Gustav Mahler musica
I was expecting biography from this It focusses on Mahler s writing of his song cycles and Symphonies 1 4 There s in depth analysis of the works and how they were composed and in what order also covered is limited information on what Mahler was doing at the time Conducting in Budapest and a meeting with Freud But it is primarily an excellent analysis of the pieces of music rather than the composer himself 461
Donald Mitchell s second book on the life and work of Gustav Mahler focuses principally on Mahler s first settings of Wunderhorn texts volumes I and II of the Lieder und Gesaenge his first song cycle the Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen and the later orchestral settings of Wunderhorn poems The central section of the book explores the extraordinary and often eccentric chronology of the First Second and Third Symphonies composition an often minute exploration which reveals the interpenetration of song and symphony in this period of Mahler s art emphasizes the significance for these works of imagery drawn from the Wunderhorn anthology and calls attention to the ambiguous position occupied by much of Mahler s music at this time suspended as it was between the rival claims and forms of symphony and symphonic poem The final section of the book not only looks at the Fourth Symphony as the final perhaps most perfect flowering of Mahler s Wunderhorn symphonies but also investigates such fascinating topics as the relationship between Mahler and Berlioz and the influence of Bach on Mahler s later masterpieces Gustav Mahler The Wunderhorn YearsDonald Charles Peter Mitchell CBE is a British writer on music particularly known for his books on Gustav Mahler and Benjamin Britten and for the book The Language of Modern Music published 1963 site_link Donald Charles Peter Mitchell CBE is a British writer on music particularly known for his books on Gustav Mahler and Benjamin Britten and for the book The Language of Modern Music published 1963 site_link site_link.