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| post | Epic Symphony - 'Titan', 'Ressurection' [Mahler] |
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2021-11-13 17:02:00 +0200 |
A symphony is like the world. It must encompass everything.
- Gustav Mahler
It's time to step into the world as painted by Gustav Mahler.
Conductor and composer Gustav Mahler was and remains a controversial figure in classical music. A conductor by trade, Mahler wrote in his spare time and during vacations, and he composed one thing and one thing only - symphonies of scale and ambition yet to be seen.
For some, Mahler's music is excessive, incoherent and eccentric. Others swear by Mahler as the height of all western classical music, and perhaps even all music, ever.
Mahler was one of the first composers I've heard in my journey, and the very first I stumbled into organically. I've gained some foothold in his music, but remained conflicted between these two views as a whole - is what I'm hearing really over the top, bombastic musical nonsense, or the greatest symphonic masterpieces of all time?
I remained conflicted until very recently - when the local Israeli Philharmonic chose no other than Mahler's first, 'Titan', to celebrate its' 85th anniversery. I listened to it a few days before the concert to try and take it in - and on my first listen, I was sorely dissapointed. It felt slow, bloated and lacking a clear direction. However, one of the very first tennets of classical I've learned is that it should not be judged on the first listen, nor the second, perhaps not even the third. So I listened again. And again. And again.
I grew gradually warmer to it. It's far from my favourite, sure, but it has its' moments. Its' moods. I was ready, and excited, to hear it in person. Hearing it in the concert hall, I felt a click, and 'Titan' finally made sense.
As I may have mentioned, classical music is massively varied between eras - and each tends to value some principle of music above the others. Baroque music tends to be centered about praise to a higher power - be it God, man or nature. Classical greatly expands the foundation and focuses on the form, elegance and high artistry of the music. Romantic builds upon these instruments to convey strong emotion. And the modern era wonderfully draws from all of these and shoots off in a billion different ways. Once people gained access to classical music by other means, it has become exponentially more varied. How wonderful!
Mahler's music does none of these things, which is why it was hard for me to grasp. It uses many of those forms and attitudes to do one thing - to paint a picture. To immerse you in it completely. To create a world.
Listening to the first, you are perhaps a wanderer, setting about in the height of spring. You enjoy the warm sound, the calls of birds, and the sweet musk of springs - all conveyed beautifully in the epic, glacial intro, the trills of winded instruments, and the joyous melody of the celli. You draw further and further into the spring, the music rising in intensity and volume as you do so - horns declare proudly, the string perform sweeping manuevers, and the lyre (there's a lyre!) accents it all wonderfully. There are several looming, ominous bass statements - a foreshadow of things to come.
The second movement can be seen as an expedition into the spring - still joyous and sweet, but more focused. It is, however, more conflicted - and suddenly the third movements sets in, the motif an Austrian folk song (I was very surprised to recognise the melody from somewhere!), mournfully weaved into the symphony. Bouts of Jewish Kleizmer music burst in and out, breaking the tension out of nowhere, only to slip back into the folk song dramatically. And, of course, a powerful finale encompassing all those conflicting, strong emotions and moods and bringing it all to a close.
The purpose of Mahler's music dawned on me when making myself aware to the atmosphere in the concert hall as it played - how the listeners are at the edge of their seats, how the tension in the air builds and unfolds, how the colourful bits and pieces flare up and go away as they affect the mood. It draws you in - until you're not just listening to a piece of music. You're wholly immersed in something else.
Once that understanding had sunk in (and with some downtime, of course), I felt ready for what many deem as Mahler's best work - the second symphony, 'Resurrection'.
Ressurection
Mahler's second is a gargantuan symphony, clocking in at about 90 minutes spread across five movements. While the length makes it a daunting listen, going through with it is taking a journey like no other - through Mahler's view of life, beauty, and the afterlife. Using the tools and ideas established in the first symphony, Mahler takes world building up several notches and creates a symphony that truly lives up to his famous quote at the head of this Ler.
Each movement of the symphony tackles the questions of life, beauty, and afterlife from a different point of view - is life beautiful and worth living? is it cruel and sad? is it meaningless?
I've yet to fully process this symphony - such a scale and theme requires plenty of times to fully realise. Evident in this symphony, however, are a passion and love of music as deep as one could imagine - and I think any attempt in answering these difficult questions (assuming there is an answer) is a noble undertaking - and well worth a listen.