Posted Oct 5, 2002 by Ewen
Thanks for the entry - the biography's good (though I'm not sure about Mahler's 'fear of death' - he seems pretty resigned to it and basing the opening of the ninth on his own stuttering heartbeat suggests black humour, not morbid fear, to me).
I'd just like to venture my own top of the Mahler pops as it seems to offer a different take on his work:
Das Lied von der Erde: OK, the brief 'Oriental' flavour of the opening is slightly hammy, but from then on this is wonderful: Moving and thoughtful.
I'd rate symphonies 1, 5, 7 and 10 (all instrumental, as it happens) very highly. The first is brimful of good, old fashioned tunes, but the other three have unmissable moments and I find their five-movement symmetry very satisfying. Don't diss the seventh! Bernstein's recording is fantastic.
The only work of Mahler's I don't rate is the eighth. Too much like opera for my taste, though it has its moments. Odd that it was written between two of my favourite pieces (Symphony 7 and The song of the Earth) by Mahler, or in fact by any composer.
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Posted Oct 6, 2002 by  Gnomon
Thanks for that! Obviously no two people will exactly agree on which of the works are worth listening to. But I think it is important that the entry should express some sort of opinion. An encyclopaedic list of all the works with out any indication that the author actually enjoyed them makes very dry reading!
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Posted Oct 13, 2002 by Ewen
I recall someone said that 'Mahler is not sprouts' i.e. you don't have to listen to it if you don't want to - it's not some requirement of your mental diet. Actually, I like Mahler and I also like sprouts. Is there a link?
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