Line #46 Music/GustavMahler


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/photo_of_gustav_mahler_by_moritz_nhr_01.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Photographed at the end of his period as director of the Vienna Hofoper by Moritz Nähr in 1907.]]
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4	->''"I am thrice homeless, as a native of Bohemia in Austria, as an Austrian among Germans, and as a Jew throughout the world. Everywhere an intruder, never welcomed."''
5	-->-- '''Gustav Mahler''', recounted by his wife Alma Mahler in ''Gustav Mahler: Memories and Letters''
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7	Gustav Mahler (7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian composer and conductor, one of the last of the Romantic era.
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9	He mostly restricted his output to symphonies and song cycles. Mahler once remarked that "the symphony must be like the world. It must embrace everything." No wonder then that his symphonies work on a larger scale than anything previously conceived: some of them have elaborate philosophical programs, like his Symphony No. 3 which, like Richard Strauss' tone poem ''Music/AlsoSprachZarathustra'', is based on [[Creator/FriedrichNietzsche Nietzsche]]'s ''Literature/AlsoSprachZarathustra''. Mahler continually specified larger orchestras and more esoteric instruments; the culmination of this is his Symphony No. 8, which requires a ridiculously large number of musicians: double orchestra, an organist, eight vocal soloists, and three choirs. Not surprisingly, then, it is often called the "Symphony of a Thousand."
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11	He seems to have been fond of complaining that [[TrueArtIsAngsty people did not understand his angst]], and his works [[TrueArtIsIncomprehensible can sometimes be a little obtuse]].
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13	Nonetheless, they are still considered powerful and emotionally affecting pieces of music. Many of his works, such as his Second and Fifth Symphonies, start out with a despairing, anguished tone that darkens even further throughout the work, only to [[EarnYourHappyEnding work their way]] to a profoundly triumphant and joyous ending.
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15	He is sometimes viewed as a transitional figure between the romantic era and the early modern era of classical music (particularly German Expressionism), much the way that Beethoven can be viewed as a transition between the classical and romantic eras. Mahler was a major influence for Arnold Schoenberg and his students. In particular, the way that Mahler begins to dissect [[{{Scales}} tonality]] in his 9th symphony and the parts of the 10th that he did manage to finish -- this leads directly to the 12-tone system that Arnold Schoenberg pioneered.
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17	Mahler was one of the most celebrated conductors of his time, holding musical directorships at the Vienna State Opera, the Metropolitan Opera and the New York Philharmonic (where his tenure was cut short by his sudden death). He was known for his exacting standards and involvement with all aspects of an opera production, not just the music. Music/PyotrIlyichTchaikovsky pronounced Mahler "a genius" after hearing him conduct the German premiere of his opera ''Eugene Onegin''.
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19	[[DiedDuringProduction Mahler died before he could complete his 10th Symphony]]. Interestingly, he had feared exactly this: he believed in the "Curse of the Ninth", which states that a composer has to die either while working on or after completing his/her ninth symphony, as had happened to Music/LudwigVanBeethoven, Music/FranzSchubert[[note]] sort of; in Mahler's lifetime, Schubert was only seen as having written eight symphonies, as the symphony that is now known as No. 7 only exists in sketch form[[/note]], Music/AntonBruckner[[note]] if one ignores two early symphonies, now known as No. 00 and No. 0[[/note]], and Music/AntoninDvorak[[note]] except the symphonies now known as Nos. 1–4 were not published until after Mahler (and, more importantly, Dvořák himself) had died; they were not counted toward the numbering of his symphonies until the 1950s[[/note]], and as later happened to Alexander Glazunov and Ralph Vaughan Williams. Mahler tried to subvert the Curse by not numbering ''[[Music/DasLiedVonDerErde Das Lied von der Erde]] ("Song of Earth")''. [[SelfFulfillingProphecy This would have been his ninth symphony]][[note]] although the use of the term "symphony" to refer to the work is somewhat contentious[[/note]], making the Ninth his actual 10th. It seems the Curse of the Ninth only goes after numbered symphonies. That being said, Music/DmitriShostakovich managed to write fifteen symphonies, although he had [[UsefulNotes/JosephStalin other things to worry about]].
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21	Fans of Music/TomLehrer will recognize him as the first husband of Alma Mahler Gropius Werfel.
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23	----
24	!!Mahler’s music and life provide examples of:
25	* ACappella: Both the Second and Eighth Symphonies contain a capella choral entrances, with considerable dramatic effect.
26	* {{Angst}}: He is one of the most famous composers who expressed this feeling in his music.
27	* BiggerIsBetter: His symphonies became gradually larger in scale, peaking in the "Symphony of a Thousand", his 8th.
28	* BittersweetEnding: Symphony No. 9 simply fades out, interpreted as a farewell from the composer.
29	* BlackComedy: Mahler enjoyed using this trope. Examples include the scherzo of his Symphony No. 4 in G major, a grotesque dance-of-death scherzo featuring a solo violin with retuned strings, and the forced optimism of the finale to his Symphony No. 7 in E minor.
30	* BoleroEffect: Symphony No. 1 (''Titan''), has this in its third movement on the tune of "Frère Jacques".
31	* {{Bookends}}: Symphony No. 8 begins and ends with a huge E-flat major chord.
32	* {{Bookworm}}: Famously read all the time. He actually started the day with Goethe instead of newspapers.
33	* BreakTheBadass: The whole point of the fourth movement of Symphony No. 6 ("Tragic") is to send the [[WorldOfHam ridiculously large orchestra]] through a series of twists of fate represented by hammer strokes until it gives up after [[RuleOfThree the third one]].
34	* CallBack: Some material from earlier symphonies can be heard in later ones. For example, a horn call from Symphony No. 5 returns in Symphony No. 6.
35	* CradleOfLoneliness: ''Music/DasLiedVonDerErde'' ("Song of the Earth") has a movement called "Der Einsame im Herbst" ("The Lonely One in Autumn").
36	* DeadpanSnarker:
37	** Mahler didn't think much of his critics.
38	--->'''Critic''': I trust you weren't offended by my negative critique of your recent symphony.\
39	'''Mahler''': You just don't understand my music.\
40	'''Critic''': You weren't of the same opinion when I praised your previous work.\
41	'''Mahler''': You are quite mistaken. [[TakeThatCritics You didn't understand me when you praised me, either.]]
42	** When challenged to a duel, he declined with the words: "I do not believe in the healing powers of dueling."
43	* DeathOfAChild: The theme of ''Music/{{Kindertotenlieder}}'' (meaning "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Songs on the Death of Children]]".) Each song explores a different aspect of [[TearJerker the grief that follows losing a child]].
44	* DownerEnding: Symphony No. 6 ("Tragic") ends with a massive dissonant tutti burst just to be silenced by a lonely pianissimo, representing the loss of hope.
45	* DramaticTimpani:
46	** Used very quietly in the third movement of his 1st symphony (emphasizing the motif of the descending fourth interval that ties the four movements together) and to accompany the fanfares in the fourth movement.
47	** In the 2nd symphony, after the soft pizzicato chords at the end of the second movement, the audience is jolted back to attention by a sudden BA-DUM! from the timpani to introduce the third movement.
48	** [[SubvertedTrope Played very slowly]] at the end of Symphony No. 3.
49	** Also in the 6th symphony, in the first movement just before A major-minor chord. The same rhythm comes back over the final chord.
50	* DrunkenSong: His ''Music/DasLiedVonDerErde'' ("Song of the Earth") has a drinking song, but it's one for "Earth's Misery": "Das Trinklied vom Jammer der Erde." Another one is called "Der Trunkene im Frühling" ("The Drunken Man in Spring").
51	* EscapedFromHell:
52	** Symphony No. 1 details the life of a hero, including his funeral in the third movement. The final movement is him fighting his way out of Hell to ascend to Heaven.
53	** Symphony No. 2 opens once again with the funeral rites of the hero from the previous symphony, while the finale is a depiction of the Last Judgement. The first ten minutes depict the angelic summons (Mahler subtitled the initial offstage horn call "a voice calling in the wilderness"), then a thundering drum roll represents the ground tearing wide open as the dead rise from their graves and march off to be judged. The triumphant final minutes suggest that even the condemned souls have been redeemed and restored by ThePowerOfLove.
54	* EverythingIsAnInstrument: The infamous ''Mahlerhammer'' in Symphony No. 6 is a large wooden hammer slammed against a wooden platform or box, used as a percussive instrument. Also needs [[Creator/ChristopherWalken more cowbell]] in the finale.
55	* {{Expy}}: Gustav von Aschenbach of ''Literature/DeathInVenice'' is closely modeled after Mahler. Even more so in the FilmOfTheBook where Aschenbach is a conductor and composer instead of a writer. Movie-Aschenbach [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed is Mahler with a mustache]], really, except Aschenbach is depicted as gay, which Mahler wasn't. Even Aschenbach's wife looks exactly like Alma. The soundtrack to said film also consists of Mahler.
56	* FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling: Mahler had a sister, Justine. Mahler's wife Alma hated her and [[AnnoyingYoungerSibling accused her of being exploitative of her brother's naivete]].
57	* FriendlyRivalry: With Music/RichardStrauss. Mahler said [[NotSoDifferentRemark they were digging towards the same summit from different sides of a mountain]].
58	* GermanicDepressives: His music is sometimes dark, moody, and brooding. One of his oldest works was ''Music/DasKlagendeLied ("The Song of Lament")'' and ''Music/{{Kindertotenlieder}}'' is also not exactly on the happiest of subjects. ''Music/DasLiedVonDerErde ("Song of the Earth")'' also deals with tragic themes. And of course, his 6th symphony is referred to as "Tragische" ("Tragic").
59	* HolyPipeOrgan: The final restatement of the chorus in the 2nd Symphony (''Aufersteh'n! Ja, aufersteh'n wirst du, mein Herz, in einem Nu!'') is accompanied by a pipe organ, saved just for that moment. By contrast, the 8th Symphony brings the organ in on the very first note (''Veni! Veni, Creator Spiritus!'').
60	* ItWillNeverCatchOn: Reaction to his symphonies in his lifetime was all over the place. His First was denounced as dull, his Second was a big hit, his Third prompted one Viennese critic to state "Anyone who has committed such a deed deserves [[DisproportionateRetribution a couple of years in prison]]". Reaction to the Fourth Symphony was somehow even worse, with near-universal dislike that in some cases bordered on hatred. His association with Music/RichardWagner was [[GuiltByAssociation a strike against him]] [[FandomRivalry for many people]] (being an opera conductor, Mahler became the foremost interpreter of Wagner in his day), as was his Jewish heritage, earning condemnation from anti-semites then [[UsefulNotes/NaziGermany and later]]. His Eighth Symphony was met with [[EarnYourHappyEnding a half-hour of applause]], though, and he remained highly sought after as a conductor.
61	* KavorkaMan: Described as this by Alma Mahler-Werfel. Also had the (unjust) reputation of being TheCasanova.
62	* LastNoteNightmare: The 6th ends with [[{{Sting}} a massive]] [[ScareChord dissonant tutti]].
63	* LighterAndSofter: The eighth symphony, the biggest popular success Mahler had in his lifetime, sets two optimistic texts (the hymn "Veni, Creator Spiritus" and the finale of Goethe's ''Theatre/{{Faust}}'') and has little of the irony or ambiguous tonality of Mahler's other work.
64	* TheMentor: To Music/ArnoldSchoenberg and like-minded avant-garde composers. He actually was friends with Schoenberg. But since Mahler had shades of DrillSergeantNasty, [[RageAgainstTheMentor they had hot-headed arguments]]. According to Alma, Mahler was GenreSavvy enough to know that Schoenberg [[TakeUpMySword would eventually build on Mahler's innovations and herald a new age of classical music]]. During Schoenberg's "Skandalkonzerte" he always defended his friend. Keep in mind, [[BadassTeacher these arguments sometimes ended in fistfights of pro and contra-Schoenberg]].
65	* MoodSwinger: He himself was one, and his symphonies reflect that.
66	* MundaneMadeAwesome: He often incorporated popular melodies and ironic elements into his music, such as "Frère Jacques" into his first symphony.
67	* OutlivingOnesOffspring: The theme of ''Music/{{Kindertotenlieder}}'', mentioned above. Mahler's wife Alma was upset that he would write on this subject, believing it to be TemptingFate. Tragically, [[HarsherInHindsight her fears proved prescient a few years later]][[invoked]] when the couple lost their own four-year-old daughter to scarlet fever.
68	* ThePerfectionist: Mahler was meticulous in marking the scores of his symphonies with precise performance instructions for both the musicians and the conductor; he was adamant that the performance should reflect the vision in his mind to the letter.
69	%%* ThePowerOfLove: Strong believer of this, and considered God and Love to be one and the same. With the exception of No. 4 (which ends serenely), No. 6 (which ends brutally), ''Music/DasLiedVonDerErde ("Song of the Earth")'' (which ends bleakly), and No. 9 (which simply fades away), his symphonies end in a massive blaze of glory in the finale, representing the victory of love over suffering.
70	* ScareChord:
71	** After the third movement of his 1st Symphony quietly fades out, the fourth movement starts with a rapid ''Crash-Screech-'''''BOOM!''' to jolt the audience out of their seats and make them pay attention again, while the final movement of the 2nd Symphony starts with a quick figure in the low strings and then a shrill, dissonant chord Mahler called the ''Ruf des Schmerzes'' ("Scream of Anguish"). [[EarnYourHappyEnding Both symphonies get better, though.]]
72	** The [[LastNoteNightmare final chord]] of ''Music/DasKlagendeLied''.
73	* ShoutOut:
74	** The "Adagietto" from Symphony No. 5 was famously used in ''Film/DeathInVenice''.
75	** The second movement of his 7th Symphony is inspired by the events and tone of Creator/RembrandtVanRijn's ''Art/TheNightWatch''.
76	* StoppedNumberingSequels: Superstitious about the so-called "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curse_of_the_ninth curse of the ninth]]", in which other composers such as Music/LudwigVanBeethoven and Music/FranzSchubert had died after completing their ninth symphony and working on their tenth, Mahler's symphonic work after Symphony No. 8 was not entitled "Symphony No. 9" but ''Das Lied von der Erde''. ''After'' that, however, he felt safe enough to entitle his ''next'' composition "Symphony No. 9"... and [[YouCantFightFate died while working on his tenth]].
77	* TraumaCongaLine: The third hammer stroke in Symphony No. 6, [[DespairEventHorizon after which everything dies down]]... [[LastNoteNightmare until one last desperate tutti stroke ends it]].
78	* VocalRangeExceeded: The initial choral entrance in the Second Symphony contains the lowest vocal note ''in the entire classical repertoire''. There is even an instruction in the score that reminds the second basses not to sing the note an octave higher. Thankfully, this entrance is ACappella, and so it can be heard.
79	* WorldOfHam: Symphony No. 8 with ''three'' choirs, multiple soloists, a church organ and a double orchestra.

Context Music / GustavMahler