Great Composers: Gustav Mahler

A look at the last (Austro-Germanic) symphonist.

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Classical Nerd is a weekly video series covering music history, theoretical concepts, and techniques, hosted by composer, pianist, and music history aficionado Thomas Little.

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Music:

- Thomas Little: Dance! #2 in E minor, Op. 1 No. 2, performed by Rachel Fellows, Michael King, and Bruce Tippette

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[FraudMonet]

“He was not only enthusiastic about Weber’s operas, he was also enthusiastic about Weber’s grandson’s wife.”
-Classical Nerd 2018

[davidwhite]

Two things left out: He wrote one of his works as a marriage proposal.

Also, Sigmund Freud refused him as a patient because he thought it would ruin his creativity.

[iansutton]

Brilliant essay on the revered Mahler. I've read lots of books and think-pieces and heard numerous discussions on Mahler, but yours is certainly one of the best researched and most insightful. Your pieces on virtually everybody and musical subjects are terrific.

[FiveSharps]

YES!
My favourite composer. I conducted his 9th whilst majoring in music composition and conducting, and have been pushing his music ever since in my country. He is truly amazing.

[autsni]

The finale of Mahler's 2nd gets me everytime 😭

[FilipusWisnumurti]

"Mahler 7'th is his least popular"
Yea, i agree with that. But believe me, that's the symphony that makes me love mahler, especially after that timpani solo kicks in.

[reecerivalland]

Damn, this was definitely worth the wait. Keep up the great work!

[estel]

I'm a simple man. I see a Mahler video, I click.

[Teddy_Toto]

Hans von Bulow is the classical music equivalent of the international man of mystery. He is everywhere and nowhere.

[ImWalde]

Mahler did write an opera: It's called 'Rübezahl' and it was written around early 1880s. Unfortunately the music was lost (destroyed?) but the libretto survived. Another one called 'Herzog Ernst von Schwaben' from 1875 (lost; both music and libretto) and 'Die Argonauten' from 1878 (also lost)

[pedrosjribeiro]

Brilliant content, I watch Mahler documentaries all the time and was surprised to learn new things with you (which seldom happens with documentaries)!
And special credit for calling attention to Bernstein's over romaticising speculations.
Hope to continue watching your great videos and learning for many years!

[jackwilmoresongs]

Funny that the 7th symphony is least popular. Hearing this work for the first time was a grand adventure. My capacity for large works rendezvoused with this ocean of a romantic sound with unforgetable melodies. Good job.

[jrneal]

As a kid, I remember my mother playing Mahler's First. I enjoyed it, but at some point lost interest in classical music until high school. In the meantime, I came to enjoy movie soundtracks, including the scores John Barry wrote for the James Bond movies. Then I came back around to enjoying classical music, with Mahler becoming one of my top favorites.

In more recent years, I came across the BBC Desert Island discs series, which included an interview with John Barry. Imagine my surprise when I found out his "desert island disc" would be a recording of Mahler 9! And quite a world away from the mid to late 20th century genre-smashing "spy music sound" Barry pretty much invented. Not sure which one accounts for my liking of the other, but with this knowledge, I'm retroactively finding affinities... and even wondering about perceptions of similarities that might have been idiosyncratic to my listening tastes. In particular, some of the music he used for Bond movies with outer space as an element (You Only Live Twice and Moonraker) have Mahler-like elements, whether in terms of grandiosity or existential terror. As you said, quite an influence on film music, and John Barry is definitely no exception.

[pjb]

I love your analysis and I, as a classically trained singer/pianist I am happy about your detailed explanation about his life, his struggles that many people are not aware of. His music so eloquently and dramatically expresses his complex genius. And your comment about the key progression that has meaning in the 5th was brilliant. It's interesting that as much as he revolted against programmatic titles or alliterations, all of his symphonic works have nicknames except maybe the 9th. And one final outnerding a nerd was Das Klagende Lied that was composed in 1880 and is unfortunately underperformed. So thank you for your insight.

[anthonypagan]

Great in-depth video, I learned things I never knew about one of my favourite composers! You've mentioned Vaughan Williams a few times, I'd love to see a video about his music. Very interesting music, and a very underrated composer (outside of the UK that is)

[Scrapplefromtheapple]

Most enjoyable bio I’ve ever seen. Great content, great delivery.

[marazulization]

Thank you so much for the video! Deeply appreciated ! I can never get enough of Mahler!

[blackmagentaorange]

Amazing video! Thank you for making the George Rochberg video too!

[evanwise]

I just found your channel and am really enjoying it. We could probably be friends.

Mahler is my favorite and I love talking about him. I once got really stoned and saw Dudamel conduct Mahler 9 from behind the orchestra. One of the greatest moments of my life.

[wolfgangresch]

OUTSTANDING!!!❣️Great essays on all the composers, thank you and BRAVO ♥️So thankful for all your great research