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).

1906 photo of Alma Mahler with her daughters Maria (left), who died tragically in 1907, and Anna (right), who later became a sculptor.

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.”

While composing his next Symphony, which he did call the Ninth, Mahler informed Alma: “Actually, of course, it’s the Tenth, because Das Lied von der Erde was really the Ninth.” In the summer of 1910, when Mahler began work on his Tenth Symphony, he announced to Alma, “Now the danger is past.”

Despite physicians’ warnings after the diagnosis of his heart condition, Mahler continued an exhausting work schedule. After resigning his position as Kappellmeister in Vienna, Mahler traveled to New York, where, beginning in 1908, he served as conductor of the Metropolitan Opera. The following year, Mahler became conductor of the New York Philharmonic. In February of 1911, Mahler conducted his final concerts in New York. Mahler returned to Vienna, where he died on May 18, 1911, at the age of 50. The Tenth Symphony remained incomplete.

Mahler’s disciple Bruno Walter conducted the world premiere of the Ninth Symphony, which took place in Vienna on June 26, 1912. As previously noted, Mahler concluded his Das Lied von der Erde with a song entitled “The Farewell.” But for Walter, “The Farewell” could well have been the title of the Ninth Symphony, whose first movement is “a tragic, strangely moving, noble paraphrase of farewell emotions. An unparalleled hovering between the sadness of leave-taking and the vision of heavenly light (not floating fantasy, rather immediate emotions) lifts the movement into an atmosphere of utmost transfiguration.”

For composer Alban Berg, the Mahler Ninth was:

...the expression of the remarkable love for this earth, the longing to live upon it in peace, to enjoy nature to the greatest depths before death enters. Because death does come, inexorably…for the last time, Mahler turns toward Earth—not to battles and deeds, which he brushes off… but rather totally and only to nature. He wants to enjoy whatever treasures earth still offers him for as long as he can.

Notes on the Program by Ken Meltzer

GUSTAV MAHLER Symphony No. 9

I. Andante comodo

The Symphony begins with a lengthy, slow-tempo movement, opening with a delicate, mysterious introduction, scored for lower strings, harp, and horns. The initial theme, sung by the second violins, seems to rise from the mists. The far more agitated minor-key second theme culminates in a trumpet fanfare. This leads to an extroverted reprise of the opening theme. The exposition closes with a fierce episode that features a synthesis of the preceding material.

The extended development section begins softly and, with ambiguous tonality, suggests a state of disorientation. A more lyrical section builds to a violent climax that finally resolves to a descending, orchestral passage, evoking the sense of collapse. Another climax leads to an ominous passage, featuring echoes of the fanfare. A nostalgic recollection of the opening theme ultimately yields to an agitated episode, capped by potent brass outbursts. With plodding figures in the lower strings and trumpet fanfares, the music takes on the character of “a labored funeral procession.”

The tolling of bells signals the end of the development section, as the second violins reprise the opening theme. But now, the melody assumes a more anguished character. A misterioso episode spotlights the solo flute. The return of the second theme leads to the coda, in which wistful reminiscences of the opening melody finally yield to silence.

II. Im Tempo eines gemächlichen Ländlers; Etwas täppisch und sehr derb (In the tempo of a leisurely country dance. Somewhat clumsy and very coarse)

The second movement comprises three principal sections that return throughout in varied guises. The first is an awkward version of a country-dance, the ländler. The strings introduce the vibrant second episode. A slower ländler features a melody closely related to the first movement’s opening theme. A final, subdued reprise of the opening ländler is capped by a lighthearted duet for piccolo and contrabassoon.

III. Rondo-Burleske; Allegro assai; Sehr trotzig (Very defiant)

In contrast to its predecessor, the third movement is notable for its sardonic character. The trumpets launch the agitated sequence that serves as the principal section of this Rondo. A serene central episode features an undulating four-note motif that will play a central role in the finale. A vehement reprise of the principal Rondo sequence shatters that brief moment of tranquility.

IV. Adagio; Sehr langsam und noch zurückhaltend (Very slowly and even cautious)

The Symphony concludes as it began, with an extended slow-tempo movement. The violins herald the tender opening theme, introduced by the strings. The music proceeds to a fortissimo climax that immediately subsides to a whisper, as the first violins play the plaintive, second theme. The four-note motif introduced in the preceding movement plays a central role during this sequence—indeed, throughout the finale.

An elegiac mood pervades the reappearance of the themes. After a final climax, the music subsides to the faintest whisper. Toward the close, the first violins play a melody that recalls a portion of the fourth song from Mahler’s 1904 song cycle Kindertotenlieder (Songs on the Death of Children). A parent tries to convince himself that his children have not died, but are instead out enjoying a long walk. The violin melody in the Ninth Symphony corresponds to the following text from Kindertotenlieder:

“Im Sonnenschein! Der Tag ist schön auf jenen Höh’n!”

“In the Sunshine! The day is beautiful on yonder heights!”

Only the strings remain in the Symphony’s whispered final measures, which Mahler directs be played ersterbend (“dying”).

Gustav Mahler in 1907, photographed by Moritz Nähr.