#Bales2025FilmChallenge of June 11: characters say or wave hello
Morte a Venezia [Death in Venice] (Luchino Visconti, 1971)
A sickly composer meets and becomes infatuated with a boy during his stay in Venice.
https://write.underworld.fr/settima/section-class-boxinfo-markdown-1-239b
#LuchinoVisconti #ThomasMann #DirkBogarde #BjörnAndrésen #RomoloValli #MarkBurns #NoraRicci #SilvanaMangano #GustavMahler #PasqualinoDeSantis #LGBT #cinemastodon #film
Season Finale at the National Concert Hall
It was very nice to be able to put the marking of examinations behind me and travel into Dublin last night for the final concert of the season at the National Concert Hall in Dublin. It seems the former NSO is now to be called the NSOI, the National Symphony Orchestra Ireland, no doubt for some sort of corporate branding reason. Anyway, last night they were under the direction of guest conductor Anja Bihlmaier for a performance of the Symphony No. 9 by Gustav Mahler.
Looking back through my previous posts about Mahler I see that I haven’t previously written anything about his 9th Symphony. I am pretty sure that last night was the first time I’ve heard it live, although I have it on CD. Mahler wrote it between 1908 and 1909, immediately after finishing Das Lied von der Erde which is a symphony in all but name and which should really be his 9th. He was a very superstitious man, however, and he was worried about the Curse of the 9th, so it wasn’t given a number. After the acual 9th Symphony he went on to compose another, his 10th (though really the 11th), though he didn’t quite finish it before his death in 1911. I hope this clarifies the situation.
The 9th Symphony is a substantial piece last about 80 minutes in performance. That’s far from his longest, but it does justify it being performed on its own. The structure is unusual, with two very long slow movements either side of a pair of shorter movements, a scherzo and a rondo. The former is constructed from dance-like segments, and much of it is in 3/4 time; it reminded me a little of Ravel’s La Valse, which starts out like a standard waltz but disintegrates into a nightmarish parody of that form. The rondo described as “Rondo-Burleske” is very fragmented, grotesque and at times raucous, and also very modern-sounding. It has been described as “ferocious outburst of fiendish laughter at the futility of everything”. I think the final adagio movement is the best, and it brought out the best of the NSOI. The long sweeping passages played by only the strings, with the cellos and double-basses providing deep foundations to Mahler’s sumptuously textured harmonies. Absolutely gorgeous.
The Symphony ends very quietly indeed. Anja Bihlmaier kept her baton in hand for quite a long time before putting it down and letting the applause start. A little silence at the end of a piece of music is a very good thing: it allows the members of the audience a brief moment to reflect on what they have heard. It irks me when people starting clapping and shouting before the sound has even died away.
Anyway, when it was over, the applause was tumultuous. I’ve already mentioned the string sections, but ll the members of the NSOI contributed with outstanding contributions from the woodwinds and brass too.
There being only one item on the menu there was no wine break, but not having an interval meant that I had time to have a drink at the end before heading back to Pearse station to get the train back to Maynooth. In the old days the NCH used to treat the audience to a free prosecco after the season finale, but not any more. I had to buy my own.
Well, this season may be over, but the booklet for next season is already out. I had a look through it on the train home. I plan to resume my Friday-night concert-going at the NCH in September, but there will be more music before then.
#AnjaBihlmaier #GustavMahler #MahlerSymphonyNo9 #NationalConcertHall #NationalSymphonyOrchestraIreland
Gustav Mahler died #OTD in 1911.
Marian Anderson sings Kindertotenlieder with the San Francisco Symphony Orchesra and Pierre Monteux in 1950.
Die Seejungfrau: poignant love story by Alexander von Zemlinsky
Alma Mahler was his star pupil and mistress, but she mocked him for his small stature and traded him for Gustav Mahler. On 16 May 2025, the Dutch Radio Philharmonic Orchestra plays Alexander von Zemlinsky’s symphonic poem Die Seejungfrau under the baton of chief conductor Karina Canellakis.
Also on the programme are Lili Boulanger’s short but compelling D’un matin de printemps and Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto. The concert is part of the AVROTROSVrijdagconcert and will be broadcast live on NPOKlassiek.
Alexander von Zemlinsky, fotogropher unknownCelebrity relation
Zemlinksy’s tragedy is that he is mostly remembered as a relation of celebrities. He has been called a protégé of Brahms, who was so impressed by his early works that he recommended him to his publisher Simrock. He was also the sole teacher of Arnold Schoenberg, who played cello in his amateur orchestra Polyhymnia and married his sister Mathilde. Perhaps he is best known for his tragic love affair with Alma Mahler.
Alexander von Zemlinsky was born in Vienna in 1871. His father came from a Slovak-Catholic lineage but had converted to Judaism; his mother was Sephardic-Islamic. From 1886 to 1892 he studied piano, composition and music theory at the Vienna Conservatoire. Not long after, he became friends with Schönberg. Even though he did not support his twelve-tone method, as a conductor he would always defend his music.
Alma Mahler
In 1901, Zemlinsky began a relationship with his brilliant composition pupil Alma Schindler. Although she loved him passionately, she mockingly called him ‘the dwarf’ because of his small stature. As cruel fate would have it, he himself introduced her to Gustav Mahler, who had premiered his opera Es war einmal in 1899. Alma fell in love with Mahler, gave Zemlinsky the boot and married the considerably older composer in 1902. – Who promptly banned her from composing.
That same year, Zemlinsky began work on his symphonic poem Die Seejungfrau (The Mermaid) in which he expressed Alma’s rejection and his heartbreak. He completed his manuscript in 1903; the premiere was two years later in Vienna. Although critics responded positively, he withdrew his work in 1908. For a long time it was considered lost, until it was recovered and performed again in 1984; today it is one of his most played compositions.
Fairy tale
Zemlinsky based Die Seejungfrau on Andersen’s fairy tale of the same name. A mermaid falls in love with a handsome prince, whom she unknowingly saves from drowning. The Sea Witch gives her legs on condition that she acquires a soul through love and marriage, but the prince weds another and she is doomed to die. Only if she kills the prince will she regain her tail fin. If she doesn’t, she will die in a spray of foam. Zemlinsky, by the way, turned the tables in his composition: he saw himself as the selfless merman who sacrifices his life for Princess Alma.
Colourful orchestration
Die Seejungfrau has three untitled movements, in which Zemlinsky gives the fairy tale hands and feet with a sublimely colourful orchestration. Slow, ominous agitations in the lowest registers of strings and brass evoke the depths of the dark sea. Frolicking motifs in the woodwinds conjure up playing mermaids, while a graceful violin solo depicts the mermaid. The orchestral fabric condenses into a raging storm that sinks the prince’s ship.
Wistful undertone
The third and final movement opens with restrained strings and lyrical lines of alto oboe and clarinets. The sorrowful undertone is broken by fierce brass and drum rolls that express the mermaid’s dismay as she watches her prince marry another.
When she resigns herself to her fate, the orchestra takes back the throttle and on gently undulating motions, the tender violin solo emerges once more. The piece ends with lines of trumpets rising to heaven and wistful plucking of the harps.
#AlexanderVonZemlinsky #AlmaMahler #ArnoldSchönberg #GustavMahler #LiliBoulanger
Mini masterpieces: why Mahler’s songs are marvels to rank alongside his symphonies
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/may/08/gustav-mahler-songs-mini-masterpieces-festival-concertgebouw?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
#GustavMahler
Alma Mahler-Werfel and a kiss with Gustav Klimt. #111Words #AlexRoss #TheNewYorker #Music #AlmaMahler #AlmaMahlerWerfel #GustavMahler #OskarKokoschka #WalterGropius #FranzWerfel #GustavKlimt #TheKiss #Vienna https://andrewjshields.blogspot.com/2025/04/alma-mahler-werfel-and-kiss-with-gustav.html
#OnThisDay in 1909, #GustavMahler conducts New York Philharmonic for his 1st time.
🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on BBC #Radio3's #SaturdayMorning
Gustav Mahler, Berliner Philharmoniker & Kirill Petrenko:
🎵 Symphony No. 6 in A Minor: II. Andante Moderato
#BBCRadio3 #GustavMahler #BerlinerPhilharmoniker #KirillPetrenko
▶️ 🪄 Automagic 🔊 show 📻 playlist on Spotify
▶️ Track on #Spotify:
Symphony No. 6 in A Minor: II....
🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on BBC #Radio3's #Breakfast Gustav Mahler, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra & Sir Simon Rattle: 🎵 Symphony No 1 (2nd mvt, 'Blumine') #BBCRadio3 #GustavMahler #CityofBirminghamSymphonyOrchestra #SirSimonRattle
Dortmunder Philharmoniker: Mahlers 7. Sinfonie am 11.+12. März 2025 im Konzerthaus Dortmund
Redaktion
[caption id="attachment_30054" align="alignleft" width="300"] Gabriel Feltz/Foto: Liudmila Jeremis[/caption]
Die Nacht – geheimnisvoll, wandelbar und voller Gegensätze. Sie kann ruhig und idyllisch sein, aber auch unheimlich und düster. In ihrem 7. Philharmonischen Konzert „Lied der Nacht“ entführen die Dortmunder Philharmoniker unter der Leitung von Generalmusikdirektor Gabriel Feltz in die facettenreiche Klangwelt von Gustav Mahlers Siebter Sinfonie – einem Werk, das zwischen nächtlicher Romantik und klanggewaltiger Ekstase oszilliert. Das Konzert, mit dem die Dortmunder Philharmoniker ihren Mahler-Zyklus schließen, findet am Dienstag, den 11. März 2025 und Mittwoch, den 12. März 2025, jeweils um 19.30 Uhr im Konzerthaus Dortmund statt. […]
https://jojena.substack.com/p/gasherbrum-ii?r=2k6uhi
#ambient #spontaneouscomposition #guitar #gustavmahler #himalaya #wernerherzog
🔊 #NowPlaying on BBC #Radio3's #Breakfast Gustav Mahler, Berliner Philharmoniker & Claudio Abbado: 🎵 Symphony No 1 in D major (2nd mvt, Scherzo) #BBCRadio3 #GustavMahler #BerlinerPhilharmoniker #ClaudioAbbado
🔊 #NowPlaying on BBC #Radio3's #ThroughTheNight Zandra McMaster, Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Gustav Mahler & Ari Rasilainen: 🎵 Kindertotenlieder #BBCRadio3 #ZandraMcMaster #NorwegianRadioOrchestra #GustavMahler #AriRasilainen
Closing Time | Koperkoraal (2e symfonie van Mahler) https://sargasso.nl/closing-time-koperkoraal-2e-symfonie-van-mahler/ #KoninklijkConcertgebouworkest #DanieleGatti #GustavMahler #Algemeen
Bach/Mahler - Suite for Orchestra arr. from Suites 2 & 3 (1910)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=cq7nYkkgluU&si=YIyne8CFaPcdpLDH
#ClassicalMusic
#OrchestralSuites2&3
#Arranged by
#GustavMahler
#LosAngelesSymphonyOrchestra
#EsaPekkaSalonen
#JohannSebastianBach
The devil has all the best tunes: the musical life of Goethe’s Faust https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/sep/17/the-devil-has-all-the-best-tunes-the-musical-life-of-goethes-faust-an-wilson #JohannWolfgangvonGoethe #Classicalmusic #GustavMahler #StephenHough #FranzLiszt #Culture #Tintin #Opera #Music
Heute vor 148 Jahren wurde der Pianist, Komponist und Dirigent Bruno Walter geboren. Er dirigierte u.a. meine Lieblingseinspielung von Mahlers "Lied von der Erde". Hier das "Trinklied vom Jammer der Erde".
#Musik #classicalmusic #music #gustavmahler #brunowalter
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyrS5_ErY3KRLkuen9VPhp7noWm_2w0lJ&feature=shared
It was just over a year ago that I last went to the National Concert Hall in Dublin. That occasion was the opening of a new season of concerts for 2023-4 by the National Symphony Orchestra. After a year away on sabbatical, last night I went to the season opening of the next year of concerts by the National Symphony Orchestra, this time under the direction of Mihhail Gerts. I’m hoping to see more of the forthcoming season than I did the last!
The programme for the concert is shown in the picture. The first half was dominated by legendary mezzo-soprano Dame Sarah Connolly, resplendent in a turquoise frock, who sang six songs by Alma Mahler (born Alma Schindler) who was of course the wife of Gustav Mahler whose 1st Symphony we heard in the second half. Gustav famously (and reprehensibly) told Alma that she had to give up composing music when they married (which they did in 1902). Until then she had written not only songs but also piano music. Few of her compositions survive, however. Apparently she destroyed many of the manuscripts herself in later life. Of the fifty or so songs she is thought to have written, only 17 (including the 6 we heard last night) still exist on paper. She at least responded by outliving him by more than 50 years: Gustav died in 1911 and Alma Mahler passed away in 1964.
It’s very unfair to compare Alma Mahler’s settings with those of Gustav Mahler, who was a master of the orchestral song cycle. The compositions we heard all all quite short, three or four minutes, and are definitely influenced by Wagner. The first song, for example, deploys the famous Tristan Chord and there are passages that are clearly influenced by the Wesendonck Lieder. None of the manuscripts are dated, but in terms of style they do sound like late Romantic works from around 1900 when she was very young. Overall these works not at the same level of achievement of either Richard Wagner or Gustav Mahler but, with Sarah Connolly in fine voice, there was much to enjoy. I had never heard any of these songs before this evening, and it left me wondering what Alma Mahler might have achieved musically had she continued to compose. We’ll never know.
Before these songs we heard the concert overture In Nature’s Realm by Antonín Dvořák. This is also a piece that feels very late-19th Century (it was composed in 1891). It’s a sort of homage to the beauty of the composer’s native Bohemia with distinct echoes of Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony, I thought.
After the interval wine break we returned for the second half which consisted of (Gustav) Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 in D Major. This is a very familiar concert work nowadays, but it’s worth remembering that it didn’t exactly set the world on fire when it was first performed in 1889 and Mahler revised it extensively before it arrived at the form now usually performed. Like all Mahler symphonies it covers a vast territory. One of the most famous Mahler quotations is “the symphony is a world”, but in the case of his own symphonies each movement is a world. The first movement begins in hesitant and fragmentary fashion before bursting into life with a metaphorical evocation of daybreak. The second movement is earthier and more forceful, quoting from folk songs and country dances. The third is my favourite, with its humorously up-beat references to Klezmer music before ending in a kind of funeral march. The final movement is tempestuous at first, then calm, then erupts into a glorious finale.
Last night’s performance was broadcast live on RTÉ Lyric FM but what radio listeners won’t have got was the thrilling sight of a symphony orchestra in full flood. At the end of the last movement, members of brass section stood up to give extra power to the climactic resolution of the piece. Mahler does “loud” very well indeed, but I was impressed by the spectacle too: the lights gleaming off the array of trombones and horns as they blasted out the final phrases (in another context I would call them “riffs”). Great stuff, and very well received by the audience.
P.S. On the way into Dublin to see last night’s concert I realized that the Irish Rail timetable had changed while I was away so, instead of terminating at Connolly (the station, not the mezzo-soprano), the train I was on went all the way through to Pearse, thereby saving me a bit of time walking. It only takes about 20 minutes (for me) to walk from Pearse to the NCH, in case you’re wondering, and I do like a bit of a walk to stretch my legs before sitting down for a couple of hours at a concert.
https://telescoper.blog/2024/09/14/a-new-season-at-the-national-concert-hall/
#AlmaMahler #AntoninDvorak #GustavMahler #InNatureSRealm #MahlerSymphonyNo1 #NationalConcertHall #NationalSymphonyOrchestra
Sir Mark Elder’s Farewell to The Hallé at the Proms 2024 (1/2)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=lKwXUbMyW1w&si=mNwTwHFt07CRj_PT
#ClassicalMusic
#Proms2024
#MarkElder
#GustavMahler
