Great Composers: Gustav Mahler
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 ต.ค. 2018
- A look at the last (Austro-Germanic) symphonist.
This was a request from TH-camrs Samuel Nelson, BASSOONISTFROMHELL, Tyguy80s, wisnu1231, niskwix, Liam Skeen, Reece Rivilland, and Charlie Evangelista. See the current request queue at www.lentovivace.com/classicaln....
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Classical Nerd is a weekly video series covering music history, theoretical concepts, and techniques, hosted by composer, pianist, and music history aficionado Thomas Little.
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Music:
- Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 9, Mvts. 3 and 4, performed by the University of Chicago Orchestra conducted by Barbara Schubert and available on IMSLP: tinyurl.com/y7m8eyjk
- Thomas Little: Dance! #2 in E minor, Op. 1 No. 2, performed by Rachel Fellows, Michael King, and Bruce Tippette
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Contact Information:
Questions and comments can be directed to:
nerdofclassical [at] gmail.com
Tumblr:
classical-nerd.tumblr.com
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All images and audio in this video are for educational purposes only and are not intended as copyright infringement. If you have a copyright concern, please contact me using the above information. - เพลง
“He was not only enthusiastic about Weber’s operas, he was also enthusiastic about Weber’s grandson’s wife.”
-Classical Nerd 2018
That’s adultery, the 10th commandment!
@@BenjaminOrthodox and that commandement is from the OLD testament. We have a new understanding of karmic relations, destiny, sin, guilt, forgiveness and redemption, at least since Golgotha. Commandements have no place today. Only understanding, love, and forgiveness. Mozart knew that. And so did Mahler.
@@michaelbraun5217“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them“
“For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished“
Two things left out: He wrote one of his works as a marriage proposal.
Also, Sigmund Freud refused him as a patient because he thought it would ruin his creativity.
The finale of Mahler's 2nd gets me everytime 😭
Yeah, that one is just out of this world 🤯🥰
Same. Bernstein’s version with the NY Philharmonic.
"Mahler 7'th is his least popular"
Yea, i agree with that. But believe me, that's the symphony that makes me love mahler,especially after that timpani solo kicks in.
True-there's no such thing as a bad Mahler symphony!
The 7th is really underrated. The 1st movement is one of his greatest. The "shock wave" climax in the 1st movement gives me the chills every time. When the violins and trumpet hit that screaming high note harmonized with the low note on the brass I just about pass out. The middle movements Have fascinating orchestration. And the much derided finale is really a lot of fun if he if you just accept it for what it is. I heard the 7th live with the Minneetc.sota Orchestra in November sitting in the front row and I loved it so much I went again the next night.
A lot of that is because of the wild riot of the finale which requires for a lot of people a good interpretation or repeated listenings, if that. This symphony also has no heart-tugging slow movement nor spiritual aspirations.
However, perhaps in no other of his symphonies is the orchestral writing so vivid and varied. There certainly is a lot of fine exciting music here. It rocks! to use a phrase. Whatever, each Mahler symphony is a monument in its own right.
The thing is, the 7th is a lot to take in. Don't get me wrong, it's an absolute masterwork and it represents (in my humble opinion) almost everything that made Mahler so unique. But that right there is I think why that symphony isn't as popular. It's just so distinctly "Mahlerian" and it demands the listener's full attention. I think you have to listen to it a few times and get to know it better before you can really begin to appreciate everything it has to offer. It wasn't my favorite initially, but it's grown on me! The more I listen, the more I enjoy.
@@iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiivy Yes and I might add that performance is everything. You really have to have a conductor who understands this work the architecture and the transparency otherwise it fails.
Hans von Bulow is the classical music equivalent of the international man of mystery. He is everywhere and nowhere.
The dream is to be able to do a video on von Bülow that's just clips from other episodes.
Classical Nerd love it! The von Bulow mystery melange. (Please forgive the absence of both the umlaut and accent aigu )
Hi Teddy; your comment was great!!…the poor Von Bulow…
Remember that "inside the score" quote from the Brahms video? "But he joined Brahms' side as Wagner ran off with his wife" 😂
YES!
My favourite composer. I conducted his 9th whilst majoring in music composition and conducting, and have been pushing his music ever since in my country. He is truly amazing.
Bravo! And which is your country, please? The world needs to know of Mahler!
There is a carreer for both those specialties? I would like to know where did you study!
You must be a national hero
I'm a simple man. I see a Mahler video, I click.
Brilliant essay on the revered Mahler. I've read lots of books and think-pieces and heard numerous discussions on Mahler, but yours is certainly one of the best researched and most insightful. Your pieces on virtually everybody and musical subjects are terrific.
As a kid, I remember my mother playing Mahler's First. I enjoyed it, but at some point lost interest in classical music until high school. In the meantime, I came to enjoy movie soundtracks, including the scores John Barry wrote for the James Bond movies. Then I came back around to enjoying classical music, with Mahler becoming one of my top favorites.
In more recent years, I came across the BBC Desert Island discs series, which included an interview with John Barry. Imagine my surprise when I found out his "desert island disc" would be a recording of Mahler 9! And quite a world away from the mid to late 20th century genre-smashing "spy music sound" Barry pretty much invented. Not sure which one accounts for my liking of the other, but with this knowledge, I'm retroactively finding affinities... and even wondering about perceptions of similarities that might have been idiosyncratic to my listening tastes. In particular, some of the music he used for Bond movies with outer space as an element (You Only Live Twice and Moonraker) have Mahler-like elements, whether in terms of grandiosity or existential terror. As you said, quite an influence on film music, and John Barry is definitely no exception.
Great videos, recently subscribed. I believe that Adagietto from No. 5 is the best piece of music ever composed in the whole human history.
I agree, I don't think I've ever heard anything more beautiful. The first few notes pull you in immediately
I suggest you guys Bruckner 9th symphony first movement, one of the best things I've ever heard
I'd give 2nd Movement of the Sixth that position, but... when we hear it, we Recognize it... ; )
Mahler did write an opera: It's called 'Rübezahl' and it was written around early 1880s. Unfortunately the music was lost (destroyed?) but the libretto survived. Another one called 'Herzog Ernst von Schwaben' from 1875 (lost; both music and libretto) and 'Die Argonauten' from 1878 (also lost)
True; I don't generally count them because much of Mahler's music before the First Symphony was destroyed, lost, incomplete, or not representative of his mature style.
Funny that the 7th symphony is least popular. Hearing this work for the first time was a grand adventure. My capacity for large works rendezvoused with this ocean of a romantic sound with unforgetable melodies. Good job.
I love the 2nd Symphony; but honestly, his 8th is my favorite. The 8th has his first movement Veni Creator Spiritus which is one of the greatest finales to a movement ever penned. Also, the 8th I believe has the greatest finale I’ve ever heard, which I believe in my opinion rivals that of his 2nd. Mahler is the GOAT of Epic finales.
Love these videos
I was prepared 😍 awesone job!
When Mahler was in New York City, this happened what New Yorkers had been warned about. Because of bad and undisciplined musicians Mahler threatened to break off his engagement and return to Europe. Rich wives saved the situation: They bought the New York Philharmonic, hired the best musicians for the orchestra and appointed Mahler as the orchestra's first chief conductor. - Heinz
Thank you so much for the video! Deeply appreciated ! I can never get enough of Mahler!
Damn, this was definitely worth the wait. Keep up the great work!
👍
Well thanks, I loved your video on Mahler, 'looking forward to the others.
I didn't expect this video to be this good. Thank you for making it interesting and informative.
OUTSTANDING!!!❣️Great essays on all the composers, thank you and BRAVO ♥️So thankful for all your great research
Amazing video! Thank you for making the George Rochberg video too!
It is the 10th that is Mahler'strue farewell. I believe it was destined to be his greatest Symphony. The completed 1st movement is an absolute stunner and a big advancement in tonality and harmony. Deryck Cooke's realization is amazing. And keep in mind it is based on actual notes by Mahler it is mostly orchestration that is added. The final moments of the Symphony or just about the most heartbreaking thing you could possibly hear. If
that isn't a farewell I don't know what is. It is clearly the farewell of a man who knows he is at the end of his life and has no more that he can say. I often wonder what he would have written if he had lived longer what could possibly come after those closing bars of the 10th Symphony?
Yes, the ending of the 10th is remarkable, what with its crying out to Alma that he wrote on the manuscript's last page. Mahler commentators consider (A) Das Lied Von Der Erde (Song of the Earth), the 9th (using a theme from Beethoven's Farewell piano sonata), and the 10th to be a farewell trilogy, (B) the 2nd, 3rd & 4th a trilogy of vocal symphonies (the last movement of the 4th was originally supposed to conclude the 3rd), and the 5th, 6th & 7th a trilogy of instrumental symphonies. The youthful instrumental 1st and the through-composed choral 8th were stand alone symphonies.
Thank you Thomas!
Brilliant content, I watch Mahler documentaries all the time and was surprised to learn new things with you (which seldom happens with documentaries)!
And special credit for calling attention to Bernstein's over romaticising speculations.
Hope to continue watching your great videos and learning for many years!
I just found your channel and am really enjoying it. We could probably be friends.
Mahler is my favorite and I love talking about him. I once got really stoned and saw Dudamel conduct Mahler 9 from behind the orchestra. One of the greatest moments of my life.
thanks for the video, you're a fine lecturer. When the video started and I realized there weren't going to be any photos or music clips - just you in front of your books - I thought "no wayI'm going to last through a half-hour of this... but I did because you are very expressive.
very well done!
Brother, I love your channel.
I was pleased to hear Little for the first time.
As always, Very good explanations!!…and descriptions!…thanks!!; besides, I love your sense of humor!!; ….…now, I wish Mahler had seen Freud a few more times!!.once a week for a few months!……the conflict regarding death had originated at having been present when some of his siblings died; he himself was very young; , then his daughter and the psychological pain and sorrow when his dear brother Otto committed suicide in 1895. Death was always part of his beautiful and profound creations!. Thanks again.
I once asked my friends (who aren't fans of classical music) if I could put on a 'song' under the condition that they had to listen to the whole thing... I put on Mahler 3.
What a power move
Well played.
Great vid. Informative, and nothing pretentious about it. The first symphony I heard live was Mahler No. 5, Osmo Vänskä directing the Minnesota Symphony in Helsinki. Think I was 14 or so--? Mahler's always been close to my heart, especially 2nd symphony. I love the idea of a single work 'embracing the universe' and including as much emotion and ideas as possible. There's something fascinating about a stupidly ambitious project, which doesn't crumble under its own weight, like Mahler symphonies, LotR films, the Burj Khalifa, or Gravity's Raindow.
You are a highly intelligent man I enjoy listening to.
thank you
Great in-depth video, I learned things I never knew about one of my favourite composers! You've mentioned Vaughan Williams a few times, I'd love to see a video about his music. Very interesting music, and a very underrated composer (outside of the UK that is)
You're the fourth to request Vaughan Williams and your request has been noted in the request pool.
As a horn player, no one features the horn better than Mahler! Strauss is close but there’s something about Mahler’s horn passages that are just unmatched. Great video! I’m requesting Gustav Holst, Puccini, and Mussorgsky!
Duly noted: lentovivace.com/classicalnerd.html
I totally agree! Strauss might give us the biggest horn parts, but Mahler gives us the GREATEST horn parts. There's the Ein Heldenleben Kraftstelle, and then there's the finale of Mahler 1; theres Till, and then there are the sublime solos from the first movement of Mahler 9.
You could also make a video about Hans Rott and discuss the question if Mahler copied motives or got "inspired" from Rott's first symphony.
Duly noted: lentovivace.com/classicalnerd.html
Perhaps you can make a video about Franz Schubert and the Ars Subtilior please? Great video about Mahler! The background music is my favorite Mahler symphony!
Believe it or not, you're the first person to request Schubert thus far! Both have been added to the request pool.
Yes! Please Schubert!
engaging and efficient
I am always perplexed by the inclusion of faint background music in these videos.
It isn’t wise or necessary.
One can either listen to the music or the speaker but not both.
When I realized that I was hearing the last movement of the ninth symphony in the background, I followed it.... not what the speaker was saying.
In catching up with your previous posts I was very pleased to watch this. As always, it's absolutely full of facts and vastly informative. I would however make the following comments being a member of the Mahler Society (hope you don't mind) :-)
1. His father ran a tavern, or "pub" in today's terms, and in those days people would play and sing local music above Mahler's bedroom as a child. This must have had an influence on him.
2. Mahler had death very much involved in his life. 8 out of his 13 brothers and sisters died at an early age. Indeed his own daughter died at 4 from scarlet fever. Kindertotenlieder followed.
3. Alma Mahler could easily be a subject of a new video. She was a "gold-digger" and very promiscuous woman! The Freud consultation you mention is the tip of the iceberg. You did brilliantly in bringing this to our attention. But here is so much more.
Finally, isn't it amazing that so many famous composers had to defy their parents to study music, yet Mahler's dad encouraged it!
I believe that Mahler is the link between Wagner and Schoenberg. You may disagree. Still, you are brilliant and I enjoy your posts soooo much. Keep safe and well in these troubled days. David A
I did do a video on Alma Mahler some time ago, when I devoted a month to women in music, but since it's a much older video, it pales in comparison to the depth of more recently-produced content. Stay safe as well!
@@ClassicalNerd Thank you so much for your reply. Greatly appreciated. I shall continue to support your great work.
There is a mediocre film about Alma called Bride of the Wind from 2001. Request it at your Public Library
@@elviajove8289 Thank you, I will.
I don't 'get' Mahler. Thankfully I stumbled in here and you have helped the fog lift, amazingly so, due to the total lack of ANY accompanying background music. Thank you!
Glad I could be of service. There actually _is_ background music-the final movements of Mahler's 9th, to be precise-but I mixed them quite low. I made the mistake of mixing them too high one time and ever since I've erred on the side of caution.
@@ClassicalNerd I have to be careful here as I learned not too long ago, that sarcasm in texting doesn't always come across ;) but 'GOSH! you're correct!' I went back and cranked the volume, something I could not do at 6am or whatever time it was when I first watched your presentation, and lo and behold! background music and a ton of hiss are ruining through, along with your voice of course. Btw, I don't recall, but did you by chance mention here Willem Mengelberg, the Dutch conductor? Because of his performance of Mahler's fourth and his friendship and championing Mahler that I came here in the first place. Ever hear of him?
The focus of this video wasn't broad enough to include mention of Mengelberg. I just consulted my script for this video and the only Mahler conductor mentioned therein is Bernstein, simply because of his success in popularizing Mahler (and to point out some contrasts and links between Mahler and Charles Ives).
@@ClassicalNerd I toyed with the idea of writing a screenplay about Mengelberg and his ultimate downfall. I guess I still have the notion of doing it in the background of my mind and look for any opportunity to gain fresh insight. From what I read, Bernstein wore a pin saying MAHLER GROOVES. I only just discovered your channel and hope to peruse it this week. Peace sir :)
I must be honest here. I got into Mahler's music when I found out that he was aware with Ives' music and even thinking about premiering it
guy in charge of the school AV dept years ago,job was repairing maintenance of projectors records listening stations recording tapes for kids in music studies,he announced a mahler work thus,' and now the second symphony in C by composer gustav maher'
The finale of the Mahler seventh contains what I always thought was "Janissary" music, with instrumentation out of "Entführung aus dem Serail". I'd thought the Haydn military and the Mahler 7 were brackets around the First Viennese School, only Bernstein cited the timpani in the Mahler 9 and, Zauberflöte, was it. Or was it 39?
I really like this guy!!! He really has done his homework and it certainly doesn't look like he's reading from a script!! I'm very impressed with his professionalism and great knowledge - my only con is that it goes on a little too long other than that impressive!!!!!
Thank you! I do script my videos, but it's a far cry from a teleprompter situation; I don't try to stick to exact wordings so long as the information is accurately retained. As far as length goes, my earlier videos tend towards the super-short side, but as my channel has grown I've recognized a big uptick in interest for longer-form content. Since I don't want to sell any composer short, the exact length of videos depends on how much information needs to be included to get an accurate portrait (although after how long my video on Duke Ellington got, I try my absolute hardest to at least keep them under an hour)!
requests: jan dismas zelenka, henryk gorecki, morton feldman and allan pettersson
You're the second to request Zelenka and Feldman, the third to request Górecki and Pettersson. The request pool has been updated appropriately.
Heard Mahler's some of Mahler's symphony sounds excellent. Can anyone tell about Mahler's achievement and accomplishment, his greatness. What are his greatest works and above all was a he prolific composers ?
32:38 "Mahler is the last great *germanic* symphonist" -- Max Reger, Joseph Marx and especially Franz Schmidt calling... ;D ^^
14:18 perfect sentence lolol. His second symphony was ABOUT death and his 4th was a perspective of the afterlife 🤣🤣🤣. That was a perfect sentence
Somewhere in Spengler's "Decline of the West" he says that when the arts become decadent, you start seeing an emphasis on the gigantic. Mahler's and Bruckner's huge symphonies were written about the same time as the creation of the Statue of Liberty. Eventually, the forms become so enormous that they burst apart into tiny bits. Music blew apart with Wagner, but western art fizzled out with the Impressionists--to paraphrase Spengler.
I love Spengler and agree with his thesis at a general level, but I would say that Mahler managed to keep the symphony together. You can hear the centrifugal forces whirling within his work, but somehow he transforms those divergent storms into part of the symphony itself. Like the Hellenistic Laocoon group in relation to Hellenic art, his works lack the symmetry and poise of the classical period, but they are carried off magnificently.
Mahler owned & used an 1830ish Graf piano :-)
Just a quick note: Mahler's first symphony had only 4 movements, but you are probable (to the sounds of it) talking about his second. However, I did enjoy the video. Good job.
Ah, but listen a bit longer-I was talking about the initial version, and I indeed discussed the removal of the second movement. In its initial form, it was five movements (even if _Blumine_ is rarely played as part of it nowadays).
Yeah, I'll admit I jumped the gun there a little bit. I thought that Blumine was removed to make it three movements long and that changed. But great video. I learned a lot.
Requesting: Hindemith, Busoni, and Manuel De Falla
You're the sixth person to request Hindemith, which moves him to the top of the request pool! Busoni and de Falla have been added.
I have listened to resurrection some 8 times and couldn't grasp it completely yet
Have you thought of a video like this for Anton Bruckner? He had a pretty interesting life, I think.
You're the sixth to request Bruckner: lentovivace.com/classicalnerd.html
27:06
YOU ARE SAVAGE
Though not a Lied composer for most of his life, the Vier Letzte Lieder surely warrant Richard Strauss a mention.
I distinguish between composers who write _some_ lieder (Strauss among them) versus composers for whom the lied was a primary/major genre (Schubert, Schumann, Wolf, et cetera). Perhaps that wasn't as clear in this video as I could have made it!
Requests: Lumbye, Eric Coates, Segovia, Malcolm Arnold, Mancini, Andre Previn, Cathy Berberian, Suppe, Delibes and Mantovani
Lumbye, Coates, Segovia, Arnold, Mancini, Berberian, Suppé, Delibes, and Mantovani have been added. Previn is still living.
Everyone should know the song "Alma" by Tom Lehrer.
Can you do one about Lully?
Duly noted: lentovivace.com/classicalnerd.html
Can you pleeeaaase do Debussy? (:
th-cam.com/video/1zkAwATpAuE/w-d-xo.html
Nice capsule treatment of Mahler. Let me just say this. I've heard quite a few performances of his works, all with American orchestras. But nothing could compare to Sir George Solti and the Chicago orchestra doing the 5th. It was a revelation. A true force of nature. The audience gasped at the end of the first two movements. I've never heard brass sound like that before or since. The finale nearly blew the roof right off the SF Opera house. A totally different kind of sound. Nobody could ever forget it.
Tennstedt was also amazing
O dear In my opinion Solti was not a great Mahler conductor. I was introduced to Mahler by his recordings of the 5th 6th and 7th back in the early seventies and I thought they were great until I heard other performances and realizedwhat was missing which was just about everything. He does well with the Resurrection and the 8th however.
@@bilahn1198 I was talking about his LIVE performance, not the recordings! Big difference.
@@davidmayhew8083 Granted, that could be the case. I do admire Solti in certain repertoire quite a bit.
Yikes - I think Solti's 5th, (recorded), like his 6th and 7th, is very superficial. I do not consider Solti overall to be a great Mahler conductor. (with some exceptions) The Solti 5th was the first Mahler I ever heard, and it was only when I heard other performances did I see what was missing.
The problem with the 7th symphony is the 5th movement. What the hell happened there?? I agree there was perhaps not enough "branding" motifs in the first 4 movements, but IMO I just can't get over the cliche conglomeration that was the last movement, which seemed like a cheap sales pitch for the entire work...would love to hear your insight on that! And as a brass player, it's painful that the whole symphony is so frequently written off because the 1st movement is badass!!!!
I would have agreed in the past with your assessment of the Finale, but I do not now. It changed when I heard it live. Even when writing seemingly "bad" music - Mahler knew exactly what he was doing. When Mahler is "trite" it's PURPOSELY so. I love this finale - once it clicks in your mind you will too.
Could you do Edward Elgar?
You're the second to request Elgar, so he's been bumped up in the request pool.
sounds good! Have a good day.
@@ClassicalNerd Also could you do Glazunov? Thanks.
i vote up for another great german composer - Paul Hindemith. THE Paul Hindemith!
You're the fifth to request Hindemith, and so he's moved up in the request pool.
Did Mahler write much of anything besides symphonies?
Song-cycles! His early symphonies pull from settings of _Des Knaben Wunderhorn_ while later symphonic works such as _Das Lied von der Erde_ synthesize symphony and art song. (There's also a piano quintet from really early on, but it's not really a major work.)
@@ClassicalNerd How many compositions did Mahler compose, was he a prolific composers ?
Request: Nino Rota
Added.
Actually, Mahler's Third Symphony is his longest.
Havergal Brians second symphony is the longest symphony ever written but is rarely played- or even heard of. Mahlers 3rd is the longest symphony in the traditional repetoire
9:01 Oh buurnn.. eh what?
Very good presentation of Mahler as far as I know. But, as a french Mahlerist, I regret 1 thing : why don't you speak about Henri-Louis de La Grange, the famous Mahler's biographer, who helped people to know more about him ? But maybe this remark is too French ? ;-) ;-)
Maybe there's only so much one can speak about in such a short period of time!
"Cool reception" for the 1st is you being VERY generous with the public and critics of the time. Not everyone was as virulent as Hanslick toward Mahler (who was Hanslick NOT virulent toward?) but it was a very bad reception.
all I say is HAMMER GO SMASH SMASH
🅱️ammer
Dude
_duuuuude_
Im wet.
Mahler 8 rules all. Change my mind.
I’ll try.
1. The 8th is embarrassingly derivative, using themes and snatches of music from earlier symphonies for no particular effect, just showing lack of imagination.
2. The complex vocal part writing in this symphony comes out as mush. He treated the voices like orchestral instruments, and they just don’t work that way. (Beethoven’s 9th suffers from the same problem. Curiously, Mahler never made this mistake in earlier works combing voice and orchestra.)
3. The main theme of the first movement is so banal as to be idiotic. It is (again, embarrassingly) derived from the main theme of the first movement of the 7th symphony. The earlier version has direction and energy and is well-suited for symphonic motivic development. The version in the 8th is static and contrived, and drags the movement down like a lump of lead.
@@q-tuber7034 Good heavens you couldn't be more wrong. The 8th is possibly his greatest achievement. You clearly understand nothing about Mahler. Why all the invective? You don't know what you're talking about.
Paul Drapiewski Well, let me say:
1. I’m actually a huge Mahler fan, and a connoisseur of symphonies 1-7. If there’s bitterness in my take on Mahler 8, it is because I wish I could like it. And I’m not alone; the 8th is probably the most polarizing of Mahler’s symphonies.
2. I’m not actually interested in convincing people that they _shouldn’t_ like Mahler 8. I’m more interested in understanding why it is so polarizing and why I and many others don’t warm to it. (I should say that my problem is primary with Part 1. Part 2 I can enjoy.) The three reasons I give above are my best attempt to explain what bothers me about it. I’d be curious about other explanations for why it is so polarizing.
@@q-tuber7034 I apologize, I didn't mean to be so rude it's just I find it so surprising. I love it so much and when I see people trash it I just get my feathers ruffled!😾.I find the Veni to be just about the most thrilling piece of music ever written.
The issue I think is that it is very hard to pull off, very hard to clarify the textures and there are very few good performances. In fact I would have to agree that more often than not it's a mess. There is so much in the score that tends to get swallowed up with so much going on. The complexity of the choral writing is mind boggling and you really need to focus on it and thread it out and that's a big effort. Following it with a score is very enlightening.
Most people know the 8th from the Solti Chicago performance which is a good example of how NOT to play it (although Part II is superb). I recommend Klaus Tennstedt and the London Philarmonic. The video is available on TH-cam and it is breathtaking. Both interpretively and visually it's a knockout Watch it and see if you don't change your mind! To point out one section the way Tennstedt does a gradual slow up in tempo on the Accende Lumen Sensibus---slower and slower, with that drum roll going on for pages, then the huge "VENI!" --it is utterly breathtaking.
I really do believe the stumbling block is the sheer difficulty of presenting it effectively. Also some just dont go for all that singing. None of the other symphonies are like that. On that note the wrong soloists us can ruin the whole Symphony. It shouldn't be screeched and howled like Wagner. You want soloists with a light touch. Ironically that is exactly what you got in the Solti performance, where part 2 is as wonderful as part one is bad.
What about 9, 10 and Das Lied. They are Mahler at his most profound.
Bach & Monteverdi get a 3 min. vid, Beethoven gets 8, & Mahler gets 34. Right.
The longer I've been making videos, the longer (and more comprehensive) the videos have become. If I covered either of those composers today, those videos would be of comparable length.
Necke got 2 😅
well… its proporcional to Mahler's symphonies
Yes...
Too fast!
Thank you for this great video! :)
Let me ask you about the use of the term "piece", which you do, for example, at 8:03 & 8:11.
Why is this disturbing trend of recent years being perpetuated?
A Symphony is a W-O-R-K...an O-P-U-S !
One avoids calling a ship a boat. In both cases, there may be SOME truth to the matter.
However, to reduce an Opus, i.e. a Work, which is a MASTERFUL creation,
to a "piece" is frankly insulting.
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An analogous misplaced usage by Online companies is the use of "Songs".
There are cases I've seen of such a listing, whereby the Work in question
involves no singing whatsover, alTHOUGH there's always
the possibility of a "Song Without Words".
I'm open to the possibility, you are just caught up in this latter day trend,
that is, using "piece" because "everyone else does".
Even if this IS the case, you and your video are much too good for this stuff.
Thank you very much for reading and considering this point ! :)
I've never come across this objection before. The musicological literature from which these videos are sourced use "piece" and "work" as essentially synonyms, so as to not make discussion of a given composition seem dull or overly repetitive. If I were to say that Mahler wrote 24 pieces-or 24 works, for that matter-including nine completed symphonies, then both are broad enough terms to encompass his songs and early piano quartet as well as _Das Lied von der Erde_ and other such larger-scale compositions. Substituting "work" for "piece" (or vice versa) is such a minor decision when I put together scripts that I've never concerned myself with it.
Wagner may have led Mahler to atheist philosophers but Bruckner certainly didn't. Enjoyable though.
Bruckner was very Wagnerian in his musical language, so I would imagine that the link was more Bruckner -> Wagner -> Schopenhauer. All the same, I think it's important to note-and I should have done this in the video, looking back-that, while Mahler may have read these philosophers and was seemingly apathetic towards the dogma of organized religion, it's clear from his music and writings that he was a profoundly spiritual person.
To:@@ClassicalNerd
From: C-G Patrick
Mahler was indeed a 'profoundly spiritual person, and I appreciate your clarifying that matter. I have carefully studied the over 103 books on Mahler (which I own); and while I agree that the composer feverishly read a number of philosophers, he was widely referred to as "The God Seeker". Even his wife wrote of how deeply spiritual Mahler was, saying that when he passed a church (mind you, not a synagogue), Mahler couldn't resist going inside. Deep in his heart, I believe his Jewish heritage was important to him, though he didn't practice Judaism, and much regretted all the persecution that he suffered as a result of his Jewish birth. But remember, Mahler grew up in Moravia attending church with the Fischer family next door, even singing in the choir that his former piano teacher conducted at the local Catholic church. Moreover, as a young child in elementary school, Mahler was fixated upon the only two subjects that captured his interest: religion and music. As for other academic subjects, young Mahler was ranked at the very bottom of his class. Yet, having done a great deal of research, I agree that Mahler was fascinated by Philosophical theories, which accounts for his depth of knowledge on a wide variety of writers on such subjects -- some of whom Mahler boldly rejected and made no secret of it. Albeit, I do not believe that anyone genuinely knows today, (IF anyone ever did know) where Mahler personally stood with respect to faith or religion - a subject about which the composer was explicitly private. I've personally concluded that Mahler considered matters of faith to be deeply personal; however, examination of his occasional openness about such feelings means little. Different biographers hold a variety of opinions with respect to Mahler's "embrace" or denial of 'religion'. Consider, however, that while his arch enemy (his wife's lover), Walter Gropius, was invited by Mahler to his home for shelter for the night, after discovery of his wife's unfaithfulness, that when Alma Mahler went upstairs to check on her husband, she found him in his 3rd story bedroom, reading his Bible by candlelight. Does this private glimpse line up with a man who was an atheist? No. And need I say more? Mahler's day to day conversation was freqyebtkt peppered with his opinions of God. A favorite of quote of his was from the gospel of John: "God is love.", to which the composer often added his own words: "And love is God." But does Mahler's depth of faith and/or 'spirituality' remain a mystery? Absolutely. Gustav Mahler was a man of mystique regarding a number of matters which he considered private and deeply personal.
It seems that music majors and the upper crest of society love Mahler. Tried listening to his symphonies, but they just don't do it for me. No question Gustav Mahler lived a very interesting life. His symphonies on the other hand seem overblown and lacking cohesion. Not in the sense that Mahler doesn't know what he is doing. Rather, it's his randomness of themes that don't appear to connect with each other. Or there is too much flutter and dead spots. I will admit the second movement of the 5th is very beautiful, but outside of that Mahler bores me.
You must mean the 4th movement Of the 5th. The 2nd movement is highly frenetic.
Maybe if you paid closer attention to his music you'd appreciate it more.
By the way I'm a passionate Mahler lover but I'm neither uppercrust nor a music major.
Same. I am still trying to get into his music 😩