Symphony No.7 in E minor - Gustav Mahler

Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich conducted by David Zinman

I - Langsam - Allegro risoluto, ma non troppo: 0:00
II - Nachtmusik I. Allegro moderato: 22:00
III - Scherzo. Schattenhaft: 37:51
IV - Nachtmusik II. Andante amoroso: 48:06
V - Rondo-Finale. Allegro ordinario: 1:00:31

Mahler's seventh symphony was begun in 1904, while he did not find the necessary inspiration to finish the sixth. During his excursion to Toblach, in South Tyrol, now Italy, he takes the route to the Dolomites, stopping at Lake Misurina. There Mahler is inspired for the composition of the two intermediate movements of the seventh, the so-called Nachtmusiken or nocturnes. A year later he returns to his house in Maiernigg and during the month of June he could not concentrate on his work.

Mahler returned to the Dolomites but he did not find the desired tranquility in a hostel full of tourists. He decides to return to the Wörthersee by going to Krumpendorf, located on its northern shore. Took a boat to cross the lake and with the first stroke of rowing came the idea of ​​the introduction of the first movement. Four weeks later, the three movements that were missing were finished. On August 19, 1905, he wrote a letter to Richard Strauss announcing the completion of the symphony.

It had to wait a long time for its first performance, due to the bad reception of the sixth and not finding a publisher. Finally, it was premièred in Prague on September 17, 1908, after long rehearsals with a disciplined orchestra and surrounded by his loyal followers, including Bruno Walter, Otto Klemperer, Zemlnsky, Berg and many others. The premiere was applauded more out of courtesy than devotion. In the same way, the criticis received the new work rather coldly. Later it was performed in Munich and Amsterdam without much success.

The first movement comprises an adagio introduction and an allegro in sonata form, comprising more parts of slow tempo than true allegro. The horn announces the main theme of the adagio, on a rhythm inspired by the oars of its crossing of the Wörthersee lake. It is a kind of funeral march that contains a characteristic melodic turn. A second lighter march motive is interpreted by the wind on pizzicatos of the strings.

The trombones repeat the initial theme in a new version. The exposition begins with the introduction of the first theme, a heroic theme related to the march of the introduction. The second one has a Viennese colour that reminds us of the works of Richard Strauss. The march of the introduction acts as an episode of transition that leads us to development.

The first theme appears in varied form, but soon it is left to drag by the lyricism of the second subject. After a calm section, the tempo accelerates, leading us to the middle section of the development, a part of bucolic peace. We can hear birdsong answered by distant fanfares and a chorale theme. The second theme that is brought to its climax is remembered again.

Then comes the calm with a return to the rhythm of the introduction, repeating its theme. The recapitulation comes with its first theme in a varied version, followed by the second that rises in its lyricism to the highest notes. The pace of the march begins the wide coda that leads us to the conclusion, announcing that in reality the triumph is not total.

The second movement consists of the first nocturne. It is a complex movement whose main theme consists of a slow march, a kind of night march, with two internal episodes similar to the trios. We could say that it is a night serenade with two trios. It starts with a prelude section, with a horn call, answered by the echo of a second one with a mute. Then enters the oboe, clarinet and English horn presenting a wide landscape of the Austrian countryside with birdsongs. An unharmonic chord of the orchestra gives way to a nocturnal hymn, which becomes the march that will lead to the movement.

The strings gives a more passionate version of the march. When it seems to fade, a lyrical melody in the cellos begins the first trio. The initial calls of the horns come back and then the distant cowbells are heard. The second trio is presented by the oboes with an expressive theme. Returns the night march that stops to begin, by means of a call of the trumpet, a recapitulation, listening to the central themes introduced within the march. A last call of the horns prepares the final coda. The march disappears while the birds trills are heard, until the parade or procession is lost in the distance.

The third movement is a scherzo. It begins with blows of the timpani and pizzicatos of the double basses, creating an unstable state of restlessness, which leads us to a phantasmagorical dance, a dance of the specters of the night moving grotesquely. A waltz episode of seems to clarify the environment, but soon becomes a degenerate wild dance, a kind of night of the Sabbat or witches's night.

[Description continued in the comments section]

[SergioCánovasCM]

Wailings of the flutes, horns and muted trumpets and glissandos of the strings give a dismal coloring, distorting the elements of the waltz or ländler. The trio contrasts, trying to sweeten the environment with a tender oboe and flute motive. But it lasts little and the dance returns with a pizzicato. The music is fragmented before the movement ends, with a touch of the timpani that stops, as if indicating the end of a trip.

The fourth movement is the second nocturne. A serenade in three parts. In it Mahler uses the sonority of the harp and the less usual ones of the mandolin and the guitar. After the measures of the introduction, we hear an ostinato of the harp on which, syncopated figures of clarinets and oboes, offer an impersonal theme with a certain air of march. A violin solo presents a more static motif. The rhythmic motive alternates with the more static one. The mandolin gives way to the trio, with a wide melody of the violin symbolizing love. The music of the mandolin and the guitar accompany this phase of melodic expansion. We return to the first part of the movement that will lead us to its end, after going through some episodes that reflects a certain bitterness.

The last movement is a rondo-finale, which consists of an extended rondo. Abrupt changes of theme lead to a kind of thematic polyphony. The night has ended with a radiant new day. The first theme is played by the trumpets and horns, with a heroic peroration. It is a subject derived from the one used by Wagner in "The Mastersingers of Nuremberg". This theme will be repeated throughout the movement in the form of different variations, separated by different sections, among which a theme of minuet with an old flavor stand out.

There is another one with an allusion to the famous waltz of "The Merry Widow" of Lehar, work that liked to the Mahler marriage, and a fast subject accompanied by Turkish music in the way of Mozart. A cite to the march of the first movement appears before reaching the end. The coda presents for the last time the main theme, now played in a brilliant way, accompanied by the sound of the tubular bells and cowbells. A stretto finishes the work brilliantly.

With this work ends the second part of Mahler's symphonic work. A trilogy (No.5, 6 and 7) in which texts or human voices aren't used. The seventh is the most modern, joining ideas that apparently seem contradictory. Especially his last movement, with his mix of styles and changes of rhythm, could hardly be appreciated by listeners of his time. There are hardly any indications of what Mahler wanted to express with this work.

The rhythm of the oars of the first movement can indicate the beginning of a trip. A trip to an unknown place, finding multiple difficulties in its journey. In the first nocturne there is the contrast between a monotonous rhythm of the march, the hated idea of ​​the daily routine, the Alltag and the sound of nature with its trills and cowbells. The scherzo leads us, with its spectral rhythms, towards a dead end. We can not continue on a path that leads to nothing. In the second nocturne, the march continues with a new mood.

Love has made its entrance and guides the traveler to a new destination. It seems that the night suggested by the previous movements is over. This is confirmed by the last movement, as a resurgence to a new life, the sun that drives away the specters that appeared in the dark night. After multiple contradictory scenes, in which darkness and light are mixed, the always opposing ideas of Mahler, a resplendent ending accompanied by bells and cowbells is reached, indicating that at the end of the trip, man may not have lost everything, he still has hope. He can survive this journey through nature and love.