Gustav Mahler: The Symphonies Review

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(More customer reviews)The symphonies of Gustav Mahler can be listened to on more than one level. As complex and forward-looking as they are, they nonetheless can connect atan elemental, "visceral" level for many listeners.

However, for a fullerappreciation of both the details and the profundity which are in theseworks, as well as for insight into Mahler's creative processes, someoutside help is required, and this help is usually not forthcoming from theliner or booklet notes that accompany recordings, or from the program notesthat accompany performances. This is precisely where this excellent book byConstantin Floros fits in.

First, a few words on what this book is not,and does not purport to be. It is not a comparative discography ofavailable performances; in fact, it neither lists nor recommendsrecordings. Second, it is not a critical biography of Mahler; theinterested reader is referred to the outstanding (but much more expensive)volumes by Henry-Louis de la Grange, available elsewhere at Amazon.com.Third, it is not a psychological study of Mahler, relating, as such a studymight, such connections between the man and the music; an excellent smallvolume by Theodor Adorno, "Mahler: A Musical Physiognomy" covers thatterritory very well, and is also available elsewhere at Amazon.com. Fourth,and finally, it is not a set of musical scores of the symphonies; those aswell, published by Dover in inexpensive paperback editions, can be found atAmazon.com

So, just what is this Floros book? It is the perfect companionfor the serious Mahlerite in understanding the genesis and the thematic,harmonic and interpretational details of each of Mahler's ten symphonies,and the interrelationships and comparisons among them. It has just enoughof the material covered in the references noted above, along with detailedanalyses of the symphonies, for each of them to be better understood andplaced in historical and musical context by the listener. Its greatestinsight into these symphonies comes largely from Floros' remarkablescholarship in tracking down all of the score notes that Mahler provided inhis sketches, short scores and long scores, his correspondences with hiswife, friends and interpreters, and their comments and observations aswell. By piecing all of this research together, relying particularlyheavily on Mahler's own notes, Floros has come up with a near-definitivelook into Mahler's creative and interpretational processes (a term for sucha look based on scholarship that Floros describes as "hermeneutics").

Thebook's publication date (1985 in the original German) means that it is thebeneficiary of a series of events in the 1960's that opened the door togreatly improved accuracy in the study of this complex man and his equallycomplex music. First was the passage into the public domain of much ofMahler's own private writings, on the 100th anniversary of his birth.Second was the agreement on the part of his widow, Alma Mahler-Werfel, torelease other materials, particularly related to his unfinished 10thSymphony, for public scrutiny. Third was the availability of this materialto the Englishman Deryck Cooke, and others, who provided performingversions of this final 10th Symphony so that the public at large couldbetter judge the direction in which Mahler had been heading when his workwas cut short by premature death. Floros pays great respect to, andprovides excellent insight into, the work of Cooke in his (Floros') plan todescribe the full symphonic output of Mahler.

This book is very liberallyannotated, with briefly-scored examples as reference marks forunderstanding the interrelationships among the various musical themes, aswell as end notes for each symphony and a detailed bibliography for furtherreading. While it helps to be able to read these brief bars of music, eventhose who cannot will benefit immensely from Floros' scholarship and fine,but nonetheless dense, writing in providing extramusical background andvalues for a better understanding of these remarkable symphonies whichmoves so many of us.

Without question, the single most valuable referencesource for a fuller understanding of the Mahler symphonies. And a compactand inexpensive companion for the Mahlerite.

Bob Zeidler

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Product Description:
Mahler's 10 symphonies and Das Lied von der Erde are intensely personal statements that have touched wide audiences. This survey examines each of the works, revealing their programmatic and personal aspects, as well as Mahler's musical techniques.

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