth more than all the kingdoms of earth! Dunkel ist das Leben, ist der Tod! Dark is life and death! Das Firmament blaut ewig, und The firmament in its eternal blue, and die Erde the earth wird lange fest steh’n und aufblühn will long endure and will blossom im Lenz. in springtime. Du aber, Mensch! Wie lang lebst denn du? But you, O man, what is the span of your life? Nicht hundert Jahre darfst du dich Not even for a hundred years are you ergötzen permitted an all dem morschen Tande dieser Erde! to enjoy the vanities of this earth! Seht dort hinab! Look there below! Im Mondschein auf den Gräbern In the moonlight upon the graves hockt eine wildgespenstische Gestalt! crouches a wild, ghostly figure! Ein Aff’ ist’s! Hört ihr, wie sein Heulen It is an ape! Hear how his howling hinausgellt in den süßen Duft des Leben! hovers on the sweet fragrance of life! Jetzt nehmt den Wein! Jetzt ist es Zeit, Bring on the wine! The time has come, Genossen! my comrades! Leert eure gold’nen Becher zu Grund! Drain your golden goblets to the bottom. Dunkel ist das Leben, ist der Tod! Dark is life and death! — Based on Li Bai (Please turn the page quietly.) JANUARY 2020 | 25 Der Einsame im Herbst The Solitary One in Autumn Herbstnebel wallen bläulich The mists of autumn build their blue wall over überm Strom. the sea. Vom Reif bezogen stehen alle Gräser. The grass stands covered with hoarfrost. Man meint, ein Künstler habe Staub von Jade It seems as if an artist had strewn the über die feinen Blüten ausgestreut.