Mahler's music has been very good to me. His work sustains my need for dramatics and soft spoken lyricism. I've been having an on-going affair with his Fifth Symphony for 2 years now - more specifically, the fourth movement of this Fifth Symphony, also know as the Adagietto. There are rumors that the fourth movement is a love letter to his wife, Alma. Others say that the symphony is complete without the fourth movement and the last minute addition of a conventional movement distracts from the symphony's revolutionary composing style. I've spent a good amount of time researching Alma's influence on the Adagietto and on the impact she had in Mahler's music and his life.
When any composer has a love affair - there are few composers who haven't experienced the love of one person or many people, Beethoven being one of them - their music is influenced and their outlook is usually changed. For Mahler, loving Alma gave him a different perspective. Mahler was normally an introvert that was content with being a wallflower, but Alma made him come out his shell a little bit and pursue her. Alma had her share of high-profile affairs before, during, and after Mahler. She was involved with Gustav Klimt, Max Burckhard, Alexander von Zemlinsky, Walter Gropius (while married to Mahler), Oskar Kokocshka, and Franz Werfel (while married to Gropius). All amazing artists and intellectuals, all of them Alma's lovers.
Mahler's Fifth Symphony represents a new style of composing in his career. Here is a quote from Mahler on his new composition style and the Fifth Symphony:
"The Fifth Symphony is finished - I had to reorchestrate it almost completely. It is hard to believe that at the time I could have written again like a beginner, as though I had completely forgotten the routine of the first four symphonies. A completely new style demanded a new technique." - Extracted from Gustav Mahler: The Symphonies (Constantin Floros)
As a musician, there are moments when you connect with a piece of music that you just can't stray from... ever. From the moment I heard the opening trumpet solo of Mahler's Fifth Symphony I've been hooked. In fact, the trumpet player playing the opening trumpet solo during my first attendance of Mahler's Fifth Symphony in concert inspired me to pursue a performance career. The trumpet player was Frits Damrow - thank you Frits - and the orchestra he performed with was the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. I will never forget that performance.
Mahler's music has had quite an impact on my life and I know I'm not the only one out there that has been effected by his music. I hope to continue my Mahler research and learn as much as I can about his music and his life.
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