Gustav Mahler

Gustav Mahler (July 7, 1860–May 18, 1911) was a Bohemian-Austrian composer and conductor.

Legacy

Mahler's music had a pivotal role in what followed after his life. His compositions had a tremendous impact on Schoenberg, Berg and Webern immediately, as well as conductors Bruno Walter and Otto Klemperer, both of who worked with the composer, were helped by him in their careers, and who would eventually take his music to America, where it would influence Hollywood film composition. His music also influenced Richard Strauss, the early symphonies of Havergal Brian, and the music of Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Kurt Weill, Dmitri Shostakovich, Alfred Schnittke, as well as Benjamin Britten, in quite different ways.

Related Topics:
Bruno Walter - Otto Klemperer - America - Hollywood - Richard Strauss - Havergal Brian - Erich Wolfgang Korngold - Kurt Weill - Dmitri Shostakovich - Alfred Schnittke - Benjamin Britten

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As a conductor, his innovative methods and techniques survive to the present. He was famous for saying that "tradition is sloppiness", and requiring extensive rehearsals of works. This led to tensions between Mahler and his orchestras, even as those tensions produced finer performances than had been previously thought possible.

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Mahler's difficulties in getting his works accepted led him to say "my time will come"; that time came in the mid 20th century. Advocated by both those who had known him (prominently among them the composers Alexander von Zemlinsky and Arnold Schoenberg), and by a generation of conductors including the American composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein, his works won over an audience hungry for the next wave of musical exploration. Soon, complete Mahler symphony cycles were recorded and his works became the defining pieces for many conductors.

Related Topics:
20th century - Alexander von Zemlinsky - Arnold Schoenberg - Leonard Bernstein

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In the late twentieth century, new musicological methods led to the extensive editing of his scores, leading to various attempts to complete the tenth symphony and improved version of the others. Well-known interpreters of Mahler's work today include Claudio Abbado, Sir John Barbirolli, Pierre Boulez, Riccardo Chailly, Bernard Haitink, Jascha Horenstein, Zubin Mehta, Leonard Bernstein, Sir Simon Rattle, Markus Stenz, Michael Tilson Thomas and Benjamin Zander; Mahler's music continues to attract interest today.

Related Topics:
Twentieth century - Claudio Abbado - Sir John Barbirolli - Pierre Boulez - Riccardo Chailly - Bernard Haitink - Jascha Horenstein - Zubin Mehta - Leonard Bernstein - Sir Simon Rattle - Markus Stenz - Michael Tilson Thomas - Benjamin Zander

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