Listening Guide The Work Third Movement: Scherzo In what strange simplification and falsification man lives! One can never cease wondering once one has acquired eyes for this marvel! How we have made everything around us clear and free and easy and simple! How we have been able to give our senses a passport to… Continue reading Symphony No. 5 in C Sharp Minor – 3rd Movement
Category: Mahler: Commentary on His Music
Symphony No. 5 in C Sharp Minor – 2nd Movement
Listening Guide The Work Tempo: Stürmisch bewegt. Mit grösster Vehemenz. (Stormily agitated, with the greatest vehemence). Key: A minor, F minor in the second theme, with various major and minor key modulations; E minor for the second theme in the recapitulation and D major for the Grand Chorale. Time Signature: 2/2 Form: ABABA with… Continue reading Symphony No. 5 in C Sharp Minor – 2nd Movement
Symphony No. 5 in C Sharp Minor – First Movement
Listening Guide The Work Tempo: Trauermarsch. In gemessenem Schritt. Streng. Wie ein Kondukt. (Funeral March. In measured tread, austere, like a funeral cortège.) Key: C-sharp minor (modulating to A-flat, then to B-flat minor for the first trio, D-flat major and then A minor for the second trio, etc.) Time Signature: 2/2 Rhythm: funeral march. Form:… Continue reading Symphony No. 5 in C Sharp Minor – First Movement
Symphony No. 5 in C Sharp Minor – Introduction
Listening Guide The Work Date(s) of Composition: 1901-02; published by C. F. Peters (1904), revised edition, 1919.Place of Composition: Maiernigg and ViennaPremiere: Cologne, 18 October 1904. Orchestration: 4 flutes (3rd and 4th double with piccolo); 3 oboes (3rd doubles with English horn); 3 clarinets (3rd doubled with bass clarinet); 3 bassoons (3rd doubles with… Continue reading Symphony No. 5 in C Sharp Minor – Introduction
Rückert-Lieder – Um Mitternacht (At Midnight)
Listening Guide The Work Key: B minor in the piano version and the Kritische Gesamtausgabe; B-flat minor and A minor in other orchestral editions. Tempo: Ruhig. Gleichmässig. (Restful, evenly) Time Signature: 3/2, alternating with 2/2, 4/2 and 6/2. Orchestration: no strings; 2 flutes; 2 oboes (oboe d’amore in A minor version); 2 clarinets; 2… Continue reading Rückert-Lieder – Um Mitternacht (At Midnight)
Rückert-Lieder – Ich Bin Der Welt Abhanden Gekommen (I Have Lost My Way In The World)
Listening Guide The Work Key: F major in piano version; E-flat major in orchestral version (with modulations into A-flat and then C major and minor.[N.B., the volume of the Critical Edition of Mahler’s works prepared under the auspices of the International Gustav Mahler Gesellschaft, Vienna, devoted to the orchestral version of four Rückert-Lieder includes… Continue reading Rückert-Lieder – Ich Bin Der Welt Abhanden Gekommen (I Have Lost My Way In The World)
Rückert-Lieder – Liebst Du Um Schönheit (If You Love For Beauty’s Sake)
Listening Guide The Work Key: C major. Tempo: Innig, fliessend (tender, flowing) (fliessend does not appear in the orchestral score) Time Signature: 3/4 with numerous changes. Form: simple strophic form Orchestration: According to the original orchestral score, published by C. F. Kahnt, this song was not orchestrated by Mahler, but by an employee of the… Continue reading Rückert-Lieder – Liebst Du Um Schönheit (If You Love For Beauty’s Sake)
Rückert-Lieder – Ich Atmet’ Einen Linden Duft (I Breathed A Gentle Fragrance)
Listening Guide The Work Key: D major (E-flat major in final verse) Tempo: Sehr zart und innig (Very tender and intimate) Time Signature: 6/4 (3/4 in final six measures) Rhythm: continuous eighth-note ostinato interwoven around the quarter-notes of the vocal line like Athe gentle rocking rhythm of a lullaby. Form: Two-part song form. Orchestration:… Continue reading Rückert-Lieder – Ich Atmet’ Einen Linden Duft (I Breathed A Gentle Fragrance)
Rückert-Lieder – Blicke Mir Nicht In Die Lieder (Do Not Peek At My Songs)
Listening Guide The Work Key: F major (second and final verse in the minor key) Tempo: Sehr Lebhaft (Very fast). Time Signature: 2/2 Rhythm: nearly moto perpetuo eighth-notes Form: AA’; AA’ (A’ episodes in the minor) Blicke mir nicht in die Lieder!Meine Augen schlag’ ich nieder,Wie ertappt auf böser Tat. Selber darf ich… Continue reading Rückert-Lieder – Blicke Mir Nicht In Die Lieder (Do Not Peek At My Songs)
Rückert-Lieder – Introduction
Listening Guide The Work Dates of Composition: 1901 (Rückert-Lieder); 1902 (Liebst du um Schönheit); published as Sieben Lieder Aus Letzter Zeit 1910 (C. F. Kahnt).Place of composition: MaierniggType of composition: 5 Songs in versions with piano and orchestral accompaniment. Blicke Mir Nicht In Die LiederJanet Baker, mezzo‑sopranoNew PhilharmoniaSir John Barbirolli, conductorBuy this CD on Amazon.com… Continue reading Rückert-Lieder – Introduction