7/29/2019 Mahler's First and Ninth Symphonies

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Gustav Mahler famously declared that a symphony must be like the world. It must

embrace everything. True to his principles, the entire musical world is contained

within his nine complete symphoniesthe colourful harmonies, vast orchestration,

even the expansive length. But to consider only these qualities of the works ignores

their complete meaning; the symphonies are about the world and they speak to the

world. History is transcended in their themes and conflicts. They are of equalrelevance to the listener of yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Musically, one struggles to pinpoint Mahlers style. As Leonard Bernstein points out,

Mahler straddled thefin-de-sicle divide between two centuries. What we find here

is both a summary of the German traditionBachs counterpoint, Beethovens

heroism, Wagners lyricism and an introduction to the techniques and sounds of a

new era.

Although classical music is sometimes considered self-contained, immune to its

surroundings, Europe looms large on Mahlers symphonies. The Industrial Revolution

had fostered capitalism, urbanization and greater wealth. Simultaneously, tensionswere simmering; three years after Mahlers death, unprecedented destruction

shattered the idealism of modern life. Understandably, some (including Mahler) were

uneasy about the course of society.

The First Symphony follows a relatively traditional four-movement structure. The

work opens with a pastoral scene that evokes the youthful beauty of spring. A

woodwind melody descends in fourths through a veil of strings while the lower winds

pipe a distant hunting-call. All is peaceful. Throughout the movement, the brass

rumble, attempting to interrupt the serenity, but they are repelled each time, finally

morphing into a majestic fanfare. The dignified atmosphere is maintained in the

second movement with a Lndler, a traditional Austrian waltz. The phrases and

melodies are precise and delicately balanced, perhaps a nod to Mozart.

Things go awry in the third movement. The initial cello melody is the well-known

round Frre Jacques but cast in the minor mode. It is haunting and disturbing; not

conducive to putting poor Jack to sleep. We then hear a Jewish klezmerband with its

idiosyncratic mlange of oboes, clarinets, trumpets and percussion. The interlude

sounds exotic but the surface appearance is only half the story. In 1897, Mahler, a

Jew, converted to Catholicism in order to secure the coveted directors post of the

Vienna Court Opera. The tension between assimilation and individuality is therefore

foreshadowed in the two themes of the movement. At one point, the worlds aresuperimposed on one another but disintegrate, leaving behind only the fourths that

opened the symphony. They are not refreshingly rural now. Empty and hollow, they

reflect the crumbling dreams of a Jew in Europe.

Bad turns to worse as the entire orchestra, without warning, smashes open the final

movement. Paradise is lost. The storm subsides quickly, though, as a coaxing violin

breaks through the brass. Listen carefully and you might even catch the hint of a

Chopin Nocturne. Episodes of musical violence threaten to ruin the finale but, like the

first movement, heroism is the order of the day and a glorious climax confirms the

triumph of good over evil, idealism over reality.

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One of the tragedies of technological innovation is the demand for immediacy;

everything is wanted now. Do you ever press fast-forward, in order to skip the

boring bits and reach the spectacular conclusion of a symphony? A familiar

situation, yet this defies the point of classical musicmusic which demands your

attention from start to finish.

Unlike the First Symphony, which begins optimistically, the anxieties of Vienna seep

to the surface from the outset of the Ninth. Slightly awkward melodies stutter forth,

unsure of their direction or purpose and are lured into dark harmonies. War is coming.

There is no respite in the second movement, another Lndler, which opens in a

sprightly manner but is slowly disfigured by grotesque harmonies and shrieking

violins. The third movement is titledRondo-burleske. The second half of the title

suggests something humorous, but nobody is laughing. Rather, the joke is dark and

ironic; Mahler partners seventeenth-century counterpoint with the dissonant sounds of

1910. The music is nostalgic, yearning for bygone eras, yet infected by the cold, harsh

realities of life.

And then, a miracle occurs. There is no devastating end to the symphony, just a

poignant farewell from composer to listener. Having traversed the ugliness of life,

Mahler reaches the final stagedeath. It is not, however, imbued with resignation and

regret like Tchaikovskys Sixth Symphony; rather, it is an introspective meditation on

the inevitable. Furthermore, acceptance leads to a quiet affirmation of life itself. It is

the silver lining to emerge from the dark clouds. I would say more, but you must hear

it for yourself. No fast-forward buttons, please.

A century after the composers death, it is appropriate to consider his legacy. From a

musical perspective, some of Mahlers compositional techniques the flaunting of

harmonic conventions, wandering tonality (ending a piece in a different key to

which it began), structural unity achieved through motivic developmentappear in

various guises throughout twentieth-century music. It is futile to argue if it werent

for Mahler, however, he certainly provided direction for his musical successors.

But what of Mahler in 2010? Who is he to the modern listener? Circa 1900, his music

was often regarded disparagingly as extravagantly excessive and unnecessarily

dissonant. What audiences failed to see in the music was their own reflection; these

criticisms can be applied easily to capitalist society. And therein lies the genius of

Mahlerhis music both plumbs the depths of humanity and ascends to its glorious

heights. To listen and engage is to experience life.

As Leonard Bernstein notes, only after the lowest points of human civilization (war,

holocaust, depression) did audiences and critics properly appreciate and understand

the symphonies. The irony is that Mahler foretold it all; my time will come, he

prophesised. One hundred years on and the conflicts between urban and rural,

modern and tradition, life and deathremain with us. Such is their timelessness,

they always will.