Symphony 1

Langsam, Schleppend: Kräftig bewegt: Feierlich und gemessen, ohne zu schleppen: Stürmisch bewegt

Gustav Mahler was a man of great passion and extreme intensity. By the time he had written his first symphony, he was already on his way to being internationally known as a virtuoso conductor, albeit a rather erratic one - like “a cat with convulsions” according to one eye-witness. His reputation as a composer was less established. He was known only for a few vocal pieces, including a song-cycle “Songs of a Wayfarer”, which was to become an important influence for his first symphony. Indeed, for many years after his death Mahler was known mainly as a great conductor who also composed, and it is only in the latter half of the last century that he has become primarily known for his great symphonic masterpieces. Mahler’s early compositions seem largely to have been inspired by his characteristically passionate affairs with various women. The Songs of a Wayfarer - a work where the singer (the main character, or “hero”, of the music) becomes obsessed with a woman who does not return his feelings, resulting in the hero’s suicide - were dedicated to Johanna Richter, a singer at the opera theatre where Mahler conducted. The first symphony was inspired by Mahler’s feelings for Marion von Weber, the wife of the composer Carl Maria von Weber’s grandson. This liaison did not have a happy outcome – when Marion’s husband heard about the affair, he went insane and started firing a pistol at the headrests of the train carriage in which he was travelling. He was initially taken to an asylum but was later cared for at home by Marion.

Mahler was always wary about providing written programme notes for his symphonic works, dubbing them “a crutch for a cripple”. His belief was that his music would be understood by those capable of understanding it and that others would gain no benefit from the addition of a written description. Despite this, Mahler provided detailed programme notes for his early symphonies. Conceived in an almost narrative fashion, each of the movements was given a descriptive title in addition to tempo directions, and Mahler even described the great funeral march of his second symphony as the burial of the “Hero” of the first. Originally written as “Titan - a symphonic poem in 5 movements”, Mahler’s First Symphony received a lukewarm reception at its première. This led to his substantially changing the scoring of many passages and omitting the original second movement, entitled “A Chapter of Flowers”. He also dropped the name, Titan, from the title, although it has remained unofficially attached to the symphony for publicity purposes. Mahler is now acknowledged as a master of instrumentation and this first symphony already makes use of special effects to create the sounds he desired. At several points in the music, the woodwind are instructed to play with “bells in the air” (i.e. lifting the ends of the instruments higher than usual so the sound projects over the strings). Trumpets are required to play off stage and, at one point in the last movement, the horn players are even asked to stand so their fanfare carries over the rest of the orchestra.

Mahler gave the first movement of the symphony the title “Spring and no end”. It begins with a depiction of the start of a day in a landscape very similar to the countryside in which Mahler lived as a child. A profound stillness is broken by birdcalls, and a wake-up call sounds from a nearby barracks. As the introduction proceeds, more and more sounds of life interrupt the stillness. Eventually, these lead to the main theme of the movement, the walking theme from the Songs of a Wayfarer. The rest of the movement is a musical representation of the journey that the “hero” of the symphony makes and of the emotions he feels. Mahler’s wife, Alma, wrote of an occasion when Mahler fled from his composing hut in the nearby forest due to “the heat, the stillness, the panic horror”. These feelings can be clearly heard towards the end of this movement, as an air of growing menace gives way to a rather more nervous version of the main walking theme. Finally, the hero breaks free of the imposing wilderness, glancing over his shoulder nervously before finally sprinting back to civilisation.

The second movement (“Full Sail” in the original programme notes) takes the form of a boisterous Ländler (German peasant dance), framing a gentle, reflective central section.

The third movement received by far the longest explanation in Mahler’s own description of the symphony. He found the inspiration for the movement in a picture entitled “The Hunter’s Funeral”. This depicts the dead hunter’s coffin being escorted to its grave by a bizarre entourage of woodland animals. Deer carry the coffin, following a band of cats playing instruments, whilst grieving foxes, weasels and birds bring up the rear. Mahler’s music carries a similar air of parody. Against a plodding accompaniment, a lone double bass states the theme - a version of Frère Jacques in a minor key - with the rest of the orchestra gradually joining in as the movement progresses. Despite the later appearance of two contrasting sections, the second of which is based on the final funereal “Wayfarer” song, the funeral march ends the movement, as the procession gradually disappears into the distance.

The fourth movement, “Dall’ inferno al Paradiso”, begins with what Mahler describes as “the sudden expression of a heart wounded to its depths” - an immense explosion of sound from the entire orchestra, followed by a frenzied outpouring of grief. From this appears the main theme, a heroic march of resistance, as if the hero of the symphony is refusing to give in to the emotional blow life has just dealt him. The story is not yet complete as the main theme is interrupted by episodes of many feelings, from quiet nostalgia to panic as the menacing theme of the first movement returns. Finally the symphony ends with a triumphant fanfare. Mahler’s hero, Mahler himself, has survived his trials. PK