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Nov 1, 20203 min read

GUSTAV MAHLER – An Introduction to his Music

by Deryck Cooke.



Shortly after I began listening to classical music some sixty years ago, I came across Mahler’s Symphony #1 and Symphony #4. I liked both: #1 for its majesty and #4 for its serenity. However, when I tried Mahler’s other symphonies, I seemed to run into a brick wall, not able to appreciate the music. This state of affairs persisted for decades, perhaps due to lack of effort. Then, at the beginning of summer 2020, I came across BBC’s ranking of the world’s greatest symphonies, by leading conductors, and was surprised to find there were three Mahler Symphonies, 9, 2, and 3, ranked 4th, 5th and 10th respectively. I especially found it perplexing that #9 was ranked in the top 5, ahead of many of my favorites, including Beethoven’s #6.

I decided to make a serious effort to listen to Mahler, in particular to gain an understanding why those Mahler Symphonies were ranked so high. In the summer of 2020, I devoted many hours to this project. Toward the end of the summer, I was making good progress. It then occurred to me that reading a book about Mahler may also be helpful. In mid-October 2020, I purchased “Gustav Mahler – An Introduction to his Music” by Deryck Cooke, a Mahler expert who passed away in 1976.

The book did not disappoint. The mature works of Mahler, both songs and Symphonies, were grouped into three periods. The author’s brief narration of the composer’s life, descriptions of the background of each song and Symphony, the analysis of the compositions, did contribute to my appreciation of Mahler’s music. To keep this review to a reasonable length, I’ll give only a couple of examples:

Although Mahler never placed much value on the written word to describe music, his own program notes on the first three movements of Symphony #2, reproduced in the book (p.53), did enhance my feeling and appreciation of the music. Partly due to this, the second movement has now become one of my favorite symphonic movements.

The author’s remarks on the nocturnal music of Symphony #7 attracted me to this symphony, which is probably the least known symphony of Mahler.

I was pleased, though not surprised, to see the following profound and universal questions asked by the young Mahler:

“… how a world so fresh and beautiful can contain so much cruelty?” (p.7) “How can cruelty and evil be the work of a loving God? Will death at last reveal the meaning of life?” (p.9)

I believed Mahler had tried to seek answers to these questions in his music. In helping the reader to appreciate Mahler’s music, the author was indirectly helping the reader in this search as well. I myself found it comforting to read these sentences toward the end of the book (p.103):

“The last works are undeniably a heart-broken farewell to life, but a loving, not a bitter one…..It is given to very few to ‘take fate by the throat’ like Beethoven – or to face fate so boldly and go down fighting as courageously as Mahler.”

Finally, to be honest, although I am on the way to appreciating why Symphony #9 was ranked so high by the leading conductors, I am not there yet – still working on it.



(Source: Wikipedia)

Mahler’s composing hut in Steinbach am Attersee, where Mahler composed in the summer from 1893 (Source: Wikipedia)










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