Welcome back to Building a Classical Music Collection. For entry #15 in our top 50 classical recordings of all-time, I have chosen the 1987 live recording of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony no. 5 by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Leonard Bernstein on the Deutsche Grammophon label.
Gustav Mahler (b. 1860 – d. 1911) was certainly one of the greatest composers of his time, and perhaps in all of history. Born in Bohemia (then part of the Austrian empire) to Jewish parents of humble means, Mahler rose to fame as one of the leading conductors of his time. He became known later, and is known today, mostly for his compositions. The reason his music did not become more well-known sooner may be attributed to the fierce anti-Semitism present in late 19th and early 20th century Vienna, the musical capital of the world at the time.
Gustav Mahler
As a composer, Mahler occupies a space between the Austro-German romantic tradition prevalent in the late 19th century, and the modernism of the 20th century. He entered the Vienna Conservatory in 1875 and studied piano, harmony, and composition. At the time he became an advocate for the music of both Wagner and Bruckner, two of the most well-known German composers of the day. He would later conduct both of their works frequently, despite Wagner’s notorious anti-Semitism. Mahler was a big part of the transition from the Romantic period to the Modern period in classical music, and he greatly influenced composers of the so-called “Second Viennese School” including Arnold Schoenberg, Alban Berg, and Anton Webern. Other famous composers very much influenced by Mahler’s music include Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein, Dmitri Shostakovich, Kurt Weill, and Benjamin Britten.
Mahler’s conducting career began in about 1880, and about the same time he composed his first notable work, Das Klagende Lied (Song of Lamentation). His conducting career advanced quickly, and he took up posts in Kassel, Prague, Leipzig, and Budapest respectively. His conducting style was characterized by a dictatorial manner and perfectionistic demands, and even though he achieved a lot of critical acclaim, he was also despised by many musicians that played under him.
In 1897 Mahler took the helm of the Vienna Court Opera and then later the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. For a conductor, this was reaching the top of your field. Because of his responsibilities in Vienna, he had little time for composition, and generally only composed in the summers. Mahler built a series of “huts” out in the country, in places that inspired him, and he used the huts for composing. Soon he began presenting his compositions to the public, but the Viennese had a difficult time comprehending his first symphony and his large-scale song-symphony Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth). However, Mahler seemed to take the lack of acceptance in stride, believing that his time would eventually come.
In 1901, adversity arrived for Mahler. On February 24, 1901 he conducted a matinee of Bruckner’s Fifth Symphony, and then that evening he conducted Mozart’s The Magic Flute, a grueling day of work. Later that evening he suffered an intestinal hemorrhage and needed emergency surgery and nearly died. Shortly thereafter, he resigned from his post at the Vienna Philharmonic. Despite the hardships, Mahler returned to continue conducting at the Vienna Court Opera, and built a holiday home in Carinthia. The summer of 1901 was particularly productive for composition, and this included work on his Fifth Symphony as well as Kindertotenlieder (Songs on the Death of Children) and Das Knaben Wunderhorn (The Young Boy’s Magic Horn). In the fall of 1901, he met Alma Schindler. They would marry in 1902 and soon had two daughters. In general this was a happy time for Mahler.
In 1907, Mahler resigned from the Vienna Court Opera because he was away so often, and was beginning to gain some traction as a composer. He also wanted a break from the conservative Viennese music press, which had been consistently brutal in its treatment of Mahler. He accepted the post of principal conductor of New York’s Metropolitan Opera. However, shortly after accepting the post his four year-old daughter died from scarlet fever and diphtheria, and he himself discovered he had some heart problems.
In New York, Mahler quickly gained audience approval and in 1909 he accepted the post of conductor of the New York Philharmonic, which he found agreeable to playing his own compositions. Despite career success such as the triumphant premiere of his Symphony no. 8 “Symphony of a Thousand” in Munich, his personal life suffered and his marriage with Alma began having problems. Even so, they did stay together and when Mahler became quite ill, Alma took him back to Vienna where he died on May 18, 1911 at the age of 50.
Mahler’s Symphony no. 5
Mahler continued revising the orchestration of this symphony until his death. The first performance of the symphony was given in 1904 in Cologne, Germany. Although originally planned for only four movements, he ended up with five movements that fit neatly into three parts. The symphony is broken down as follows:
Part I:
1. Trauermarsch. In gemessenem Schritt. Streng. Wie ein Kondukt (Funeral March. At a measured pace. Like a funeral procession.)
2. Sturmisch bewegt. Mit grosster Vehemenz (Stormily. With greatest vehemence.)
Part II:
3. Scherzo. Kraftig, nicht zu schnell. (Vigorously. Not too fast.)
Part III:
4. Adagietto. Sehr langsam. (Very slowly.)
5. Rondo-Finale. Allegro – Allegro giocoso. Frisch. (Playful. Lively.)
Mahler began the symphony in 1901, and during that summer while he was recovering from nearly dying, he immersed himself in the work of J.S. Bach. Mahler integrated into his new symphony some of his new appreciation for counterpoint gained from Bach (counterpoint is when one or more layers of independent melodies are added above or below the main melody in a piece of music). You can hear Mahler’s use of counterpoint well in this symphony. However, it is clear since Mahler continued revising the score for many years that he had not yet mastered how to incorporate a great deal of counterpoint into an already complex score.
One reason for the enduring significance of Mahler as a composer was his fundamental view that his music was a way of looking for and expressing solutions to his own personal and spiritual problems. There is depth and seriousness in his music that is apparent in all his works. Mahler is working out existential problems in his work, and as such this music is about life and death. Nearly all of Mahler’s symphonies show a similar emotional and spiritual progression. Generally there is angst and struggle giving way to resignation or redemption. Mahler uses “progressive tonality” where movements or entire works begin in minor keys and move to major keys. In the fifth symphony, it begins in C sharp minor and ends in D major in the third and fifth movements. This is not arbitrary on Mahler’s part.
The beginning march has a primitive feeling, almost austere and trudging. The second movement is related, continuing with vehemence and sharing the same mood as the first. The third movement is a scherzo, and is the longest movement. It moves joyously, but almost maniacally, and develops several additional themes. Although there is conflict heard, it is still overwhelmingly positive.
The fourth movement Adagietto is perhaps the most famous piece of music ever composed by Mahler. It is heartbreakingly beautiful, a true yearning for spiritual comfort. What an amazing creation by Mahler here, something beyond words. It reaches an emotional climax and a sort of cathartic release. It gives permission for the soul to overcome the trials heard in the earlier movements, and to move to a happier place. It is also a sort of introduction the fifth movement, which is playful and relatively light. Although Mahler uses different themes here too, the overall feeling is one of triumph and joy and the ending is appropriately uplifting.
Leonard Bernstein and Mahler
Many of you are likely familiar with the Young People’s Concerts at the New York Philharmonic, the longest running series of family concerts of classical music in the world. Most notably, the series was led by legendary American maestro and composer Leonard Bernstein and broadcast on the CBS television network from 1958 – 1972. Bernstein, along with being a prodigiously talented musician, was also a natural teacher and an effective telegenic presence. Bernstein’s first performance as newly appointed music director of the New York Philharmonic was also the first Young People’s Concert he led on January 18th, 1958 at Carnegie Hall in New York. It led to a successful run of 53 episodes ending on March 26th, 1972.
Bernstein had a particular affinity for Mahler, and they were kindred spirits in a sense. Both of them wore their hearts on their sleeves, so to speak. The years from Mahler’s death in 1911 until about 1950 were years of relative neglect for Mahler’s music. There were exceptions of course, but British and American critics were not fond of Mahler’s music. Although Mahler’s music was certainly known and played in concert halls in Europe, and Mahler himself introduced his music to New York audiences with his time at the Philharmonic, Bernstein took Mahler to a higher level. Bruno Walter and Dmitri Mitropoulos, both of whom conducted the New York Philharmonic, also championed Mahler’s music. But it was Bernstein that essentially “rediscovered” Mahler, and he became particularly renowned for his performances and recordings of Mahler during his time as director of the New York Philharmonic.
Bernstein recorded all the Mahler symphonies in the 1960s for Columbia (now Sony), and those recordings are mandatory listening for anyone interested in Mahler. But importantly, Bernstein brought Mahler back to audiences in Vienna and was almost single-handedly responsible for emphasizing to the Austrians how Mahler was one of them and belongs firmly in the Austro-German musical tradition every bit as much as Beethoven, Brahms, and Mozart. As Bernstein is quoted, “Mahler is German music multiplied by N”. Bernstein shared certain emotional and histrionic qualities with Mahler, both in their conducting and their composing. Both Bernstein and Mahler were influenced by musical genres other than classical music; Mahler was influenced by eastern music of Asian (especially Chinese folk music), Slavic, and Jewish origin, and Bernstein was influenced by American jazz and popular music.
As Bernstein explained in his Young People’s Concert “Who is Gustav Mahler?”:
“But still I admit it's a problem to be both a conductor and a composer; there never seems to be enough time and energy to be both things. I ought to know because I have the same problem myself, and that's one of the reasons why I'm so sympathetic to Mahler: I understand his problem. It's like being two different men locked up in the same body; one man is a conductor and the other a composer, and they're both one fellow called Mahler (or Bernstein). It's like being a double man. But with him, with Mahler, the problem was much worse even; he was a double man in every single part of his musical life. And today we're going to try and get a picture in our minds of this double man, by listening to his music, and discovering how the battle between those two different Mahler’s inside him made his music come out sounding the original way it does.”
Mahler certainly brought many traditional Romantic elements into his compositions, but was also beginning a new type of musical language that is very personal and original. When Mahler’s revival began in the 1950s, it may have been the introduction of the long-playing LP that made the most difference in Mahler’s growing popularity, as it meant that music lovers could now listen to Mahler’s often long symphonies in their entirety at home. Bernstein certainly capitalized on this with his many, many recordings in the 1960s.
Bernstein recorded all of Mahler’s works again in the 1980s for the Deutsche Grammophon label in Vienna, Amsterdam, and New York. Remember, Mahler’s music was not well received in Vienna at its inception, and for many years the Vienna press held on to its overly critical view of Mahler. Whether it was for anti-Semitic reasons or for musical reasons, the fact remained that for decades Vienna never warmed to Mahler. Bernstein developed a good working relationship with the Vienna Philharmonic beginning in the 1960s, and put it on himself to make the Viennese see Mahler’s greatness and that he was truly one of them.
The Recording
Leonard Bernstein led the Vienna Philharmonic in this recording of Mahler’s Symphony no. 5 in September 1987, and it was recorded live at the Alte Oper in Frankfurt, Germany. You can feel the frisson of a live event, and many of Bernstein’s recordings over the last several years of his life were made live.
Let’s just say Bernstein is not one to play things safe, and that is certainly the case here. From the opening Funeral March, you can sense this will be something special. With the famed Vienna strings at his disposal, Bernstein squeezes every last bit of emotion out of the symphony, and the famed Adagietto has perhaps never been as moving. The Vienna brass do some outstanding playing, especially in the finale’s climax. Power and eloquence are present here in equal measure, and there is an edge of the seat quality you may sense along the way. There are breathtaking moments where you feel some risk taking by Bernstein and the orchestra, but it all comes off well.
The sound quality is good, but you will notice that the intended overall goal seems to be to display the “big picture” sound in terms of depth, although there is no lack of detail. The sound is fairly well-balanced, and is consistent with what you might hear in person at the concert hall. Personally, I tend to like the “larger-than-life” perspective created here with the sound, which feels more fitting for the music. For those that would like a more intimate sound, there are other more recent recordings that may serve the purpose.
My overriding feeling about Mahler recordings is that if the orchestra and conductor are not going to play the piece for the maximum effect, then what is the point? To do so is consistent with Mahler’s own approach, and that is why I tend to enjoy the more extrovert, emotional recordings. I am a big fan of Bernstein’s way with Mahler, and this recording of the 5th is certainly one for the ages in my view. That is not to say Bernstein’s way with Mahler is the only valid approach, but I believe he had a very special connection to Mahler’s music that tends to enhance the listening experience.
One more thought on Mahler. The Australian journalist, critic, and broadcaster Clive James once said, “You should never trust anyone who listens to Mahler before they're forty.” I suppose there is some truth in that quote, although the themes in Mahler’s music are universal. But the point is Mahler is not necessarily easy music to listen to, or to enjoy. Some people dislike Mahler’s music, may find it overly long, tedious, or boring. Some have said Mahler’s music is self-indulgent, too personal, too serious, or too difficult to understand. To be sure, it is serious music. For me, I find the more I listen to Mahler, the more I understand it, and the more I enjoy it. I believe him to be one of the most important composers in history. But in my opinion, it is also wise to take Mahler in moderation because there is so much there to take in. If you try to digest all of Mahler at once, you may explode! Nevertheless, this recording of his 5th symphony is a great place to start.
If you prefer video to audio, you can find Bernstein conducting Mahler’s Fifth with the Vienna Philharmonic online or for purchase. You can easily find clips of Bernstein conducting Mahler online, which is interesting to check out.
Other notable and personally recommended recordings of Mahler’s Symphony no. 5:
· Sir John Barbirolli conducting the New Philharmonia Orchestra (EMI label 1969).
· Rudolf Barshai conducting the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie (Brilliant Classics 1999).
· Rudolf Schwarz conducting the London Symphony Orchestra (Everest 1959).
· Sir Georg Solti conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (Decca 1991).
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Notes:
Bernstein, Leonard. Young People’s Concert, February 1960. Who is Gustav Mahler? Original text from CBS Television Broadcast.
Brennan, Gerald. Schrott, Allen. Woodstra, Chris. All Music Guide to Classical Music, The Definitive Guide. All Media Guide. P. 786. Backbeat Books, San Francisco. 2005.
Dettmer, Roger. Gustav Mahler, Symphony No. 5 in C sharp minor (1901-1902). All Music Guide to Classical Music, The Definitive Guide. All Media Guide. P. 788. Backbeat Books, San Francisco. 2005.
Morgan, Tom. Mahler’s Fifth Symphony. Gustav Mahler Symphonie No. 5. Wiener Philharmoniker and Leonard Bernstein. 1988. Deutsche Grammophon Liner Notes. Pp. 3-6.