Conducted by Andrés Orozco-Estrada, the hr-Sinfonieorchester (Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra) performs Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 5. Recorded at Alte Oper Frankfurt on March 10, 2017.

Conducted by Andrés Orozco-Estrada, the hr-Sinfonieorchester (Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra) performs Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 5.

The symphony was composed in 1901 and 1902. In February 1901 Mahler had suffered a sudden major hemorrhaging 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 in June 1901. Mahler was delighted with his new-found 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 (31 August 1879 – 11 December 1964, the a Viennese-born socialite and composer) and by the time he returned to his summer villa in summer 1902, they were married and she was expecting their first child.

Alma Mahler in 1902
Alma Maria Mahler Gropius Werfel (born Alma Maria Schindler; 31 August 1879 – 11 December 1964) was a Viennese-born socialite and composer. She became the wife, successively, of composer Gustav Mahler, architect Walter Gropius, and novelist Franz Werfel, as well as the consort of several other prominent men. Musically active from her teens, she was the composer of at least seventeen songs for voice and piano. In later years her salon became part of the artistic scene, first in Vienna, then in Los Angeles. Photo: Wikipedia

Symphonies five, six, and seven, 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 (the relationship between voices that are harmonically interdependent -polyphony- yet independent in rhythm and contour) also becomes a more important element in Mahler’s music from the fifth symphony onwards. The ability to write good counterpoint was highly cherished by Baroque composers and Johann Sebastian Bach is 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 third and the final movements of the fifth symphony.

Movements

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-sharp minor)
  2. Stürmisch bewegt, mit größter Vehemenz (Moving stormily, with the greatest vehemence) (A minor)

Part II

  1. Scherzo. Kräftig, nicht zu schnell (Not too fast, strong) (D major)

Part III

  1. Adagietto. Sehr langsam (Very slow) (F major) The fourth movement may be Mahler’s most famous composition and is the most frequently performed of his works. The British premiere of the Fifth Symphony came thirty-six years after that of the Adagietto, conducted by Henry Wood at a Proms concert in 1909. Leonard Bernstein conducted it during the funeral Mass for Robert Kennedy at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, New York, on 8 June 1968. It was used in the 1971 Luchino Visconti film Death in Venice.It is said to represent Mahler’s love song to Alma. According to a letter she wrote to Willem Mengelberg, the composer left a small poem:
     

    “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.”

     

    (How much I love you, you my sun,
    I cannot tell you that with words.
    I can only lament to you my longing and love.)

  2. Rondo-Finale. Allegro – Allegro giocoso. Frisch (Fresh) (D major)

Sources

M. Özgür Nevres

Published by M. Özgür Nevres

I am Özgür Nevres, a software engineer, a former road racing cyclist, and also an amateur musician. I opened andantemoderato.com to share my favorite music. I also take care of stray cats & dogs. This website's all income goes directly to our furry friends. Please consider supporting me on Patreon, so I can help more animals!

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