Symphony No. 5 (Mahler)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Symphony No. 5 by
Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...
was composed in 1901 and 1902, mostly during the summer months at Mahler's holiday cottage at Maiernigg. Among its most distinctive features are the trumpet solo that opens the work with a rhythmic motif similar to the opening of Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 5, the horn solos in the third
movement Movement may refer to: Common uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Motion, commonly referred to as movement Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...
and the frequently performed Adagietto. The musical canvas and emotional scope of the work, which lasts nearly seventy minutes, are huge. The symphony is sometimes described as being in the
key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...
of C minor since the first movement is in this key (the finale, however, is in D major). Mahler objected to the label: "From the order of the movements (where the usual first movement now comes second) it is difficult to speak of a key for the 'whole Symphony', and to avoid misunderstandings the key should best be omitted."


Composition history

Mahler wrote his fifth symphony during the summers of 1901 and 1902. In February 1901 Mahler had suffered a sudden major hemorrhage and his doctor later told him that he had come within an hour of bleeding to death. The composer spent quite a while recuperating. He moved into his own lakeside villa in the southern Austrian province of
Carinthia Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German language, German. Its regional dialects belong to t ...
in June 1901. Mahler was delighted with his newfound status as the owner of a grand villa. According to friends, he could hardly believe how far he had come from his humble beginnings. He was director of the Vienna Court Opera and the principal conductor of the Vienna Philharmonic. His own music was also starting to be successful. Later in 1901 he met
Alma Schindler Alma Maria Mahler Gropius Werfel (born Alma Margaretha Maria Schindler; 31 August 1879 – 11 December 1964) was an Austrian composer, author, editor, and socialite. At 15, she was mentored by Max Burckhard. Musically active from her early year ...
and by the time he returned to his summer villa in summer 1902, they were married and she was expecting their first child. Symphonies Nos. 5, 6 and 7, which all belong to this period, have much in common and are markedly different from the first four, which all have strong links to vocal music. The middle symphonies, by contrast, are pure orchestral works and are, by Mahler's standards, taut and lean.
Counterpoint In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...
also becomes a more important element in Mahler's music from Symphony No. 5 onwards. The ability to write good counterpoint was highly cherished by
Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
composers, and Johann Sebastian Bach is generally regarded as the greatest composer of contrapuntal music. Bach played an important part in Mahler's musical life at this time. He subscribed to the edition of Bach's collected works that was being published at the turn of the century, and later conducted and arranged works by Bach for performance. Mahler's renewed interest in counterpoint can best be heard in the second, third and fifth movements of this symphony.


Instrumentation

The symphony is scored for large orchestra, consisting of the following: ; Woodwinds : 4
flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...
s (all doubling
piccolo The piccolo ( ; Italian for 'small') is a half-size flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" the modern piccolo has similar fingerings as the standard transverse flute, but the so ...
s) : 3 oboes (3rd doubling
cor anglais The cor anglais (, or original ; plural: ''cors anglais''), or English horn in North America, is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family. It is approximately one and a half times the length of an oboe, making it essentially an alto ...
) : : 3
bassoon The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuo ...
s (3rd doubling
contrabassoon The contrabassoon, also known as the double bassoon, is a larger version of the bassoon, sounding an octave lower. Its technique is similar to its smaller cousin, with a few notable differences. Differences from the bassoon The reed is consi ...
) ; Brass : 6 horns (solo horn in movement 3) : 4 trumpets : 3 trombones : 1 tuba ; Percussion : 4 timpani :
bass drum The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter much greater than the drum's depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. Th ...
:
snare drum The snare (or side drum) is a percussion instrument that produces a sharp staccato sound when the head is struck with a drum stick, due to the use of a series of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin. Snare drums are often used ...
(used only in movement 1) :
cymbal A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs soun ...
s : triangle :
whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...
(used only in movement 3) : tam-tam :
glockenspiel The glockenspiel ( or , : bells and : set) or bells is a percussion instrument consisting of pitched aluminum or steel bars arranged in a keyboard layout. This makes the glockenspiel a type of metallophone, similar to the vibraphone. The glo ...
;
Strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...
:
harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...
: violin I : violin II : viola : cello : double basses


Revisions of the score

The score appeared first in print in 1904 at Peters, Leipzig. A second "New Edition", incorporating revisions that Mahler made in 1904, appeared in 1905. Final revisions made by Mahler in 1911 (by which time he had completed his 9th Symphony) did not appear until 1964 (ed. Ratz), when the score was republished in the ''Complete Edition'' of Mahler's works. In 2001, Edition Peters published a further revised edition (ed.
Reinhold Kubik Reinhold Kubik (born 22 March 1942, Vienna) is an Austrian musicologist, pianist and conductor. Biography From 1966 to 1974, Kubik worked as a repetiteur, coach, and Kapellmeister at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf and Duisburg. From 1 ...
) as part of the ''New Complete Critical Edition''. This edition is the most accurate edition available so far. Previous editions have now gone out of print.


Structure

The symphony is generally regarded as the most conventional symphony that he had yet written, but from such an unconventional composer it still had many peculiarities. It almost has a four-movement structure, as the first two can easily be viewed as essentially a whole. The symphony also ends with a rondo, in the classical style. Some peculiarities are the funeral march that opens the piece and the Adagietto for harp and strings that contrasts with the complex orchestration of the other movements. A performance of the symphony lasts around 70 minutes. The work is in five movements, though Mahler grouped the movements into bigger parts: :Part I ::1. ''Trauermarsch'' ( Funeral march). ''In gemessenem Schritt. Streng. Wie ein Kondukt'' (At a measured pace. Strict. Like a funeral procession.) C minor ::2. ''Stürmisch bewegt, mit größter Vehemenz'' (Moving stormily, with the greatest vehemence)
A minor A minor is a minor scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has no flats and no sharps. Its relative major is C major and its parallel major is A major. The A natural minor scale is: : Changes ...
:Part II ::3. '' Scherzo''. ''Kräftig, nicht zu schnell'' (Strong and not too fast) D major :Part III ::4. ''Adagietto''. ''Sehr langsam'' (Very slow) F major ::5. '' Rondo-Finale''. ''Allegro – Allegro giocoso''. ''Frisch'' (Fresh) D major


Part I


1. Trauermarsch

The trumpet solo at the opening of the first movement which quotes the ''Generalmarsch'' of the Austro-Hungarian Army : \relative c' is followed by a somber, funeral march (the primary theme). : \relative c' The march is twice interrupted by a calmer secondary theme. : \relative c''


2. Stürmisch bewegt, mit größter Vehemenz

There are many shared elements between the first and second movement. A sighing
motif Motif may refer to: General concepts * Motif (chess composition), an element of a move in the consideration of its purpose * Motif (folkloristics), a recurring element that creates recognizable patterns in folklore and folk-art traditions * Moti ...
heard in the first movement : \relative c'' becomes more prominent in the second movement : \relative c'' and leads into the first theme. : \relative c'' Rehearsal mark 5, marked ''im Tempo des ersten Satzes "Trauermarsch"'', introduces a theme accompanied by the sighing motif and a repeated quaver motif from the beginning of the movement. : \relative c Later, another return to the ''Tempo des ersten Satzes: Trauermarsch'', brings a return to the Secondary Theme of the first movement. A triumphant chorale breaks forth but dissolves into a return of the tragic material of the opening of the movement. : \relative c''


Part II


3. Scherzo

The central scherzo develops several waltz and ländler themes. : \relative c' : \relative c'' : \relative c''


Part III


4. Adagietto

The Adagietto is scored for only the string section and a solo
harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...
. The themes are: : \relative c' : \relative c' The fourth movement may be Mahler's most famous composition and is the most frequently performed of his works. The British premiere of Symphony No. 5 came 36 years after that of the Adagietto, conducted by Henry Wood at a Proms concert in 1909. It is said to represent Mahler's love song to his wife
Alma Alma or ALMA may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Alma'' (film), a 2009 Spanish short animated film * ''Alma'' (Oswald de Andrade novel), 1922 * ''Alma'' (Le Clézio novel), 2017 * ''Alma'' (play), a 1996 drama by Joshua Sobol about Alma ...
. According to a letter she wrote to Willem Mengelberg, the composer left a small poem:Daan Admiraal (2007)
Mahler-5 Adagietto, its historic tempo and changed emotional content
/ref> Wie ich Dich liebe, Du meine Sonne, ich kann mit Worten Dir's nicht sagen. Nur meine Sehnsucht kann ich Dir klagen und meine Liebe, meine Wonne! In which way I love you, my sunbeam, I cannot tell you with words. Only my longing, my love and my bliss can I with anguish declare. Mahler's instruction is ''Sehr langsam'' (very slowly). Mahler and Mengelberg played it in about 7 minutes. Some conductors have taken tempos that extend it to nearly 12 minutes (viz. recordings by Eliahu Inbal, Herbert von Karajan, and Claudio Abbado), while
Simon Rattle Sir Simon Denis Rattle (born 19 January 1955) is a British-German conductor. He rose to international prominence during the 1980s and 1990s, while music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (1980–1998). Rattle was principal ...
with the Berlin Philharmonic performed it in minutes. The shortest recorded performance is from Mengelberg (Concertgebouw, 1926) at 7′04″. The longest commercial recording is Bernard Haitink (Berliner Philharmoniker, 1988) at 13′55″. A recording of a live performance with
Hermann Scherchen Hermann Scherchen (21 June 1891 – 12 June 1966) was a German conductor. Life Scherchen was born in Berlin. Originally a violist, he played among the violas of the Bluthner Orchestra of Berlin while still in his teens. He conducted in Riga ...
conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra from 1964 lasts 15′15″.
Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...
conducted it during the funeral Mass for Robert F. Kennedy at St. Patrick's Cathedral, Manhattan, on 8 June 1968, and he also briefly discusses this section along with the opening bars of the second movement in his Charles Eliot Norton Lectures from 1973. Although the Adagietto had regularly been performed on its own, it came to popular (i.e. non-classical) prominence in the 1971 Luchino Visconti film '' Death in Venice''. In that film, the lead character was modified from the novel's original conception of writer to that of composer, with elements in common with Mahler. Since then, the music has been used across many fields, from advertising and figure skating to television and further film uses, easily making it the most familiar piece of Mahler's musical output. Music professor Jeremy Barham writes that the Adagietto has become the most "commercially prominent" of Mahler's symphonic movements, and that it has "accrued elegiac meaning" in the popular consciousness over the years, becoming particularly used in commemorative events following the September 11 attacks in the United States.


5. Rondo finale

The final rondo is a
contrapuntal In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...
tour de force. 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. : \relative c'' : \relative c : \relative c'' : \relative c


Premieres

* World premiere: October 18, 1904, Cologne
Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne The Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne (german: Gürzenich-Orchester Köln) is a German symphony orchestra based in Cologne. On some recordings, the orchestra goes under the name "Gürzenich-Orchester Kölner Philharmoniker". Its name comes from its ...
conducted by the composer. * United States premiere: March 24, 1905, Cincinnati – conducted by
Frank Van der Stucken Frank Valentine Van der Stucken (October 15, 1858 – August 16, 1929) was a Belgian-American composer, conductor, and founding conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in 1895. Biography Van der Stucken was born in Fredericksburg, Texas ...
. * Belgian premiere: March 5, 1906,
Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,
– 'Nouveaux Concerts' conducted by the composer. * British premieres: ** Of ''Adagietto'' only: August 31, 1909, London – conducted by Henry Wood during a Proms concert. ** Of complete work: October 21, 1945, London –
London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symphony ...
conducted by
Heinz Unger Heinz Unger (14 December 1895 – 25 February 1965Heinz Unger
''The Canadian Encyclopedia' ...
.


Reaction

* After its premiere, Mahler is reported to have said, "Nobody understood it. I wish I could conduct the first performance fifty years after my death." * Herbert von Karajan once said that when you hear the symphony, "you forget that time has passed. A great performance of the Fifth is a transforming experience. The fantastic finale almost forces you to hold your breath."Gustav and Alma Mahler... Symphony n° 5...
lettredeparis.com


References


Further reading

* *Banks, Paul (May 1989) "Aspects of Mahler's Fifth Symphony: Performance Practice and Interpretation." ''
The Musical Times ''The Musical Times'' is an academic journal of classical music edited and produced in the United Kingdom and currently the oldest such journal still being published in the country. It was originally created by Joseph Mainzer in 1842 as ''Mainze ...
'', vol. 130, no. 1755, pp. 258–265. *Barham, Jeremy (December 2018). "'The Ghost in the Machine': Thomas Koschat and the volkstümlich in Mahler's Fifth Symphony." ''Nineteenth-Century Music Review'', vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 353–390. *Barry, Barbara R. (Spring 1993). "The Hidden Program in Mahler's Fifth Symphony." '' The Musical Quarterly'', vol. 77, no. 1, pp. 47–66. *Baxendale, Carolyn (1986–1987). "The Finale of Mahler's Fifth Symphony: Long-Range Musical Thought." '' Journal of the Royal Musical Association'', vol. 112, no. 2, pp. 257–279. *Buch, Esteban (Summer 2017). "Mahler's Fifth, Daniel Barenboim, and the Argentine Dictatorship: On Music, Meaning, and Politics." '' The Musical Quarterly'', vol. 100, no. 2, pp. 122–154. * Forte, Allen (Autumn 1984). "Middleground Motives in the Adagietto of Mahler's Fifth Symphony." ''
19th-Century Music ''19th-Century Music'' is a triennial academic journal that "covers all aspects of Western art music composed in, leading to, or pointing beyond the "long century" extending roughly from the 1780s to the 1930s." The Journal is "interested equally ...
'', vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 153–163. * Kinderman, William (Summer 2005). "'Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen': Mahler's Rückert Setting and the Aesthetics of Integration in the Fifth Symphony." '' The Musical Quarterly'', vol. 88, no. 2, pp. 232–273. *Micznik, Vera (June 1996). "Textual and Contextual Analysis: Mahler's Fifth Symphony and Scientific Thought." ''International Review of the Aesthetics and Sociology of Music'', vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 13–29. *Pavlović, Milijana (2013). "Lost And Found – Mahler's ''Fifth'' in Trieste.' " ''Studien zur Musikwissenschaft'', vol. 57, pp. 275–297.


External links

*
Analysis
by Walter, everything2.com, 15 March 2002 *
Gilbert Kaplan Gilbert Edmund Kaplan (March 3, 1941 – January 1, 2016) was an American businessman and financial publisher. He was also an aficionado of the music of Gustav Mahler, and an amateur conductor of Mahler's Symphony No. 2. Career Kaplan was born a ...

"In One Note of Mahler, a World of Meaning"
'' The New York Times'', 17 March 2002 {{Authority control Symphony No. 05 (Mahler) 1902 compositions