5th symphony (Mahler)

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The 5th Symphony is a symphony in five movements by Gustav Mahler .

Emergence

The major parts of the symphony were written between 1901 and 1902. Mahler wrote down his first sketches in the summer of 1901 at his summer residence in Maiernigg . Here Mahler initially conceived the third Scherzo. Further parts of the symphony were subsequently composed in Vienna . The instrumentation did not take place until 1903 and was revised again in 1904. The reading rehearsals with the Vienna Philharmonic led to an extensive reworking of the percussion. In no other symphony did Mahler struggle so long with the instrumentation of the work. In 1911, the year of his death, Mahler revised the instrumentation again. However, this version did not appear in print until 1964 as part of the Mahler Complete Edition. The first performance of the symphony took place on October 18, 1904 in Gürzenich in Cologne under the direction of the composer.

To the music

occupation

4 flutes (all also Piccolo flutes ), 3 oboe (3rd also English horn ), 3 clarinets (1 and 2 in A, B, and C 3 in A, B, C, D and bass clarinet ), 3 Fagotte (3 . also contrabassoon ), 6 horns , 4 trumpets , 3 trombones , bass tuba , 4 timpani , percussion (bass drum, snare drum, bass drum with cymbals, cymbals, triangle, glockenspiel, wooden rattle, tam-tam), harp , I. violin , II Violin, viola , violoncello , double bass

The performance lasts approx. 70 minutes.

I. Department

An extensive funeral march. In a measured step. Strict. The main clause is preceded like a conduct in C sharp minor. It begins with a restrained trumpet fanfare , which becomes the main motif of the march. The motif is reminiscent of the beginning of the general march of the Austro-Hungarian army. The fanfare is concluded in the orchestral tutti and then, with resignation, it goes into depth. This is followed by a plaintive, vocal theme of the strings and creates a dark and threatening mood in the following. The fanfare motif now returns in the orchestra and ensures musical condensation. The measured striding train is interrupted by a first trio . A sudden outbreak in B flat minor, which increases to a tutti and touches the boundaries of tonal space, introduces it. A rapidly rising melody is contrasted by syncopating counter-rhythms. "The violins always as vehemently as possible" noted Mahler for this passage in the score. The section runs in two waves of increase and also takes up the fanfare motif. It then returns, supported by the drum , and introduces a repetition of the content of the march part. The second, very short trio turns to A minor, the key of the following main movement. It is introduced by the intonation of the marching motif by the timpani and initially only performed by the strings. It has a contrapuntal structure. A climax of the entire orchestra then leads to the musical collapse of the event, which manifests itself in tutti-chords and torn motifs before the marching theme sounds in the trumpet. With this, the moving funeral march ends with an ever-softer repetition of the fanfare in triple piano .

This is followed by the actual main movement of the symphony in A minor: Stormy in motion. With the greatest vehemence . The movement is loosely based on the classical sonata movement. It begins with a briskly emerging theme, which at first cannot be recognized as a fully formulated thought, but rather represents a disordered accumulation of motifs of strings and trumpets. From this, an unclear and chaotic-looking thought develops in a pounding rhythm before the action calms down. The cellos intone the sustained march theme of the funeral march, supported by chords from the woodwinds. From this a restrained singing develops with increasing impulse forwards. New motifs are constantly added and give an impression of what is sometimes the greatest unrest. A dissonant climax, which is largely shaped by a string motif, accompanied by the timpani, creates another complete point of calm. The cello searches for a melody on a soft drum roll and finally intones a moving thought in F minor. Again, the music moves in the style of the funeral march, which it is unable to overcome, but is more warmly orchestrated and appears less threatening. Once again, great unrest develops in the orchestra and introduces an implementation-like part that plays with the dialectic of the measured funeral march theme and the restless main idea of ​​the movement. The recapitulation brings a new idea that is reminiscent of an instrumental recitative . Shortly before the end, a solemnly exaggerated chorale begins completely suddenly , which strives for a musical breakthrough without reaching it. Mahler does not let the main movement end with such an apotheosis , but reserves this for the finale. The coda moves the beginning of the sentence accordingly.

II. Department

The second section consists only of the third movement: Scherzo. Strong, not too fast in D major. In a certain way, it represents the center of the symphony. With 819 bars and about 20 minutes of performance, it is also the longest movement in the symphony. A largely carefree tone contrasts with the darker first section and seems to be able to dissolve this tension. A carefree fanfare motif, which no longer bears any resemblance to the funeral march motif, opens the sentence. From this a simple and optimistic topic develops in the country rhythm . An answer from the first violin, on the other hand, seems strangely shifted harmonically and introduces the grotesque element of the scherzo. A whole series of simply constructed themes in the same style are presented below. A waltz melody determines the first trio and creates the image of a dream-like, ideal world. The repetition of the content of the scherzo leads to a tutti climax , which introduces the second trio. In contrast to the first, it is a long and thematically heavy insert. A continuous movement is missing here, numerous breakpoints lead significantly to the large expansion of the sentence. A wistful melody unfolds in the woodwinds and strings to the minimalist pizzicato accompaniment of the strings. An elegiac horn call acts like a rapturous element and gives the musical events a mystical and profound sound that picks up on a Bohemian lament. After a while, the action intensifies and increases to furious runs and a great fortissimo on the edge of tonality. In this way Mahler leads on to the return of the Scherz theme. Scherzo and both trios are repeated in varied forms, which also contributes to the large extension of the movement. Sometimes the changes are so big that the repetition part looks more like an implementation . An ever increasing impulse is stopped with the remote horn motif of the second trio. In the coda , Mahler accomplishes the feat of combining the five defining motifs of the movement in a contrapuntal manner, which leads the movement to a brilliant ending. In some cases, the final apotheosis is already anticipated here.

III. Department

The adagietto. The symphony's resting point is very slowly . In contrast to other Adagio movements in Mahler's symphonies, it is kept rather short with a duration of eleven minutes. Compared to the previous Scherzo, the mood is completely different. The instrumentation consists only of strings and harp. Floating metrics and melodies give the impression of fragile intimacy. Precisely for this reason, the sentence was repeatedly interpreted as Mahler's declaration of love to his wife Alma . The harp's swing in before the theme unfolds in the strings is striking. A dynamic increase then slowly develops. This dramatic climax is designed in extremely free chromaticism and, as is typical of Mahler, takes place in several waves. He calms down with the return of the main theme. The middle part of the three-part sentence brings a new thought, but without causing a change in mood. After the main theme returns, the movement fades away peacefully and almost enraptured in pianissimo .

The symphony ends with a slowly increasing rondo finale. Allegro - Allegro giocoso . The sentence finds its rhythm of movement with difficulty. The introduction consists of some rudimentary motifs from various instruments, which act like a swing. After 23 bars, the rondo's refining idea sounds. Remarkably, the theme consists of the barely recognizable thematic material of the chorale from the second movement. A turbulent and exuberant event develops, which acts like an ever increasing preparation for the final apotheosis . A couplet introduces a song-like, somewhat clumsy dance-like motif. It dissolves into a short fugato part . The return of the refrain leads to another, hectic-looking couplet in non-stop succession. The unbroken impulse to move creates a great hectic pace and unrest. Only in the Grazioso subordinate clauses of the strings is there a bit of calm, as they take up the motifs of the adagietto . The tumult of the final movement finally steers towards a furious final stretta. The exaggerated apotheosis indulges in almost noisy polyphony and boundless jubilation and is introduced by the return of the chant from the second movement. Mahler's last tempo indicates: "Allegro molto and accelerating to the end". Everything mitsichreißende swash finished the symphony with a powerful tutti chord .

To the key

The 5th symphony is often referred to as a work in C sharp minor , which is based on the key of the 1st movement. However, this information ignores the progressive tonality of the late Mahler symphonies, which - in contrast to the formal scheme of the classical symphony - allows a work to end in a different key than it begins. Mahler himself also dealt extensively with the question of the key in a letter to his publisher and expressly refused to name the 5th symphony after a key: "According to the disposition of the movements (of which the usual 1st movement only starts on the 2nd Position comes) difficult to speak of a key of the whole symphony, and in order to avoid misunderstandings, it is better to leave such a key unmarked. "

effect

Like several other Mahler symphonies, the 5th symphony was not understood after its first performance. In 1905 Mahler complained after an unsuccessful performance in Hamburg: "The Fifth is a cursed work. Nobody understands it." The music reviews in the years after the premiere were largely negative. The music critic Ferdinand Pfohl, for example, judged that the 5th Symphony was one of Mahler's weaker works. Only the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik gave the symphony benevolent testimony as early as 1905 and spoke of an "overwhelming abundance of beauties". It was only after Mahler's death that the work was increasingly valued.

Today the 5th Symphony is considered one of Mahler's most popular symphonies. The 1971 film Death in Venice by Luchino Visconti , whose score is used extensively by the Adagietto , has a certain share in its popularity . The 5th Symphony is one of Mahler's most frequently performed symphonies in concert halls around the world.

Status

The 5th symphony is the first purely instrumental work of this genre since the 1st symphony . It was preceded by the so-called Wunderhorn symphonies , as these texts from Des Knaben Wunderhorn by Clemens Brentano were set to music. In the 5th Symphony Mahler finds his way back to a purely instrumental form of expression. Compared to the 4th symphony written two years earlier, it represents a major difference in content and form. While the previous symphony was in many respects Mahler's most classic work, the 5th symphony definitely marks the beginning of a new creative phase. The five Movements of the symphony show a great variety of characters, which is hardly communicated among each other. This creates a great external restlessness and variety, which is increased by the expansion of the work, which approximates the length of the 2nd and 3rd symphonies . Nevertheless, the individual themes of the sentences are thoroughly interwoven. Even more striking, however, is the often changed sound in Mahler's tonal language. In the fifth symphony in particular, dissonances and the extreme exhaustion of what is tonally possible accumulate, but without giving up tonality. It was precisely this that made the work difficult to understand for contemporaries. So it is no wonder that in the 5th symphony the sound of Mahler's music, which often seems new and unusual, initially seems particularly strange. A process that will even increase in the coming symphonies, especially in the 6th and 9th symphonies . In formal terms, Mahler does not stick to the classic, four-movement form in this work, but conceives five movements for three departments. This is also a procedure that Mahler had already used in the great predecessors of the 2nd and 3rd symphonies. Although the conception of the individual sentences brings harmonious innovations, the content largely takes up proven methods. The first movement is a march, which is definitely reminiscent of the larger counterpart in the 3rd symphony . The focus of the work is a large scherzo , which consists of elements that Mahler had established in the previous symphonies. Grotesque humor, which is based on Jean Paul , mixes with traditional dances with a seemingly simple design and intertwined, barely articulated motifs. This concept of Mahler's scherzo is found again and again in the following symphonies. With 819 bars, Mahler also breaks the traditionally rather smaller conception of scherzo movements in symphonies. The rest point of the symphony is here an adagietto , which, although it does not come close to the depth of the adagios from the two preceding symphonies, can certainly be described as characteristic of Mahler's calm movements.

With the rougher sound world of the fifth symphony begins a new creative phase of Mahler, which is further developed in the following 6th symphony . The exhaustion of the tonal space clearly points to the 9th Symphony , in which Mahler prepares to give up tonality and move into the transcendent of music.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Michael Kube: "The fifth is a cursed work". In: Renate Ulm: Gustav Mahler's Symphonies, 154.
  2. ↑ Michael Kube: "The fifth is a cursed work". In: Renate Ulm: Gustav Mahler's Symphonies, 158.
  3. ↑ Vladimir Karbusicky: Mahler and his environment, 60.
  4. ↑ This reading probably goes back to the conductor Willem Mengelberg , who was friends with the Mahler couple . In addition: Gilbert Kaplan: Gustav Mahler, Adagietto, Facsimile, New York 1992.
  5. ^ Letter to the Peters publishing house of July 23, 1904. Quoted from: Herta Blaukopf: Gustav Mahler. Letters. 2nd Edition. Zsolnay, Vienna 1996, p. 316, ISBN 3-552-04810-3
  6. ↑ Diary entry. Quoted from: Karl-Josef Müller, Mahler - Life, Works, Documents, 293. In: Renate Ulm: Gustav Mahler's Symphonies, 153.
  7. ^ Ferdinand Pfohl: Gustav Mahler - impressions and memories from the Hamburg years. In: Renate Ulm: Gustav Mahler's Symphonies, 162.
  8. ^ Stanislaus Schlesinger: Article in "Neue Zeitschrift für Musik", 1905. In: Renate Ulm: Gustav Mahler's Symphonie, 162.
  9. ^ Letter to Georg Göhler. Quoted from: Herta Blaukopf, Briefe, 403.
  10. ↑ Michael Kube: "The fifth is a cursed work". In: Renate Ulm: Gustav Mahler's Symphonies, 155.
  11. ↑ Dieter Schnebel: Gustav Mahler. The late work as new music, 177.

literature

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