Mahler - Symphony No. 7 "Song of the Night"

Some recommended recordings: Again, Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic on Columbia is the best recording: it correctly captures all the different moods, tempi, and atmospheres that this complicated symphony needs in order to succeed, the middle movements drag less, and the finale makes you content and fulfilled. In his second outing with the New York Philharmonic on Deutsche Grammophon is good as well: the first two movements are solid, the middle scherzo drags a bit, the fourth movement is…what it is, and the finale is solid: I think both of these show how Bernstein is the master interpreter of this symphony (who else could be like this for one of Mahler’s least appreciated symphonies?). Sir Simon Rattle and Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra released on BPO’s own label is not bad, it’s a little more light footed, as the final movement almost sounds like Haydn. It’s missing some gravitas but an interesting interpretation, and otherwise inoffensive. Claudio Abbado with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on Deutsche Grammophon is a little too slow and ponderous for the first and last movements. Georg Solti and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on Decca is pretty good, as usual for Solti (he might be the top underdog Mahler interpreter): it’s a little unsure at the start of the first movement but Solti gets over that and sails through the rest of the symphony to give us a very percussion heavy start to the last movement but he makes good use of shifting tempi, so much so, it almost made me like the symphony after hearing Bernstein! Otto Klemperer and the New Philharmonia Orchestra on EMI is a very, very long performance, clocking in at 1 hour 40 minutes! So many drawn out passages, which is interesting but tests the listener’s patience. How can this interpretation be as long as the Third Symphony?! Klemperer sounds like he’s trying to make the first movement sound like the first movement of the Third, so maybe this is his goal? The middle movements are fine, but the last movement is too slow and lumbering, destroying all the fun of the finale.

The Symphony was called “Song of the Night” (Lied der Nacht) by Mahler’s publisher but it was never called this by Mahler himself (as per usual). Similar to his Fifth Symphony, it is in five movements, but unlike the Fifth, the three middle movements are short, bookended by the long opening and final movements, as opposed to equal-length movements. The perceived thematic structure and “program” of the symphony (even though it is absolute music) are colored by the two “nachtmusik” movements in the middle. The Symphony is almost a descent into the night: from visions of the night in the first movement, a night march in the second, night terrors in the third, a night serenade in the fourth, and the return to daylight in the fifth. You can read more musical criticism about this puzzling on the Mahler Foundation’s website. So in a way, this structure is similar to his unfinished Tenth Symphony and its descent into Purgatory/Hell and return to…you tell me when we get to that symphony and its finale! The Seventh Symphony was not well received at the time and I have a hard time liking it very much (minus parts of the finale) – it is not just memorable in my mind.

First Movement: Sonata form. A very good opening motif played on some type of horn, then to trumpet, with strings underpinning it all. The horn and trumpet move like a hunting call, up and down the scales. It definitely sets the eerie night mood right from the start. Then a bouncy march-like motif enters. At moments I get hints of Shostakovich and the pastoral/hunter moments from the Wunderhorn era. The big musical growth and lugubrious nature of the movement reminds me of the first movement of Mahler’s Third Symphony a little too! We begin to hear some “mysterious” moments and then a snippet that reminds me of his Sixth Symphony, perhaps recalling the Sixth’s hero's theme of the last movement?! We hear more development and a string part that sounds very Shostakovich-like and then a development of the march theme in double time to finish out the movement.

Second Movement: Nachtmusik I, Rondo. We have the horns again, sounding like hunter horn calls. Then some bells add more color and the music builds up beyond this initial mood with woodwinds to give the impression of a stirring night to the listener. You can see the horn calls idea was first tried by Mahler in the middle movement scherzo of his Fifth Symphony and developed more here. Is it more effective though?... We then have some short motives that vaguely call to mind the “Pan’s march” sections of the first movement of the Third Symphony. In fact, I just learned the march motif here is actually from a Wunderhorn era lied, “Revelge” – so not too far off! Mahler even mentioned this movement was somewhat connected to Rembrandt’s painting “The Night Watch.” Nearer to the end of the movement (⅔ in) the music changes and becomes playful and dance-like, and gives a nod back to some musical ideas from the first movement.

Third Movement: Scherzo, Schattenhaft (Shadowy). The movement starts out with light, whimsical, strings and woodwind almost dance-like and John Williams-like, but then we get to the middle to end of the movement and it becomes more interesting, with a memorable motif (at least I think it is catchy?) and it turns more into a grotesque, nightmarish dance, a string/woodwind one and then a brass melody. I think this one is the most memorable of the 3 middle nacht movements.

Fourth Movement: Nachtmusik II, andante amoroso. This movement is the night serenade and in my opinion, not as memorable as the first two movements of the middle nacht section, or anything else in this symphony. I can barely remember the melodies…

Fifth Movement: Rondo finale. Beginning with riotous drums, the opening fanfare motif is extremely catchy, spoofing the melody from Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. Dawn and the daylight have returned, in case you didn’t notice! This fanfare may be one of the best expressions of pure joy coming from Mahler without any sadness, sarcasm, or bittersweet emotions in any of his other finales. We hear more variations on the main motif and a trill like variation/development of it. Now Mahler begins to make nods back to the middle three nachtmusik movements, intertwined with the development of the finale’s themes. We return to the first “tempo” motif again, but it’s recapitulated and further developed. Next we have a slight storminess and bustle, then a quieter string section and soft brass comes in, building up to a regal motif. Bells enter quietly, and we get more variations intertwined with snippets of the nachtmusik and some drama via piercing strings and brass counterpoint, but then we’re back to the bustling music. The movement definitely reminds me of the Rondo finale of the Fifth Symphony a bit. We are greeted with some motive hints from earlier in the first movement of the symphony. Then we have a full throated return to the initial motif. Now we hear, fully transformed, the menacing brass motif from the first movement as a major key triumphant theme joined by louder bells. Then we have a moment of tension and unresolved chords that make us think that this symphony will end like the Sixth Symphony, that it is winding up for some catastrophic hammer blow, but instead we get a fully energetic, joyful, and upbeat ending from Mahler that is very satisfying.

It’s a strong ending to an otherwise puzzling symphony: the mood and music of the finale is so incongruous with all the movements that came before, even if the finale makes musical nods to the rest of the symphony. This finale gets a lot of criticism for its “Mahlerian blatancy,” but I like it!

And links to my preferred recordings:

• Leonard Bernstein, NY Phil, Columbia

• Bernstein, NYP, Deutsche Grammophon 

• Sir Simon Rattle, BPO, [self-released]

• Claudio Abbado, CSO, DG

• Georg Solti, CSO, Decca

• Otto Klemperer, New Philharmonia Orchestra, EMI

Copyright © 2023 Jared Pilosio. All Rights Reserved

Mahler - Symphony No. 6 "Tragic"

Some recommended recordings: Yet again it is hard to go wrong with Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic recording on Columbia. It is extremely good, one may think it sounds disjointed at moments but that’s exactly the point as the hero is staggering, nay dying, and Bernstein keeps the orchestra together all through these tempi changes and motive developments and swirls. He brings them to the edge of chaos and keeps it together in such an amazing way, it really is the reference performance for this symphony; Then we have Bernstein later with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra on Deutsche Grammophon which is almost as good as his earlier outing on Columbia; Georg Solti with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on Decca is actually very good, but a bit inconsistent compared to the Bernstein NYP recording – some parts by Solti are actually better and excel, but then some drag a bit more; Sir Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra released on their own record label really rubbed me the wrong way, performing the symphony in the “wrong” order with the scherzo movement coming third instead of second. In addition, the first movement is played too slowly. Throughout Rattle’s performance, this symphony all around sounds more like the “mystical” Mahler, which is an interesting interpretation and we hear more of that light mystical sound during the scherzo. The fourth movement is actually pretty good, and being drawn out (to 30 minutes) isn’t an issue – the hammer blows are well done, but the earlier movements’ “mystical” sounds doesn’t work for me with this symphony, though I give Rattle a solid A for originality in interpretation and a great fourth movement finale. 

Mahler’s Sixth Symphony “Tragische” – the Tragic Symphony! Again, not called this by Mahler but works so well in the context of a programmatic non-program instrumental symphony from his middle period. He said he wanted only absolute music, but I can weave a  loose plot out of what I hear. Here are my quick program notes: First Movement - we are introduced to the Quixotic Hero, what does this music say about his life and how he should be looked at by the listener? Second Movement - the Hero’s more raucous, light-hearted adventures, including some self-contemplative moments reflecting on his purpose and fate. Third Movement - the Hero’s self-doubt, angst, and inner conflict regarding the choices he must make in order to meet his fate head on. Fourth Movement - the Hero’s final struggle against Fate, and for a moment, it seems like he might triumph in a Pyrrhic Victory, but–!

First Movement: Allegro energetico, sonata form. The march at the beginning of the movement is excellent, one of Mahler’s greatest musical ideas. The march bounces along via a great string part and the brass blares in a call and response with them. Mahler develops this idea more and then the movement goes into a sweeping, second motif of romantic strings that seems to evolve from the beginning motif. After more development, I now hear a new theme in a quieter section that almost hints at his "nachtmusik" ideas of his Seventh Symphony and later works, perhaps? At this point it seems that celesta, possibly woodblocks, and oboe with other woodwinds jump in to fill out the mood. Then the music slowly builds up to the opening brass march motif, again accompanied by the strings and developed more together. We get some slow lines of woodwind backed by brass, which is great, and suddenly we jump back into a string development of the first march motif. Next Mahler comes back with the counter “romantic” theme we heard earlier in the movement. The music increases with carnival-like intensity and then ends. The movement shows how Mahler is almost effortlessly the Master of Symphonic Development – look at how he makes this intertwining of all these musical ideas sound so easy!

Second Movement: Scherzo/trio/scherzo. To wade into the “which movement should come next” debate, I prefer having the scherzo follow the first movement since the scherzo has many musical similarities to the first movement. My understanding is Anna Mahler talked Gustav out of having the scherzo follow as the second movement and in a moment of self-doubt, he switched it with the third movement andante, which I think is a big mistake. I appreciate the conductors that keep the original order, because the epistolary record from Mahler is not clear that this is the change he truly wanted. Back to the music – We open with a different march-like take on some first movement motives. The playful, fast musical atmosphere makes more sense here, which would be followed by a more serious movement, and then lead to a finale that gives the symphony its "Tragic" moniker. I enjoy this movement, but is it his best scherzo? Not really and not too memorable, but it’s not his worst either (looking at you Seventh and Eighth…) Perhaps he is again attempting to convey feelings of dancing and Viennese social/domestic life. He interjects the movement with some darker, more ominous thoughts in the middle trio section, but not that ominous as in some of his other scherzi / minuets. More “nachtmusik” oboe/woodwind noodling follows and the movement ends on a rather quiet note.

Third Movement: Andante Moderato, rondo form. In later versions, this  movement is flipped with the scherzo, which is different from the way I first heard it with Bernstein and the NY Phil. I think it works better having the andante lead into the finale. The movement opens with strings that I feel have been copied somewhere (John Williams, where are you?). We then get an oboe led motif, which interplays with the strings. And cowbells! We move to a  fuller, descending romantic string motif in the middle section that is echoed by horn. It reminds me of something else again – maybe Mahler copied Brahms, or Rachmaninoff copied Mahler? The whole movement flows and sweeps, the strings as Mahler envisioned them sound very emotive. Then the movement builds up to what I call the "up-down" motif played by horn and supported strings (it is one fellow Mahlerian’s favorite part of the movement). The horns play a descending line that step-walks down. We get a romantic, sweeping call and response motif by strings and woodwinds which is underpinned by brass as it develops (perhaps we get a key change?), and then the musical idea ends with an oboe/clarinet. As this resolves, the movement quietly ends.

Fourth Movement: Allegro moderato - allegro energetico, in a very distorted sonata form. Now we are greeted with the story of Death of the Hero: If the First Symphony’s finale revealed that the “death of the hero” would lead to a path to triumph and victory, well…that is not what is going to happen here. Interspersed throughout the movement are these famous “hammer blows” that represent the death throes of the hero. Mahler was clear that those blows could not be a drum, but he was never satisfied with what the hammer should sound like, so it is up to every orchestra to develop their own homegrown hammer solution! The movement contained 5 hammer blows at one point, but Mahler reduced that to three, then to two. It seems like I have been hearing different numbers of blows between the various recordings of this symphony – it is quite possible the conductors are using different versions/revisions of the score! A dissonant mysterious flourish of harps and strings and a few timpani hits open the movement. This leads to hints of the opening movement "march" motif as the movement builds, but not much development from how it appeared in the first movement. The music is interjected with that little hero motif we heard a few minutes before that is new to the fourth movement. The movement is very dramatic and harrowing throughout, as we get continued development, showing how Mahler’s prowess in development has matured over six symphonies. Then the first hammer blow comes (signifying the beginning of the death of the hero) a little before halfway through the movement. We now hear chimes and bells, perhaps wood rapping on something? So many soundscapes Mahler manages to include. We get a sweeping romantic string-led theme and then another hammer blow which occurs a bit after halfway through. The harp with the high strings and drums come in with the opening motif again, then it’s quieter now with woodwind runs – and we still have a third of the movement to go! A quieter section recapitulates that hero motif quietly with a solo violin part too and now it grows and gets louder and then returns us back to the opening march again (the “harried” motif I think?) which continues to develop and grow. A slow brass part builds up, and we think that the hero may finally succeed, but no! With a really loud string pluck, we return to the mysterious motif from the beginning of movement combined with another hammer blow (in some versions, omitted in later versions) but it’s softer in comparison. Now everything remains soft for the final few minutes left, really soft brass, and the movement winds down with a whimper but then a surprise final crescendo and crash and wailing trumpets, and then the symphony ends. This is the first time for a Mahler symphony to end like this (minus the 4th which was more of a pastoral ending). And there we have it, the final death throes of the hero to end the Tragic Symphony! 

And links to my preferred recordings:

• Leonard Bernstein, NY Phil, Columbia
• Bernstein, VPO, Deutsche Grammophon 
• Georg Solti, CSO, Decca
• Sir Simon Rattle, BPO, [self-released]

Copyright © 2023 Jared Pilosio. All Rights Reserved

Mahler - Symphony No. 5

Some recommended recordings: it is hard to beat the swells and jolting introductory “motion” of the Trauermarsch by the Bernstein New York Philharmonic recording on Columbia, but the second movement doesn’t hold up as well as I remember. In general, it is very flatly recorded, though the finale is good. His later Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra recording on Deutsche Grammophon is actually pretty good: a little slower than the earlier NYP recording but it doesn’t drag, especially in the first and fourth movements where it could have. Georg Solti and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on Decca has a really good first movement-- it's really impassioned, as good as Bernstein's NYP, a very chaotic second movement with harsh brass in a good way, a solid performance throughout. I've listened to both Gustavo Dudamel performances: the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra on Deutsche Grammophon is good, though not very polished, the second movement is too rushed, then Dudamel gives us a botched pace on both the second movement's triumphant chorale and throughout the third movement, the fourth movement Adagietto is good and not too fast, and Dudamel appears to save things in the finale -- ether way, this is not the Dudamel and SBYO of BBC Proms Resurrection Symphony lore! then his later outing with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra on Deutsche Grammophon has much better balance, it's a solid performance-- I’m not sure if it’s the BPO or more years of experience from Dudamel that is the contributing factor here. Then, we have a new recording from Dudamel acolyte Rafael Payare with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal on Pentatone which is better than Dudamel’s first outing and practically as good as his second recording! It's a very bold, experimental take by Payare on the finale – but it works and the pupil has learned a lot! I was not expecting much with Claudio Abbado and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra on Deutsche Grammophon -- I knock Abbado for being very academic, but here he shines through, it's possible this recording is his masterpiece work of conducting. His master timekeeper ethos benefits this symphony where less diligent attention can make the pace and momentum fall apart. The fourth movement Adagietto is the right tempo and the fifth movement is an interesting interpretation, more stately than others. Bruno Walter and the New York Philharmonic on Columbia gives us a much faster performance, but it doesn’t feel too fast -- in fact, it actually feels refreshing! The first movement still has a good pace even if it is faster than I've heard it played before. Water is one of the few links to Mahler while he was alive and has some insight into what the composer was thinking and doing at the time of the creation of this music. And he's one of the few people who play the fourth movement Adagietto at the correct tempo -- his is the only recording I have found so far that does this properly. Read more under the Adagietto commentary to hear why! And, for a recording from 1947, it still sounds really good!

Mahler's Fifth Symphony was a break from his earlier “Wunderhorn” period -- it’s start of his middle period and a return to non-vocal symphonies. It’s also a break in that it no longer has any vestiges of being a programmatic symphony: it is absolute music, not even a nickname or title! (if anyone knows a nickname for this symphony, let me know) At one time, this was my favorite Mahler symphony! There is much to love and appreciate here: it's both accessible and complex, pulling off developments and recapitulations that are more subtle and more complex than his previous symphonies. The symphony is divided into three parts: the first part is the first two movements, then the lone scherzo comprising the second part, and then the third part made up of the last two movements.

Part I, First Movement: Trauermarsch What a great movement! The solo trumpet opening is oh so, so good, one of the best Mahler moments ever, and then the orchestra explodes with a call and response as the main funeral march motif develops and progresses! This movement seems like a more mature reexamination of the opening Totenfeier march from his Second Symphony. I read some commentary highlighting that the opening three note motif here echoes Beethoven’s own Fifth Symphony! I never noticed that before! And listening closely now for this post, I notice how the brass trills remind me of the bassoon trills in the first movement of his Third Symphony. Mahler gives us some great development and swell while revisiting the opening solo trumpet motif over the orchestra which goes full with a new smoother trumpet motif that cuts back to the funeral march. Interjections of a calmer more pastoral motif later on, again call to mind the Second Symphony’s first movement calmer sections. Halfway through movement, there's a great mini climax and then return to the solemn orchestral response to the opening trumpet solo. The end of the movement recapitulates some of the musical ideas from the beginning of the movement as it slowly decrescendos and gives us a new musical idea on the strings, that I am now just noticing seems to hint at motives from the finale of the Sixth Symphony! The trumpet solo motif is passed around to woodwinds as the movement fades out.

Second Movement: Stürmisch Bewegt. Mit Grösster Vehemenz - This is definitely stormy and dramatic! After the storm and bustle of the start, the first movement's “sighing motif” appears here again somewhere, I think as a descending motif? But now it's calmer, punctuated with bursts of wind instrument notes. Then Mahler is back to a recapitulation of the opening storm motif, before a new quieter part enters, and then a return to the unsettled calm motif of before. Next, a more playful section that is a development/recapitulation of – what?! It sounds so familiar! If you know what this playful section is riffing off and referencing, let me know! Then back to the storm motif and now a very elegant string motif floats over the orchestra before being interrupted with crashes of the storm. Some more development, then the movement very abruptly changes gears and belts out an extremely triumphant chorale that will later be reprised in the finale and fully resolved there, while here, it regally and mysteriously fades out. Then we go back to the storm motif with more development and the movement peters out, almost like a real life rainstorm.

Part II, Third Movement: scherzo, ländler, and waltz. We get our Mahlerian dance movement finally! The opening of the movement with the horns reminds me of something else (maybe another Wunderhorn symphony motif he has revisited here and improved upon?) In a very clear dance style, we hear another dance melody or two as Mahler's dance movement kaleidoscopically changes gradually. A leap from the ländlers of his earlier years! Then a horn solo interrupts, leading to a slower, more plaintive section of the movement, with pizzicato strings. Is Mahler reflecting critically on the mindless pleasures of fin de siecle Viennese society, as symbolized by the earlier dance motives? A quick string part that is reminiscent of the types of idiosyncrasies Shostakovich would later insert into his work appears. Then Mahler returns to the unaccompanied plaintive horn solo, combined with frenzied string interjections. Now, new, blaring brass interjections appear, as we have moved very far away from the dance motives of earlier in the movement. There is a hint at the opening motif in the close and we have a jaunty, playful end to the movement. This is a long scherzo, as well as the longest movement of the symphony, clocking in at approximately 17 minutes!

Part, III, Fourth Movement: the hugely famous Adagietto. It almost needs no introduction, probably Mahler's most famous piece of music. Bruno Walter, who was very close to Mahler (he either conducted some premieres or other early performances of his symphonies?) thought that the movement gets played too slowly. We imagine the Adagietto is supposed to be some sort of sad, elegiac piece of music, maybe because it rose to prominence through the 1971 Luchino Visconti film Death in Venice, which is was featured in, or how Bernstein played it at RFK's funeral. But in fact, the movement is actually a love note to his wife Alma, so Walter makes sure to keep the tempo up, since it is an expression of Mahler's true love for his wife. The tempo that Walter adopts is supposedly similar to how Mahler would pace the movement when he was conducting it himself! Most conductors are too slow -- this slowness is not in line with what Mahler did in practice or envisioned. What more can be said about this movement? A wonderful opening with ethereal harp strums and then the strings enter (this is a strings only movement) and continue. We get multiple swells of the strings and dark parts in the middle of the movement, expressing some sort of anguish or pain. But then we are given a cathartic uplift towards the end of the movement, with all the strings at full power, to wash over the listener. As Alma mentioned later to conductor Willem Mengelberg, Mahler left her a poem accompanying the movement:

In which way I love you, my sunbeam,
I cannot tell you with words.
Only my longing, my love and my bliss
can I with anguish declare.

Fifth Movement: The Rondo-Finale. The movement opens with a horn call and pastoral mood, reminiscent of his Wunderhorn era, but it has matured and become more complex here. Then a new motif starts with that horn, which is then passed to woodwinds and strings and develops further from strings back to brass (I think, the complexity of the development in this movement is insane). We hear the opening horn motif get developed and built upon by the whole orchestra. The final movement throughout actually has nods back to the second movement -- you hear a motif try to break through repeatedly and at last, we hear what it is: the movement resolves that foreshadowed triumphant chorale that we had heard earlier from the second movement, finally resounding and fulfilled! However, it always makes me sad to hear it here. Why? Even though it’s clearly triumphant, you can hear a twinge of bittersweetness and wistful swell up in the chorale before it breaks, which is how you know the final part of the finale is coming. And then we have the celebratory gallop to the symphony’s whirlwind of a conclusion. Mahler almost forgets how to end the symphony with all the craziness, build up, and elongated finale (again, this is similar to the extended finale of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, providing symmetry to the three note motif at the start!). Also, you can’t help but hear some inspiration for John Williams in the playful notes in the last bar or so of the finale! In addition, that bittersweet moment immediately after the triumphant chorale is recapitulated is what makes the wild finale very cathartic. I can’t help but feel reminded of the ending of Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony with its “forced celebration”, though here the emotion feels sincere. Even though it is a joyous ending, I feel there is a subversive cathartic undertone, and that can’t help me think of Shostakovich at the same time as Beethoven. I don’t have the commentary of Embrace Everything to rely on! But the chaotic nature of the end could be a nod to his tumultuous relationship with his wife Alma (which was explored in the fourth movement as well). What an exhilarating end to an amazing symphony. What a way to kick off the Middle Period!

And links to my preferred recordings:

• Leonard Bernstein, NYP, Columbia
• Bernstein, VPO, Deutsche Grammophon
• Georg Solti, CSO, Decca
• Gustavo Dudamel, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, DG
• Rafael Payare, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Pentatone
• Claudio Abbado, BPO, DG
• Bruno Walter, NYP, Columbia

Copyright © 2023 Jared Pilosio. All Rights Reserved

Mahler - Symphony No. 4 "Humoresque"

 

Some recommended recordings: Leonard Bernstein gives a great performance with the New York Philharmonic on Columbia with Reri Grist (one of the first famous Black classical music singers) and he captures the playfulness of the symphony well here, in contrast with what I now consider ponderous, lumbering performances of the Third Symphony. Then we have Bernstein and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra with Helmut Wittek (boy soprano!), produced during his Deutsche Grammophon cycle, is actually pretty good: the tempi sound spot on and the twenty years of experience has made a positive difference here. Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra with Lisa Della Casa on RCA Living Stereo has a very good first movement performance, which really captures the Haydn-like feel of it, almost better than Bernstein – the recording is great throughout. And if you want history, we have Wilhelm Mengelberg and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra with Jo Vincent on Philips, a vintage live 1939 recording. Mengelberg heard Mahler rehearse and perform this and other symphonies and saw his original conducting notes as well.

We now come to my first symphony without the Embrace Everything podcast as a crunch to guide my critical commentary. So below is what I could piece together from my ears, wikipedia, and Bernstein’s commentary on the first, third, and fourth movements. It was savaged by audiences and critics alike at the time, but it is also his most accessible. Why? Because it's a short symphony? It's like saying we have to trim “The Odyssey” down because it's too long and folks won't enjoy it. I am not swayed. This is not my favorite Mahler symphony, but it has grown on me as I have done my preparatory listening and studying. It was originally planned to have six movements, including “Das irdische Leben” “The Earthly Life” another Wunderhorn song (one version sung by immortal Mahler interpreter Christa Ludwig and another live version by a Baritone) 

Die Welt als ewige Jetztzeit (The World as Eternal Now)

Das irdische Leben (The Earthly Life)

Caritas – Adagio

Morgenglocken (Morning Bells)

Die Welt ohne Schwere (The World Without Gravity) – Scherzo

Das himmlische Leben (The Heavenly Life)

Only the first and last movements would survive in the final version of the Fourth. Morgenlocken would become the Fifth Movement of the Third Symphony “Es sungen drei Engel” – compare that with the aborted “Das irdische Leben” movement which sings about starving indigent children! It’s also been said that the scherzo movement was held back for the Fifth Symphony (more on the links to the Fifth later) and the Adagio is not the same piece music that we would later receive as the final Third Movement. His notes for this six movement symphony suggest he would have named the symphony “Humoresque,” after a five song cycle that included “The Heavenly Life”

As I have said, I am not the biggest fan: the first movement is catchy but not as likeable as it could be, and I prefer his vocal movements in the Second and Third Symphonies compared to his finale here (though I do like the darker moments, of course). Though I have begun to appreciate the complex thematic development and recapitulation here – it is very subtle and I have only caught it on my subsequent listening sessions. Let’s dive into the body of work itself:

First Movement: In sonata form, it opens with a flute, strings, and sleigh bell part that leads to our first motif. It has a strong neoclassical style: the melody and form reminds me of Haydn or as Bernstein would say, Mozart. Then we hear the second main “nostalgia/child” motif of the movement and There is something very stately about how this second motif opens. I visualize a musical interpretation of domestic life. Domesticity is written all over it. The movement speeds up, brassy and boisterous as the motives are developed further. I hear a march or especially rhythmic beat unlike much of his other music, where tempo is unclear. This movement is almost childlike in its emotional swings: If you remember Mahler is a middle aged manchild not in control of his emotions and prone to melodramatic outbursts, it makes sense that this would only connect more as we get older and find a link to the emotivism of this music to our past life experiences. As we hear one of the development sections, out of nowhere comes a trumpet trill that is a snippet of what would be reused and become the trumpet-led opening motif to the trauermarsch from the Fifth Symphony! Mahler named it “the little call to order” here. This won’t be the last link to the Fifth Symphony, especially if he appropriated the scherzo for it. I’ve been appreciating this movement more as I finally hear how Mahler is performing a number of wide-ranging variations on the themes he introduces. We have a slightly quiet passage before Maler brings us home with a playful upbeat recapitulation and then ending.

Second Movement: The scherzo. It opens with a spindrily string part. Perhaps we’re witnessing Death here, in contrast with heaven at the end of the symphony? Alma Mahler said that Mahler was inspired by the painting “Self-Portrait with Death Playing the Fiddle” by the Swiss artist Arnold Böcklin. This movement reminds me of some other musical piece, Mahler or otherwise, with the winding violin part offset by woodwinds and brass interjections. Maybe it’s Mahler’s Seventh Symphony nachtmusik, or the middle purgatorio/descent sections from the Tenth Symphony sketches? There is a winding menacing part but interspersed with lighter, frolicky sounding parts. The middle section is dreamier and almost sounds reminiscent of his Second and Third Symphonies. Almost Richard Strauss like (which wouldn’t be surprising since they were contemporaries and colleagues).

Third Movement. Double theme and variations, poco adagio. It begins with a solemn and stately main theme that transitions into glacial strings and a very emotive swell. Then we move into a more upbeat minuet-like section. After this has played out, the movement takes a sadder emotional turn and takes us back to the sadder motif near the opening, with wailing strings. This leads into a variation that, only now I can see, is clearly developing the second motif from the First Movement with the previous minuet section! Then we have a grand brass and string outburst that is one of the more memorable parts; it has a real driving force. Next, we move into a string/harp part to close out the movement that sounds vaguely like “Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen” “O garish world, long since thou hast lost me” (sung by Magdalena Kožena with Claudio Abbado at the Lucerne Festival), one of the Rückert-Lieder, which would be composed only a year or so after this symphony. In my opinion, I had not thought the middle two movements of this symphony to be very memorable, but they have since grown on me, though not to the level of his other symphonies. Maybe the variation work is too subtle to give us memorable melodies.

Fourth Movement. This movement was originally supposed to be the Seventh Movement finale (!!) to his Third Symphony and instead he held it back to be the finale here – “Das himmlische Leben” “The Heavenly Life” from “Des Knaben Wunderhorn.” It’s sung by a soprano, and whether here or in the previous symphony, we see how this caps off the tetralogy, with the subject of the symphonies finally reaching heaven. 

We revel in heavenly pleasures,

Leaving all that is earthly behind us.

No worldly turmoil

Is heard in heaven;

We all live in sweetest peace.

We lead an angelic existence,

And so we are perfectly happy.

We dance and leap,

And skip and sing;

Saint Peter in Heaven looks on.

I am not such a fan of the opening motif, it is too saccharine for me, but I do like the languid part (this is quoted in the Third Symphony somewhere) and which is followed by a frenzied section that kicks off with the sleigh bells again! As you can see, if this is heaven, all is not completely ideal here, with animals being slaughtered left and right:

Saint John has lost his lambkin,

And butcher Herod is lurking:

We lead a patient,

Guiltless, patient,

Darling lambkin to death.

Saint Luke is slaying the oxen,

Without the least hesitation;

Wine costs not a farthing

In the Heavenly tavern;

The angels bake the bread.

Fine sprouts of every description,

Are growing in Heaven's garden.

Fine asparagus, fine herbs,

And all we desire,

Huge platefuls for us are prepared.

Fine apples, fine pears and fine grapes,

The gardeners let us pick freely.

You want venison, hare?

In the open streets

They go running around.

And when there's a holiday near,

All the fishes come joyfully swimming;

And off runs Saint Peter

With net and with bait,

Towards the celestial pond.

Saint Martha will have to be cook!

What is the meaning of the sleigh bells repeated throughout? Are the violin parts a reference to the Second Movement? After some further faster sections with wonderfully versatile singing, the movement becomes more idyllic and pastoral and slower, and our heavenly singer closes out the symphony peacefully – our story has finally found its peaceful end.

There's no music at all on the earth

Which can ever compare with ours.

Eleven thousand virgins

Are set dancing.

Saint Ursula herself laughs to see it!

Cecilia with her companions

Are splendid court musicians.

The angelic voices

Delight the senses,

For all things awake to joy.

And links to my preferred recordings:

• Leonard Bernstein, NYP with Reri Grist, Columbia

• Bernstein, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra with Helmut Wittek, DG

• Fritz Reiner, Chicago Symphony Orchestra with Lisa Della Casa, RCA Living Stereo 

• Wilhelm Mengelberg, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra with Jo Vincent, Philips, Live 1939

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