A 149th birthday salute to Gustav Mahler
I won't go on and on again about Mahler, a topic I fear I return to much too often. Suffice it to say that, on this, the 149th anniversary of his birth (July 7, 1860), I have to have some of his music.
At some point today, in the privacy of my home, I'll dig out and play through portions of the piano transcriptions I've been fortunate to find of several of his symphonies (his spirit may be offended by my mistakes at the keyboard, but he'll surely adore my rubato). In this public forum, I'll share ...
one of my favorite Mahler movements, the beguiling Andante from his Symphony No. 6, which you'll have to watch/listen in two segments. That minor inconvenience will surely be worth it as you savor this glowing live performance by the Bernard Haitink and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Comments
Sublime. I just adore anyone who adores Mahler.
Posted by: Judy Maxwell | July 7, 2009 11:46 AM
Two rules concerning Mahler, Tim:
(1) One can _never_ have/hear/experience too much of Mahler! This is theoretically and realistically _impossible_. Anyone who complains is in need of serious psychological therapy; clearly, he/she would be on the path to depression and psychosis. Otherwise, how could my CD collection be so bloody huge? (That's actually a 2-part answer; the other correct response would be "Bruckner." %^)
(2) He's probably mellowed out a bit, wherever, whoever, or however his spirit may be at the moment. He actually had a fairly decent life, especially for his era, and has hopefully realized this and learned to "chill." (His high-strung nature, of course, is directly responsible for all of the magnificent music!) So don't worry too much about offending him with a little clumsy playing; he wasn't a piano virtuoso either, you know!
That "Andante" from the 6th is one of my favourite movements, too. (I'll never forget seeing it in Philly, with Eschenbach, when all the percussionists stood up and each shook a set of cow-bells. Talk about a magical moment! And the strings, of course, were sublime.) I think that it's directly responsible for (and several orders better than) a certain theme in "Star Wars" or the like (I forget, but I can hear it clearly -- I'll have to go huntin' for it).
Posted by: Doug Halfen | July 7, 2009 2:12 PM
What! I just googled "gustav mahler star wars" 'cos I found star wars music from the 4th part of Mahler's 1st symphony. I should listen to the 6th as well now but this doesn't sound like a coincidence. At least the star wars them had some good taste.
Posted by: agadgh | September 14, 2009 2:29 PM
You can hear traces of Mahler's 2nd in the imperial march. You can also hear slight traces of Mahler's 5th Second Movement.
Posted by: MV | October 6, 2009 4:30 AM