Today in Music (1904): Gustav Mahler Symphony No. 5 premiered.

Symphony No. 5 in C-sharp minor Gustav Mahler

Premiered: October 18, 1904 Composed: 1901-02 Peak: -- Sales (in millions): -- Genre: classical > symphony

Movements/Parts: Trauermarsch (Funeral march) Stürmisch bewegt, mit größter Vehemenz (Moving stormily, with the greatest vehemence) Scherzo. Kräftig, nicht zu schnell(Strong and not too fast) D major Adagietto. Sehr langsam (Very slow) F major Rondo-Finale. Allegro – Allegro giocoso. Frisch(Fresh) D major Average Duration: 75:00

Rating: 3.919 out of 5.00 (average of 3 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Work: Gustav Mahler “emerged as a crucial bridge between the musical Romanticism of the 19th century and the modernism of the 20th, a composer who simultaneously summed up the achievements of his predecessors and pointed the way forward.” LP His fifth symphony was composed during the summers of 1901 and 1902, “during his annual holiday from his job as director of the Vienna Court Opera.” LP It was his first purely instrumental symphony since his first symphony. LP He composed it The symphony, “with its trajectory from mourning to triumph,” LP reflects Mahler’s relationship with Alma Schindler, “the beautiful daughter of a famous landscape painter.” LP He met her in Vienna the winter before he started writing the symphony and proposed to her in the fall of 1901. They were married and expecting their first child by the summer of 1902. WK The First Movement: The symphony “opens with a funeral march that starts with a trumpet fanfare whose rhythm dominates the movement. The march contrasts with two trio sections, the first bursting out of the near-silence like some sort of terrifying, demonic carnival music, the second a more somber, restrained passage for the strings.” LP The Second Movement: “The second movement builds on the material of that demonic first trio of the opening march. This is intense, raw music, with Mahler whipping up a frenzy from comparatively modest material. The only respite comes with the appearance of a D-major chorale, a joyous, hymn-like passage that finds the sun temporarily piercing the charged gray hues of the surrounding storm clouds.” LP The Third Movement: The third movement is the longest. “The mood abruptly shifts from the pessimism and storminess of the first two movements to a lighter, affirmative disposition, aided by the dance rhythms.” WK Mahler “balances the tone of folksy Austrian country dances and the more cultivated elegance of the Viennese waltz.” LP The “shadowy writing for the orchestra, has much in common with the ‘night music’ movements of Mahler’s Seventh Symphony.” LP The Fourth Movement: The fourth movement, “Adagietto,” was Mahler’s “declaration of love to Alma" LP and maybe Mahler’s greatest hit.” LP It “has often been performed as a stand-alone piece.” LP Leonard Bernstein conducted a performance of it on June 8 1968, at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan for the funeral Mass for Robert F. Kennedy. WK The Fifth Movement: “Several of the themes evolve out of the fragments heard in the opening measures. The last movement also utilizes themes from the Adagietto as well as the chorale from the second movement.” WK

Resources and Related Links: LP LAPhil.com “Symphony No. 5: Gustav Mahler” by John Mangum WK Wikipedia Other Related DMDB Pages: First posted 10/5/2023.