Discography
and Worldwide Performance Directory
Vincent
Mouret maintains two valuable resources--a Mahler discography, and a listing
of upcoming performances of Mahler's music. Both are very well done,
and quite comprehensive. The performance schedule is required reading:
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Other in-depth Mahler sites
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I include
a summary chronology of Mahler's life in this site, however Joe Monzo has
written a far more detailed, almost book-length chronology
of Viennese musical life from Beethoven to Webern, focusing particularly
on Mahler. A very informative, interesting site--strongly recommended.
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Classical
music samples, animation, etc. are relatively rare on the Internet. Unfortunately,
this site contains no Mahler samples. At one time I did freeload and include
links to samples included on MusicBlvd's site, but of course MusicBlvd
doesn't exist anymore! However, at least one
web site does have extensive Mahler samples. The samples are in mp3
format, and are large! (Like approximately 800K-1MB per movement.) Those
of us without 200MB in a web storage and a T1 can only link in jealousy!
:)
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Austria's
National Tourism Office department deserves credit for producing some very
nice sites honoring Mahler,
Bruckner, Wolf, Berg, Schoenberg, Webern, Schubert, Mozart, etc. Most of
the individual pages are relatively brief, but as there a good number of
pages for each composer the site includes quite comprehensive information
and good selection of illustrations and photographs. And if you're planning
to go to Austria--it's a heck of a vacation planning site as well.
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The
Mahler Shrine is an interesting site.
Paul
Zukas has a page you must visit--The
Mahlerite Home Page. Paul's site features the first timed essay on
one Mahler's symphonies. What's a timed essay? Well, Paul tracked a particular
cd of a particular symphony, and his essay tracks the cd timing rather
than the score markings. So, if you can't read music or haven't done so
in so long that you have forgotten how (I wave my hand), you won't become
lost switching between the essay, the cd, and trying to find out where
you are in the score.
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Mahler samples/multimedia/etc.
Classical music
samples, animation, etc. are relatively rare on the Internet. Unfortunately,
this site contains no Mahler samples. At one time I did freeload and include
links to samples included on MusicBlvd's site, but of course MusicBlvd
doesn't exist anymore! However, at least one
web site does have extensive Mahler samples. The samples are in mp3
format, and are large! (Like approximately 800K-1MB per movement.) Those
of us without 200MB in a web storage and a T1 can only link in jealousy!
:) |
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Where to go from here?
I'd like
to thank you for viewing my Mahler WWW Pages, and hope you have found them
interesting and of use. However, the purpose of this site isn't just
to provide information about Gustav Mahler. Actually, I'm hoping
to use Gustav to attract you to the whole world of late-romantic classical
music, and beyond.
Other composers and
promising links
Dave Lampson's
classical.net
is the largest and most complete classical music site on the net. If you
wish to browse around the web's classical resources, there is no better
starting place than Dave's site.
Anton Bruckner
Anton Bruckner
Until
the Mahler boom of the 60's, Mahler and Anton
Bruckner were treated sometimes as a composing firm: Brucker-Mahler.
As Mahler and Bruckner's symphonies became well known, however, it was
obvious to most listeners that these were two different composers. The
two are similar in that each wrote large works that produce astounding,
gorgeous, Wagnerian sonorities. Both also revel in the native beauty
of the Austrian countryscape. However, while both wrote large-scale
symphonies and felt the influence of Wagner and Beethoven, the emotional
content of their work differs entirely. Bruckner produces these massive
sonorities and then explores them, many times sounding almost like an organist
"playing" an orchestra. On the one hand, this strikes many listeners
as a beautiful expression of Bruckner's faith in God and nature.
On the other hand, others see Bruckner's music as overblown, inflated and
repetitive, as Bruckner's themes do not vary often, and are often built
from specific rhythmic devices preferred by Bruckner.
Most
Mahlerians are also Brucknerians, though, and if you appreciate the late-19th-Century
symphony, Bruckner is a must. I initially purchased modern recordings of
Bruckner, and couldn't appreciate his music. Then I started buying older
recordings--Klemperer, Bohm, Jochum and Furtwangler, and changed my mind
completely. Three recordings I've been very pleased to find were Van Bienum's
recordings of the 7th, 8th and 9th (the 7th was released by Dutton, the
8th and 9th by Philips.) These older conductors do a much better
job of bringing out the form and structure in Bruckner, rather than concentrating
on building as impressive a sound as possible. Anton
Bruckner was not the complex personality that Mahler was, but his music
shows a spiritual devotion and faith that Mahler searched for, but couldn't
find. Check out Lani Spahr's comprehensive Bruckner
discography, and nag Deryk Barker to get off his butt and work on his
Bruckner
page.
Richard
Strauss
This is
stands in direct contrast to another composer historically related to Mahler,
Richard
Strauss. Mahler and Strauss performed each other's music, and
were nominally friends, but had such opposing personalities, both in life
and as expressed in their music, that their works are less similar than
between Mahler and Bruckner, despite similaries in their orchestrations.
(The main exception being Strauss' Four Last Songs, which fit perfectly
alongside Mahler's 9th symphony.
(I must admit to still having a very large blind spot for Strauss, with
the exception of the Four Last Songs, and would invite any Strauss enthusiast
to send me some additional comments for this section.)
Berg, Schoenberg and Webern
Although
Mahler never embraced atonality, Mahler offered substantial support for
the Second Viennese composer Arnold
Schoenberg and was beloved by Schoenberg's pupils, Alban
Berg and Anton Webern.
The
compositions of Berg and Schoenberg are natural exploration points for
Mahlerians. Indeed, Berg may be seen as Mahler's most direct musical
"descendant."
Schoenberg
was well known to Mahler. During Mahler's time in Vienna, Schoenberg
was a young composer often associated with Alexander Zemlinsky in new music
circles. Schoenberg initially despised Mahler and Mahler was none-to-impressed
with Schoenberg's personality. However, Schoenberg grew to respect
and admire Mahler, both as a conductor and composer, while Mahler recognized
talent in Schoenberg. Mahler's support of Schoenberg was real--Mahler
performed Schoenberg's orchestral music and arranged for performances of
Schoenberg's chamber music. In addition, Mahler offered Schoenberg
financial support, with thanks for forwarded funds appear from Schoenberg
in Mahler's collected correspondence. However, Mahler also freely
admitted that he didn't completely appreciate what Schoenberg was doing
in his music.
Schoenberg's
early orchestral works are most likely the easiest to move onto from listening
to Mahler. Verklarte Nacht is a gorgeous piece, available in versions
for string sextet and string orchestra. I prefer the orchestral version--for
all Mahler's protestations that he could not follow Schoenberg, a kinship
to the Ninth Symphony and the first movement of the Tenth is not difficult
to detect. Von Karajan's recording has its admirers [mostly British
ones ;) ], however I prefer the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra recording on
DG. Schoenberg's Gurre Lieder is a designed collection of orchestral
songs with a full-blown Wagnerian orchestra, and is a natural follow-up
to Das Lied and Mahler's other songs for voice and orchestra. Gurre
Lieder has been frequently recorded, but no single recording is perfect.
Chailly's recording has been the suggested one for a number of years based
on the performance, but is very strangely recorded. My favorite version
is Kubelik's DG recording. I believe it is currently out of print
(someone please kill Polygram), but can still be found at used cd stores.
Berg
was one of Mahler's most ardent followers. Despite being one of Schoenberg's
two most well-known pupils, and despite Schoenberg's strong, lasting and
often caustic influence over Berg and his work, Berg remained under the
influence of Mahler's music. Even in Berg's serial works, tonality
is not far away. For example, his greatest composition, the Violin
Concerto, is a 12-tone work yet manages to quote folk music and concludes
with a Bach chorale, and, it has been argued, ends in B flat major!!
The Violin Concerto is an amazing work--if you purchase only one of the
post-Mahler compositions mentioned here, get the Violin Concerto.
My favorite versions, Kyung Wha Chung with Sir Georg Solti and Henrky Szeryng
with Kubelik, are currently out of print. (Again double-damn Polygram--both
were excellent cds with the Kubelik disc including recordings of both Schoenberg's
violin and piano concertos.) Of the available recordings, I'd recommend
either Mutter's recording with Levine or the DG Originals recording with
Ozawa and Perlman.
Other
interesting Berg compositions: his two operas, Wozzeck and Lulu,
are 20th century giants. Wozzeck is atonal but generally not serialist,
and packs one of the hardest emotional punches in opera. Lulu is
a 12-tone work that also borrows from Mahler and jazz. The best recording
of Lulu complete is Boulez's DG recording. (Berg died before completing
Lulu and Boulez was first to record it with its Third act.) A very
nice mid-price set is Bohm's recording of Wozzeck with the first two acts
of Lulu. For Wozzeck by itself, my favorite recordings are Boulez on Sony/CBS
and Dohnanyi's London recording. (Sony has just released the original
recording of Wozzeck by Mitropolous. I haven't had a chance to listen
to it fully).
Berg's
relative popularity comes and goes. Initially, he was the most accessible
of Schoenberg and his followers, and his opera Wozzeck was performed all
over Europe and the UK. Following WWII Berg was looked down as reactionary
by second generation of serialists, who designated Webern as the giant
of the trio.
Of
the three, Berg is the easiest to "digest"--although he used Schoenberg's
techniques, Berg first-and-foremost followed Mahler. His violin concerto
manages to be a perfectly designed 12 -tone piece while simultaneously
being one of the most beautiful and heartfelt compositions of the 20th
Century. Schoenberg's earlier pieces are the easiest transition from Mahler.
Schoenberg's later compositions are much more difficult--not because of
hi s techniques, but because, well, Schoenberg was a difficult guy. Webern's
works are short, terse, and dense, and absolutely unique. If anyone finds
a Webern site, esp. one with samples, please write me. (The Schoenberg
site is a must-see, by the way.)
Who
today writes symphonies of the scale of Mahler's? Suggestion number one--Robert
Simpson. Simpson is British composer, mostly of symphonies and string
quartets. Simpson leans more to Bruckner and Nielsen than Mahler, and his
works are certainly serious, intellectual affairs. The site I've linked
is of the Robert Simpson society, and includes a biography, compositions
list, discography, etc. Please give Simpson a listen--I would suggest starting
with the Hyperion recording of his Ninth Symphony.
Scandinavian Symphonists: Sibelius, Nielsen, Pettersson, Holmboe, Rautavaara
If you
are interested in the 20th Century symphony, then you will eventually discover
Nordic/Scandinavian composers. While many German and American composers
believe the symphony is dead as an art form, and as Schnittke turns out
symphonies saying "I don't know why I bother writing them," the tonally-based
symphony has been alive and well in Scandinavian countries. Examples
abound: the above-mentioned Pettersson, the recently deceased and
already much-missed Vagn
Holmboe, composer of thirteen impressive, attractive, and tonal symphonies
(as well as numerous string quartets and sparkling, neo-classical chamber
concertos), Jean
Sibelius,
and Carl Nielsen, just for starters.
Einojuhani
Rautavaara is a Finnish composer of longtime standing (born in 1928)
whose music is now getting a great deal of attention thanks to the loving
work of the folks at Ondine, a small, Finnish label whose recordings show
the same dedication to audiophile engineering as BIS and Hyperion.
(In other words, these discs sound REALLY good.) Rautavaara has written
in a number of styles, at one point writing in a serial style but long-since
having developed into a thoroughly personal, romantic/lush sound that is
well worth seeking out.
A composer
I am not terribly fond of, but who some other Mahlerians appear to be quite
enthusiastic about, is Allan
Pettersson. Some Mahlerians I respect are quite vociferous in their
advocacy of Pettersson, so take a look and see. And hear--the link
above includes samples of Pettersson's music so that you can judge for
yourself.
Shostakovich
and Britten
Finally,
allow me to mention those two most famous tonal and "conservative" mid-20th
century composers Dmitri
Shostakovich and Benjamin
Britten. Both where admirers of Mahler, and both remained tonality
based composers through their final days. Unlike Berg, both lived
long enough to see themselves dismissed as conservative dinosaurs.
Somehow, not surprisingly, they were friends. Of the two, Shostakovich
was more obviously influenced by Mahler. Among the Mahlerian traits
in Shostakovich's music are the frequent appearance of marching band music,
the inclusion and juxtaposition of banal material and parody, the large
scope of certain movements (for example, in Shostakovich's Fourth and Eighth
Symphonies), and the appearance of despondent adagios, although Shostakovich's
are marked by pure Russian depression and hopelessness rather than Viennese
bittersweet melancholy. Interesting purely Shostakovich traits:
machine gun string writing, violent, quick and powerful percussion, and
a much freer way with humor. |
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| Mahler
recording reviews, guides, etc. |
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| Other
resources, sites, web boards, etc. |
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Alexius
Pereira writes and maintains The
Symphony Pages, which contain entries and suggested recordings of Mahler's
symphonies.
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A place
to purchase Mahler scores. Be warned, however, that the site sells
only to educational institutions.
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A short
article/interview
with Thomas Hampson concerning the Kindertotenlieder from the Houston
Chronicle.
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Tom Cunningham
has edit a new choral score to the Second Symphony which has been used
by several organizations, including the Chicago and Cleveland Symphonies.
Click here
for his page.
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Mahler's
wife, Alma, could be the subject of her own page. Here is a short section
on Franz Werfel and
Alma Mahler-Werfel
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GUSTAV
MAHLER: THE WORLD LISTENS ABSTRACTS from the Dutch Journal for Musicology
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Naxos
has a small Mahler page,
which gives the catalog number of Naxos' Mahler recordings.
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Small
publisher Elius Books has created a compendium of articles written by Mahler
fans rather than Mahler scholars. The book, an Affinity with Gustav Mahler,
is available
from their website
at very reasonable price of 11.99 UKP. They also commissioned an extensive
web site, including a web
based forum. The web forum is a bit younger and more rock 'n roll than
Mahler-list. If you want to talk Mahler with people entirely familiar with
Chumbawumba but wonder who Bill Evans is...the web forum is for you!
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Here is
a Mahler page in Italian. I don't
know Italian. :)
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Another
web
board is hosted by federalistnavy.com, or classicals.com, or jollyrodger.com
or something. I have no idea what they are, to tell the truth. :) Looks
interesting, though.
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A remarkably
cheesy site is www.mala.bc.ca/~mcneil/mahler.htm.
This site includes links to many commercial sites where you can buy music,
scores, books, etc. No particularly out of thw way sites, mind you, but
semi-convenient. Site marred by numerous banner ads, annoying window pop-ups,
and other cheeseball "features." Included here due to some useful links,
but a site utterly devoid of anything resembling class.
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The Internet
public libarary has a very
short, three paragraph article about Mahler. Not much use, but if you
want something short to print out for a school project...
Gustav
Mahler Birthplace Restoration is an organization involved in the rebuilding
of Mahlers birthplace in the village of Kaliste.
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| Mahler
Societies and Festivals |
Internationale
Gustav Mahler Gesellschaft
Gustav
Mahler Society USA
Gustav
Mahler Society of New York
Gustav
Mahler Society Singapore
Colorado
MahlerFest Colorado MahlerFest
is in long-running annual festival held in Boulder Colorado. The
eleventh was just held in January, 1998, and featured performances of the
original tone poem version ('Titan') of the First Symphony, as well Das
Lied and several lieder performances with piano accompanyment. Several
days of seminars were also presented, including talks by noted Mahler scholars.
Mahler-list subscriber David Lamb has written an informative
review of the last MahlerFest. MahlerFest also generates articles
and summaries for use at the festival, such as a chronology
of various performing versions of the Tenth Symphony.
Northwest
Mahler Festival The Northwest Mahler Festival, now in its 6th
year, is unique in combines community, student, and professional musicians
from the greater Puget Sound region. This season they will be performing
Mahler's monumental 8th Symphony, "The Symphony of a Thousand," on
Sunday, July 16, 2000, 3:00 p.m., Meany Hall, University of Washington
The
Chicago Mahlerites
In
having yearly festivals, MahlerFest and the Northwest Mahler Festival continue
a long tradition. The first MahlerFest was held in Amsterdam in 1920.
The Festival was the celebration of Willhelm Mengelberg's **th year with
the Concertgebow Orchestra. The Orchestra had originally planed to
***, however Mengelberg requested that the money instead be used to present
a Festival honoring Mahler and presenting perforances of his music.
The next famous festival was presented by the New York Philharmonic in
1960, where Bernstein, Walter and Mitropolous presented most of Mahler's
works over the season.
A particularly
interesting later Festival was held in Amsterdam in 1995. Ruben Stam
wrote
a series of articles about the festival, the performances and other
events centered around the festival. |
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| Conductor
Links |
These
are links to various conductor homepages. Please explore at your
leisure. Unfortunately, these are almost all privately maintained,
small sites, and as such may disappear without notice. If any of
the below links are broken, I appologize. For those of you interested
in discussing historic composers and their recordings, there are several
mail-lists you should consider joining. Mahler-list
is also
the unofficial Horenstein and Barbirolli list, and most of the other conductors
mentioned here are regular topics of conversation on the Furtwangler list,
Neil Tingley's excellent Furt-L. Dave Lampson Moderated Classical
Music List offers high-quality discussion of all classical music subjects,
and includes many fans of historical conductors. Subscribe instructions
for all can be found on the Directory
of Classical Music Email Lists.
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