Gustav Mahler Biography and Professional Activity - Essay Example

 Gustav Mahler 1. Gustav Mahler (July, 7, 1860 – May, 18, 1911). 1874 – the death of composer’s brother. The sorrow from this event was revealed in his opera "Duke Ernst of Swabia”, which has still not been performed. 1875 – the entrance of the Composer to the Vienne’s Conservatory. 1890 – Mahler falls in love with his student, a singer Anna von Mildenburg, who achieved the exceptional success under his leadership. 1902 – the marriage of the Composer with the adopted daughter of a famous Australian painter, Alma Schindler. 1904 – the birth of Composer’s second daughter Ann. 1905 – Mahler wrote four famous compositions: “I walked this morning in the field”, “I walked this morning in the green forest”, “Heavenly life”, and “Part 1 (Funeral March) of Symphony number 5”. 1907 – the death of Composer’s first daughter Maria from scarlet fever. 1908 – the invitation of Mahler to work as a conductor at the Metropolitan Opera, where were represented his best performances. 1910 - the premiere of the Eighth Symphony in Munich. The composition got ovations, which lasted for a half an hover after its end. 2. Born in Bohemia, Austria-Hungary. 3. Mahler entered the Vienne’s Conservatory. Mahler also entered Vienne’s University, studying philosophy and literature. At the Conservatory, he became friends with the future composer Hugo Wolf. Mahler graduated from the Conservatory, but failed to achieve the prestigious silver medal The family of the Composer was very poor. His father Gustav Bernhard Mahler was a traveling salesman, who sold alcoholic beverages, sugar and household products. His mother came from a family of a small manufacturer, producing soap. Gustav was the second of 14 children. Shortly after the birth of Gustav, his family moved to the small industrial town of Jihlava - an island of German culture in South Moravia, where Bernhard Mahler started a tavern. Here, the future composer felt passionately in love with folk dances and songs of the peoples of Austrian Empire: Austrian, German, Hebrew, Czech, Hungarian, Gypsy, Slovak, and so on. All those sounds later became the part of his musical palette. In 6 years, Gustav began his studies on the piano, and in 10, he gave his first public concert in Jihlava. 4. Despite the regular instruments, such as piano and violin, Mahler used to apply unusual instruments to create his symphonies. For instance some of his compositions include tenor horn, guitar, mandolin and even cowbell. One can notice a lot of percussion is Mahler’s symphonies, which is quite a distinguishing feature comparing to other musicians of that time. 5. Gustav Mahler was one of the greatest symphonic composers and conductors of the late XIX - early XX centuries. Mahler's creative heritage is relatively small and consists almost entirely of songs and symphonies. However, his compositions became famous only after his death. To perpetuate the memory of the composer and his research work, in 1955 was created the International Society of Gustav Mahler. Mahler was one of the last major composers of Romanticism. He used material for his songs and symphonic works from many sources: the cries of birds and cowbells for pictures of nature and the countryside, bugle signals, street melodies and country-dances. The technique, widely used by Mahler was a "progressive tonality", the resolution of the symphonic conflict different from the initial one. 6. The earliest works of Gustav Mahler included a Piano Quartet in A minor, a "Sad Song» (Das klagende Lied), Cantata (1880), which represented solo, chorus and orchestra, the «Rübezahl», an opera-tale (1879-1883), and the "Songs of a Wayfarer» (Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, 1885-1886). 7. Most of his works Mahler wrote, using the piano. He spent four years for the creation of some of his compositions, though he could not even play gammas at that time. 8. Among the innovations of Gustav Mahler into music, the first place took the combination of large and small instruments in his compositions. Mahler filled his works of art with expressing harmonies and flowing melodies. He also experimented with voice and chorus, changing tonalities. Counterpoint is the main style of his musical compositions. 9. Interesting facts: Mahler was obsessed with the idea to become a Beethoven of the XXth century. During his life, he was strangely absent-minded and uncommunicative. His had an amazing ability to create enemies everywhere. His obsession with music irritated other members of musical team, as Mahler could held the repetitions more than 16 hours. Gustav Mahler has been a leader of the Royal Opera House in Vienna for ten years. In summer of 1907, he went to America. Leaving the Viennese theater, Mahler left in one of the drawers of his cabinet all the medals. When the theater staff found them, they decided that the Composer forgot them accidentally and informed Mahler about it. However, he answered that he left them for his successor. 10. During his life, Mahler communicated with many famous Composers of that time. His teachers at Vienna’s Conservatory were Julius Epstein (piano), Robert Fuchs (harmony) and Franz Krenn (composition). A composer and organist Anton Bruckner also taught him, but Mahler was not considered as his disciple. The effect of Mahler’s works of art experienced Kurt Weill, Luciano Berio, Benjamin Britten and Dmitri Shostakovich. The pianist-conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy stated that there was a strong friendship between Mahler and Shostakovich. 11. The Composer combined the styles, typical for Romanticism. Early critics maintained that Mahler’s adoption of different styles expressed a lack of his personal one. However, Mahler was focused on two main genres - symphonies and song. He is the author of nine symphonies (10th remained unfinished) and no less than 40 songs. 12. According to the positions, which Mahler occupied during his life, we can make conclusion, that he had very good life conditions. In 1897, he became the director of the Vienna State Opera, which was the most prestigious position in the Austrian Empire for a musician. In 1909, Mahler became a chief conductor of the reorganized New York Philharmonic Orchestra, where he worked until his death. Mahler conductor's talent was highly rated. 13. The Composer was married with Alma Schindler, whom he met during his second season in Vienna. Alma has also received musical education and even tried to write music, but Mahler did not support her enthusiasm. His first daughter Maria died at the age of four, while his second daughter Anna recovered and later became a sculptor. 14. To the most famous compositions of Mahler belonged Weber's comic opera "Three Pinto", “das Clagende Lied”, “Symphony N 1”, “Symphony N 2”, “Kindertotenlieder”, “das Lied von der Erde” and others. The most monumental of all Mahler's symphonies is the “Eighth Symphony”, designed for a large ensemble of soloists, three choirs and a huge orchestra. Mahler’s art is a link between romanticism and expressionism. The impressive scale and significance of his symphonies makes Mahler one of the greatest Composers of the XXth century. Works cited: Oron, Aryeh. Gustav Mahler (Composer, Arranger), 2009. Retrieved from: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Lib/Mahler-Gustav.htm Cooke, Deryck V. Gustav Mahler, 2014. Retrieved from: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/358226/Gustav-Mahler Ginell, Richard S. Learning to love Gustav Mahler, 2010. Retrieved from: http://articles.latimes.com/2010/mar/14/entertainment/la-ca-mahler14-2010mar14 Read More