Gustav Mahler’s Mental World
A Systematic Representation. Translated by Ernest Bernhardt-Kabisch
Constantin Floros
With his extensive three-volume investigation, the author has newly drawn the image of Gustav Mahler for our time. Should Mahler’s symphonies really be categorized as «absolute music»? – Little-known manuscript sources contain significant hints to the contrary: programmatic titles and catchwords or phrases, mottos, literary allusions, associations, sighs, exclamations. Mahler fully understood his symphonies as «erlebte Musik», music of experience, as autobiography in notes, and as expressions of his «weltanschauung». All the symphonies, including the purely instrumental ones, can be traced back to programs that Mahler originally made public, but suppressed later on. A knowledge of the programmatic ideas provides access to a hitherto barely sensed interior metaphysical world that is of crucial importance for an adequate interpretation of the works. This first volume uncovers the complexity of relations between Mahler’s wide-ranging reading and education, his aesthetics and his symphonic creation.
About the German edition of this book:
«One of the most thoroughgoing and comprehensive investigations of Gustav Mahler’s work and world to date.»
(Norddeutscher Rundfunk)
«The way in which Mahler’s literary background, his education, and his aesthetic and philosophical maxims are presented here indeed opens up a new approach.»
(Die Musikforschung)
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- Frankfurt am Main, Bern, Bruxelles, New York, Oxford, Warszawa, Wien, 2016. 263 pp., 4 ill., 9 examples of notes
- Cover
- Title
- Copyright
- About the author(s)/editor(s)
- About the book
- This eBook can be cited
- Table of Contents
- Preface
- Preliminary: The Exploration of Mahler’s Mental World as Precondition for the Exegesis of his Music
- I Problems and Positions
- False Doctrine: The View of Mahler’s Symphonies as Absolute Music
- The Dichotomy of the Symphonic Oeuvre and the Withdrawal of the Programs
- Mahler’s Statements about Program Music up to the Munich Declaration
- “Pereat every Program”: the Munich Declaration of 1900 as Turning-Point
- Statements Made after the “Turning-Point”
- Interpretation
- The Doctrine Refuted: Mahler’s Symphonic Poems – Reliability of the Programs – Mahler’s Symphonies as Esoteric Program Music
- Why Mahler seemingly distanced himself from Program Music around 1900
- On the Confusion about the Term “Program Music”
- II Education
- The Poet-Composer
- Reading Passion
- Literary Horizon
- Classical Authors
- Shakespeare
- Relation to Goethe
- Goethe Quotations
- On Mahler’s Interpretation of the Chorus mysticus
- Schiller
- Jean Paul
- E. T. A. Hoffmann
- Eichendorff
- Hölderlin
- Wagner’s Writings
- Dostoevsky
- Tolstoy
- Ibsen
- Nietzsche
- Siegfried Lipiner: Friend and Mentor
- Lipiner’s Development
- Topics in Lipiner’s Poetry
- Excursus on Lipiner’s Christus Tetralogy and Weingartner’s Mystery Die Erlösung
- Mahler’s Relations with Lipiner
- III Weltanschauung
- Theories of the Jewish Element in Mahler’s Music
- The Jewish Trauma and the Ahasverus Complex
- The “Judeo-Christian”
- Basic Religious-Philosophical Questions – Turn toward Metaphysics
- Epistemological Persuasions: Critique of Materialism; the Discussion about the Concepts of “Energy” and “Matter”; Fr. A. Lange’s Conception; Mahler’s Commitment to Irrationalism
- Belief in the Doctrine of Predestination. Art as Anticipation of Fate
- Belief in Reincarnation: Relations to Goethe’s Theory of Entelechy, to Fechner’s Teachings “about Life after Death” and “the Things of the Afterlife” and to the Pauline Doctrine of the Resurrection
- Mahler and the Cabbalist Doctrine of the Transmigration of Souls
- The Doctrine of Palingenesis in Schönberg’s Jacobsleiter
- Monotheism or Pantheism? Mahler’s “World Spirit” and Schleiermacher’s Philosophy of Religion
- Christian Dogma and Doctrine
- The Concepts of “Eternal Love” and “Bliss” or Salvation
- Amor, Caritas and Eros, Mercy and Gratia – the Original Conception of the Fourth and the Fifth Symphony
- IV Aesthetics
- 1. Preliminaries
- 2. Art and Life: Music as Autobiography
- The Statements
- Mahler’s Self-Image as Tone Poet
- Experience as Condition of Creation – the Truth Claim of Art
- The Symphonies Autobiographical in Character
- 3. Art and Nature: Music as Sound of Nature
- The Statements
- On the Aesthetics of Imitation
- Mahler and the Positions of Hanslick and Liszt
- The Idea of the Music of Nature in E. T. A. Hoffmann and Eichendorff
- The Idea of the Music of Nature in Mahler’s Works
- 4. Art and World: Music as Metaphysics
- The Statements
- On Schopenhauer’s and Wagner’s Philosophy of Music and Theory of Dreams
- Mahler’s Reinterpretation of the Schopenhauer-Wagnerian Philosophy of Music: the Metaphysical-Religious Mission of Music
- Music and Religion as Conceived by E. T. A. Hoffmann and Mahler
- Excursus on the Proposition “The Kingdom of Music Is not of This World”
- Universality of Symphonic Music and Musica Mundana
- V Symphony and Weltanschauung
- Mahler’s Theory about the Relation between Weltanschauung and Symphonic Music
- The Visionary World of Mahler’s Symphonies
- Demonism and Naiveté: Rubinstein’s Demon and Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel
- Why Mahler Wrote no Operas
- On Some Operatic Plans of Mahler’s
- Mahler’s “Metaphysical Music” in the Mirror of His Time
- VI Stage Productions “In The Spirit of Music”
- Mahler and Musical Theater
- Mahler as Visionary of the Operatic Stage
- VII “A Musical Physiognomy”: On Theodor W. Adorno’s Mahler Interpretation
- Carl Dahlhaus and Mahler’s Programs
- Appendix: Two Poems from Lipiner’s Buch der Freude (Re Mahler’s Third Symphony)
- Music Facsimiles
- Abbreviations
- Bibliography
- 1. Literary and Philosophical Texts
- 2. Literary and Philosophical Criticism
- 3. Texts and Writings on Art Theory, Music Aesthetics and Criticism
- 4. Documents and Criticism of Gustav Mahler
- Index of Persons
Music Facsimiles
Chapter
- Subjects:
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Extract
Table 1 MAHLER, Second Symphony (autograph) Finale, No. 3: The Crier in the Wilderness
by permission of the Willem Mengelberg Foundation, Amsterdam ← 221 | 222 →
Table 2 MAHLER, Second Symphony (autograph) Finale, No. 29/30: The Great Roll-call
by permission of the Willem Mengelberg Foundation, Amsterdam ← 222 | 223 →
Table 3 MAHLER, Third Symphony (autograph) First movement, No. 11: Pan Sleeps
by permission of Mr. Robert O. Lehman, New York ← 223 | 224 →
Table 4 MAHLER, Third Symphony (autograph) First movement, No. 12: The Herald
by permission of Mr. Robert O. Lehman, New York ← 224 | 225 →
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Or login to access all content.- Cover
- Title
- Copyright
- About the author(s)/editor(s)
- About the book
- This eBook can be cited
- Table of Contents
- Preface
- Preliminary: The Exploration of Mahler’s Mental World as Precondition for the Exegesis of his Music
- I Problems and Positions
- False Doctrine: The View of Mahler’s Symphonies as Absolute Music
- The Dichotomy of the Symphonic Oeuvre and the Withdrawal of the Programs
- Mahler’s Statements about Program Music up to the Munich Declaration
- “Pereat every Program”: the Munich Declaration of 1900 as Turning-Point
- Statements Made after the “Turning-Point”
- Interpretation
- The Doctrine Refuted: Mahler’s Symphonic Poems – Reliability of the Programs – Mahler’s Symphonies as Esoteric Program Music
- Why Mahler seemingly distanced himself from Program Music around 1900
- On the Confusion about the Term “Program Music”
- II Education
- The Poet-Composer
- Reading Passion
- Literary Horizon
- Classical Authors
- Shakespeare
- Relation to Goethe
- Goethe Quotations
- On Mahler’s Interpretation of the Chorus mysticus
- Schiller
- Jean Paul
- E. T. A. Hoffmann
- Eichendorff
- Hölderlin
- Wagner’s Writings
- Dostoevsky
- Tolstoy
- Ibsen
- Nietzsche
- Siegfried Lipiner: Friend and Mentor
- Lipiner’s Development
- Topics in Lipiner’s Poetry
- Excursus on Lipiner’s Christus Tetralogy and Weingartner’s Mystery Die Erlösung
- Mahler’s Relations with Lipiner
- III Weltanschauung
- Theories of the Jewish Element in Mahler’s Music
- The Jewish Trauma and the Ahasverus Complex
- The “Judeo-Christian”
- Basic Religious-Philosophical Questions – Turn toward Metaphysics
- Epistemological Persuasions: Critique of Materialism; the Discussion about the Concepts of “Energy” and “Matter”; Fr. A. Lange’s Conception; Mahler’s Commitment to Irrationalism
- Belief in the Doctrine of Predestination. Art as Anticipation of Fate
- Belief in Reincarnation: Relations to Goethe’s Theory of Entelechy, to Fechner’s Teachings “about Life after Death” and “the Things of the Afterlife” and to the Pauline Doctrine of the Resurrection
- Mahler and the Cabbalist Doctrine of the Transmigration of Souls
- The Doctrine of Palingenesis in Schönberg’s Jacobsleiter
- Monotheism or Pantheism? Mahler’s “World Spirit” and Schleiermacher’s Philosophy of Religion
- Christian Dogma and Doctrine
- The Concepts of “Eternal Love” and “Bliss” or Salvation
- Amor, Caritas and Eros, Mercy and Gratia – the Original Conception of the Fourth and the Fifth Symphony
- IV Aesthetics
- 1. Preliminaries
- 2. Art and Life: Music as Autobiography
- The Statements
- Mahler’s Self-Image as Tone Poet
- Experience as Condition of Creation – the Truth Claim of Art
- The Symphonies Autobiographical in Character
- 3. Art and Nature: Music as Sound of Nature
- The Statements
- On the Aesthetics of Imitation
- Mahler and the Positions of Hanslick and Liszt
- The Idea of the Music of Nature in E. T. A. Hoffmann and Eichendorff
- The Idea of the Music of Nature in Mahler’s Works
- 4. Art and World: Music as Metaphysics
- The Statements
- On Schopenhauer’s and Wagner’s Philosophy of Music and Theory of Dreams
- Mahler’s Reinterpretation of the Schopenhauer-Wagnerian Philosophy of Music: the Metaphysical-Religious Mission of Music
- Music and Religion as Conceived by E. T. A. Hoffmann and Mahler
- Excursus on the Proposition “The Kingdom of Music Is not of This World”
- Universality of Symphonic Music and Musica Mundana
- V Symphony and Weltanschauung
- Mahler’s Theory about the Relation between Weltanschauung and Symphonic Music
- The Visionary World of Mahler’s Symphonies
- Demonism and Naiveté: Rubinstein’s Demon and Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel
- Why Mahler Wrote no Operas
- On Some Operatic Plans of Mahler’s
- Mahler’s “Metaphysical Music” in the Mirror of His Time
- VI Stage Productions “In The Spirit of Music”
- Mahler and Musical Theater
- Mahler as Visionary of the Operatic Stage
- VII “A Musical Physiognomy”: On Theodor W. Adorno’s Mahler Interpretation
- Carl Dahlhaus and Mahler’s Programs
- Appendix: Two Poems from Lipiner’s Buch der Freude (Re Mahler’s Third Symphony)
- Music Facsimiles
- Abbreviations
- Bibliography
- 1. Literary and Philosophical Texts
- 2. Literary and Philosophical Criticism
- 3. Texts and Writings on Art Theory, Music Aesthetics and Criticism
- 4. Documents and Criticism of Gustav Mahler
- Index of Persons