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Most of
Mahler’s compositions were
misunderstood in his
lifetime and passed
unappreciated by critics and
public alike. The general
opinion of his music coupled
with his dictatorial and
uncompromising
administration of his
various operatic
appointments created a wave
of hostility against the
composer that was only
partly offset by his
brilliant reputation as a
conductor. Thus it was only
many years after his death
that Mahler a legendary
figure for his unequalled
artistic direction of the
Vienna Opera, began to
receive full recognition as
a composer.
One of the
last great figures of the
Romantic Movement, Mahler
was subject to the influence
of the highly developed
harmonic language that
manifested itself
particularly in Wagner’s
later works and Liszt`s
symphonic poems. He was also
caught up in the wave of
interest in folk music - in
addition to the many
collections of songs by
minor composers, Brahms’
contributions such as the German
Folk-songs and Hungarian
Dances are well-known
- which was then inspiring
composers to create an art
that embraced the simple
directness of folk music
without departing from the
idiom of expression and
orchestral apparatus of the
period. Mahler’s Fourth
Symphony is a child of these
ideas, as will be seen
below. For the composer life
was a grim struggle, a
constant battle against
ill-health and financial
insecurity. Torn between the
rival occupations of
composer and conductor, he
was only able to devote
himself to composition
during his summer vacations
when the opera season was
over the rest of the time
fulfilling conducting
engagements which his
delicate constitution could
not and ultimately did not
endure. He was born at
Kalischt, Bohemia (now
Kalište, Czechoslovakia) on
7 July 1860, the son of a
Moravian-Jewish merchant and
distillen and his early
years were ones of extreme
poverty. Fortunately,
promise as a pianist led to
a sound musical education at
the Vienna conservatory
where he graduated in
composition in 1878. Two
years later he began his
conducting career with a
number of engagements in
minor theatres. It was not
until he was engaged by the
Budapest Opera in 1888 that
he was able to demonstrate
his powers as administraton,
producer, organiser and
conductor. For the first
time he had a good orchestra
and singers at his command
and could give productions
that measured up to his own
artistic standards. It was
here that the first uncut
performances of Wagner in
Hungarian were given (in a
class said to be comparable
to that of Bayreuth), and it
was here that his stylish
production of Don
Giovanni won him the
friendship of the ageing
Brahms. It was here, too,
that he completed his First
Symphony; the Second and
Third were composed while he
was chief conductor at the
Hamburg Opera, and the
Fourth was completed in
1900, three years after he
had been appointed to the
Vienna Court Opera. Mahler
conducted the first
performance in Munich on 25
November 1901.
The Fourth is
the simplest and least
overshadowed by dark
thoughts of Mahler’s
symphonies. As has already
been mentioned, it is
closely connected with the
movement that favoured a new
simplicity of style -
although not always
expressing a simple subject
- attired in a late-romantic
apparel (which is
nonetheless never allowed,
in Mahler’s hands, to
occlude the clarity of his
expression). The work has as
a central idea the
expression of a child’s view
of heaven, a theme which is
expanded in the last
movement by a setting of
verses from Des Knaben
Wunderhorn (The
Youths Magic Horn), an
anthology of German
folk-poems which had already
provided inspiration for
much of Mahler’s music. The
vision is naive in the
extreme - the emphasis being
on the quantities of food
and drink which abound in
heaven - and yet is
presented in so apt and
charming a way that the
desired effect is
immediately created.
After a brief
introduction in which the
four flutes and jingle bells
which Mahler included in the
score feature prominently,
the first subject, a
graceful and lilting violin
melody, is introduced. It
creates the comfortable and
unhurried atmosphere of good
humour which is to prove the
predominant mood of the
whole symphony. The second
group of themes is soon
introduced on the cellos; a
pleasantly jocular subject
is heard in duet, first
between oboe and bassoon,
then upper and lower strings
and so on. The bells usher
in a repeat of the first
subject, and an extended
development follows. The
flutes introduce a new theme
which is to be heard in
later movements, and this is
worked up to a climax marked
by fanfare-like trumpet
calls. Bells and flutes
return and a recapitulation
of the main theme, at first
disguised, is achieved at
length. An expressive horn
recitative makes way for a
brief and jubilant coda.
The second
movement is in the form of a
scherzo with a Ländler-like
trio. An introductory
passage for solo horn makes
way for the first violin to
whom is given the grotesque
principal theme of this
scherzo. Mahler instructs
that the instrument is to be
tuned a tone sharp and
played “like a fiddle”
(implying a street musicians
fiddle rather than an
orchestral one) in order to
divest it of all charm of
sound. This device will
bring to the minds of many
the similar idea in
Saint-Saëns Danse
macabre - a
resemblance which is
explained when one recalls
that Mahler referred to this
movement as Freund Hein
spielt auf (Death
strikes up).
The third
movement begins with a
beautiful and restful melody
which is developed with
increasing intricacy and
vigour in a set of
variations, an ostinato bass
plucked on the double-basses
serving to link them
together. The tempo
primo is resumed in
the last variation, and
there is then a violent
outburst of the full
orchestra; at this point
Mahler transfers the
double-bass part to the
timpani and, with wonderful
effect, the ostinato is
crashed out on the drums
with full force. The clamour
gradually dies away and the
movement ends pianissimo
with the unearthly sounds of
violin harmonics, supported
by the flutes.
In the final
movement the soprano solo
sings the child`s
announcement that she really
is in heaven, enjoying its
gastronomic delights. The
stanzas of the poem are
separated by lively
orchestral interludes based
on the opening of the first
movement; after the last of
these, there is heard a new
melody, a gentle dance-like
tune which clearly relates
to the references in the
succeeding stanza to St
Cecilia and her heavenly
musicians. After this last
verse the movement slowly
fades away to a peaceful
close.
Deryck
Cooke
© 1984 The
Decca Record Company
Limited, London, England
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