PROGRAM NOTES GUSTAV MAHLER born: July 7, 1860 in Kaliště, Bohemia died: May 18, 1911 in Vienna, Austria
Symphony No. 9 composed: 1909 premiere: June 26, 1912 in Vienna In the summer of 1907, Gustav and Alma Mahler and their two young daughters made the annual trip to Maiernigg, a small village located on the banks of the Wörthersee in Southern Austria. On July 12, the older daughter, Maria Anna (“Putzi”), died, four months shy of her fifth birthday, from scarlet fever. Shortly afterward, Gustav Mahler received the initial diagnosis of the heart disease that would claim him in four years’ time. Mahler soon became a shadow of his former, vibrant, self. According to Alma, her husband repeatedly stopped during walks to monitor his pulse. Alma recalled: I had often implored him to give up his long bicycle rides, his climbing and also swimming under water, to which he was so passionately attached. There was nothing of that sort now. On the contrary, he had a pedometer in his pocket. His steps and pulse-beats were numbered and his life a torment. This summer was the saddest we had ever spent or were to spend together. Every excursion, every attempt at distraction was a failure. Grief and anxiety pursued us wherever we went. Work was his one resource. He slaved at Das Lied von der Erde and the first drafts of the Ninth (Symphony).
14 program notes
Both of these compositions reflect Mahler’s preoccupation with mortality. Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth) is a cycle of six poems for two solo voices and large orchestra. The finale of Das Lied von der Erde — “Der Abschied (The Farewell)” — is an extended slowtempo movement. The final measures of “Der Abschied” juxtapose the temporality of man’s existence with Nature’s constant renewal: “My heart is still and awaits its hour! The dear Earth blooms in the spring and grows green anew! Everywhere and forever the blue light in the distance! Forever…forever…” By the time that Mahler completed Das Lied von der Erde in 1909, he had composed eight Symphonies. Mahler was acutely aware that several composers, including Beethoven, Schubert, and Bruckner, were unable to advance beyond their ninth symphonies. Mahler had previously written several symphonies that included vocal parts. Nevertheless, the superstitious Mahler opted for the title of Das Lied von der Erde, rather than “Symphony No. 9.”
