Today I am going to tell you all about Gustav Mahler, the
passionate and dramatic composer of the nineteenth century.
One of the many things Mahler is known for is his passion. These characteristics are evident in his music; he is famous for
his big crashes, and loud brass sections. As a matter of fact, I don’t think
I've met a single brass player who doesn't just adore playing Mahler, because
they are encouraged to get as loud as possible.
This passion, however, led to some melodrama in the
composer’s life and the loss of some postings he had over the years. On a few
occasions, he resigned from positions in a fit of rage – luckily not all of
these resignations were accepted. Another time because of “artistic
differences” he was fired.
As much as his extreme emotions led to a lot of rage, he was
also a passionate lover. He once fell in love with a singer and consequentially
wrote his first masterpiece, inspired by his love for her.
Next he fell in love with Carl von Wagner’s wife while he
was working alongside Wagner conducting some of his operas. Because of his love
for his colleague’s wife he had a fierce creative period about this time.
But he didn’t always fall for unattainable women. In spring
1902, Mahler married young Alma Schindler, who was an intellectual young woman
studying composition. However, because Mahler demanded their relationship work
around his schedule, and that she give up composing, there were obviously
issues in the marriage.
Many people take the option of marriage counseling when
there are difficulties at home. Mahler also went this route. But instead of
talking to any old councilor, he went to the father of psychoanalysis: Sigmund
Freud. Yeah, because apparently that was a thing you could just do. The doctor
himself was impressed with Mahler’s deep understanding of psychoanalytic
theory, and helped Mahler rediscover his love for Alma.
I want to add an aside here about Freud and psychoanalysis:
Though many people think of Freud as an old crackpot who was misogynistic (the
misogyny bit is unfortunately true) and kind of insane, he actually had some
really important ideas. He initiated the discourse of modern psychology, and
without his radical and fundamental ideas, we would not be where we are today.
On a somewhat related note, it’s fascinating to me that
Mahler was so tied up with important thinkers of his time. Mahler was a scholar
of philosophy and a great reader of Nietzsche’s early work, which is ironic,
because Mahler’s pieces themselves are philosophically light-years away from
nihilism!
Whew, now that I have that off my chest, let’s carry on,
shall we?
Mahler’s passion for music led him to do some pretty
extraordinary things. Upon realizing that he would not be able to get a posting
in Vienna because of his Jewish heritage, he accepted baptism as a Catholic in
1897, and was appointed Kapellmeister at Vienna after a few months.
However, even though he had converted to Catholicism, there
were still intolerant people in Vienna. There was an anti-Mahler campaign
launched which came to a head in 1907, at which time Mahler agreed to give
his resignation.
He eventually died of a bacterial infection after various
other medical difficulties in Vienna on May 12, 1911.
There aren’t too many gossipy things about Mahler that I
came across in my searches, however, there are some fun little rumours of which
I doubt the veracity, but perhaps speak to the kind of man he was anyway.
I was told that he used to walk around in different
cadences, and then use one of those odd walking patterns for the rhythm for
whichever piece he was working on.
I also read that he was once composing in the countryside at
the foot of the Alps, and demanded absolute silence. So he had all of the
surrounding farmers lock up their animals so that he could write in peace.
You can hear music composed by Mahler performed by the
Kingston Symphony on February 2nd, 2014 in Mahler, Ravel & Dvorak.
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