https://soundcloud.com/onthemusic/mahler-symphony-no-1
Mahler cited Moritz von Schwind’s print, The Huntsman’s Funeral, as a source of inspiration for the third movement of his First Symphony.
Growing up is tough, especially if you’re a German-speaking Jewish kid from Bohemia trying to make it as a composer in the 1880s. Discover how the young Mahler’s passions—for nature, philosophy and a married woman—inspired his first symphonic masterpiece.
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Contact Us: onthemusic@houstonsymphony.org
Creative Credits
Carlos Botero, Host
Aurelie Desmarais, Host
Ray Schilens, Audio Production and Editing (Radio Lounge)
Brad Sayles, Houston Symphony Broadcast Recording Engineer (Houston Public Media)
Calvin Dotsey, Executive Producer and violin (for harmonics demonstration)
Music Credits
Most orchestral excepts featured in On the Music are taken from archival Houston Symphony recordings. We also supplement these with commercially available recordings to ensure that we respect the rights of our musicians and to fill in gaps in our archives. Credits are listed by order of first appearance. The Houston Symphony Broadcast Recording Engineer is Brad Sayles of Houston Public Media.
Mahler: Symphony No. 1 (movements 2 & 4) – The Houston Symphony conducted by Cristoph Eschenbach.
Weber/Mahler: “Leeret die Becher” from Die Drei Pintos – The Belarussian National Philharmonic Orchestra and Wexford Festival Opera Chorus conducted by Paolo Arrivabeni.
Wagner (Josef Franz): Unter dem Doppeladler – The United States Coast Guard Band conducted by Lewis J. Buckley.
Schubert: Wanderer-Fantasie – Jeno Jandó, piano.
Strauss (Johann Jr.): Blue Danube – Archival Houston Symphony Recording. Conducted by Hans Graf.
Strauss: Don Juan – Archival Houston Symphony Recording. Conducted by Hans Graf.
Brahms: Viola Sonata No. 2 – Roberto Diaz (viola) and Jeremy Denk (piano)
Mahler: Symphony No. 1 (movements 1 & 3) – The Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin.
Mahler: “Ging heut Morgen übers Feld” from Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen – Thomas Quasthoff (bass-baritone) and the Cologne Radio Orchestra conducted by Gary Bertini.
Mahler: Blumine – The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Hannu Lintu.
Traditional: Frère Jacques – Anna Diemer (Houston Symphony Chorus Manager).
Dvorák: The Golden Spinning-Wheel – The Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Stephen Gunzenhauser.
A Laibediga Honga – Stockholm Klezmer Orchestra.
Mahler: “Die zwei blauen Augen von meinem Schatz” from Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen – Thomas Quasthoff (bass-baritone) and the Cologne Radio Orchestra conducted by Gary Bertini.
Mahler: Symphony No. 2 – Archival Houston Symphony Recording. Conducted by Hans Graf.
Sound Effects Credits
Sound effects courtesy of freesound.org and Houston Public Media. Credits are listed by order of first appearance.
Quill Pen – Quill pen writing on hard paper various speed.wav by marcoman89.
Horse Hooves – Innenstadt_4b_Pferde.wav by OSH37.
German-language Background Conversation – pub.WAV by Edrie.
Pages Turning – Courtesy of Radio Lounge.
Whispering – Four_Voices_Whispering_3_wEcho.wav by geoneo0.
Birds – vogel.mp3 by JulianaJK.
Gasp – Crowd gasp.wav by Adam_N.
Applause – Courtesy of Houston Public Media and Radio Lounge.
Record Scratch – Courtesy of Radio Lounge.
Sources/Recommended Reading
Bauer-Lechner, Natalie. Recollections of Gustav Mahler. Trans. Dika Newlin. Ed. Peter Franklin. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1980. Print.
Blaukopf, Herta, ed. Gustav Mahler Richard Strauss: Correspondence 1888-1911. Trans. Edmund Jephcott. Chicago: U of Chicago, 1984. Print.
Blaukopf, Herta, ed. Mahler’s Unknown Letters. Trans. Richard Stokes. Boston: Northeastern UP, 1987. Print.
Buhler, James. “”Breakthrough” as Critique of Form: The Finale of Mahler’s First Symphony.” 19th-Century Music 20.2 (1996): n. pag. JSTOR [JSTOR]. Web. 20 Aug. 2016.
Fischer, Jens Malte. Gustav Mahler. Trans. Stewart Spencer. New Haven: Yale UP, 2011. Print.
Karbusicky, Vladimir. “Gustav Mahler’s Musical Jewishness.” Perspectives on Gustav Mahler. Ed. Jeremy Barham. N.p.: Ashgate, 2005. N. pag. Print.
Knittel, K. M. “”Ein Hypermoderner Dirigent”: Mahler and Anti-Semitism in Fin-de-siècle Vienna.” 19th-Century Music 18.3 (1995): 257-76. JSTOR [JSTOR]. Web. 20 Aug. 2016.
Kravitt, Edward F. “Mahler, Victim of the ‘New’ Anti-Semitism.” Journal of the Royal Musical Association 127.1 (2002): n. pag. JSTOR [JSTOR]. Web. 20 Aug. 2016.
Martner, Knud, ed. Selected Letters of Gustav Mahler. Trans. Eithne Wilkins, Ernst Kaiser, and Bill Hopkins. London & Boston: Faber and Faber, 1979. Print.
Roman, Zoltan. “Connotative Irony in Mahler’s Todtenmarsch in “Callots Manier”” The Musical Quarterly 59.2 (1973): 207-22. JSTOR [JSTOR]. Web. 20 Aug. 2016.
Walter, Bruno. Gustav Mahler. Trans. James Galston. New York: Vienna House, 1973. Print.