Gustav Mahler's status as an icon of fin-de-siecle Viennese music is assured, with his works now staples of the concert repertoire. His life story has been told in numerous biographies, films and novels, yet he remains an ambiguous, provocative figure. Mahler was a composer who challenged musical form and style but identified with German Enlightenment and Romantic culture, disliking many contemporary artistic trends. He was a Jewish conductor who reached the pinnacle of his profession in antisemitic Vienna. He was supposedly haunted by death, trapped in a torrid marriage, and his brief meeting with Freud has spurred posthumous psychoanalytical speculations. This book, reflecting the latest research, constructs a fresh interpretation of Mahler's music in relation to his life.
By:
Stephen Downes Imprint: Reaktion Books Country of Publication: United Kingdom Dimensions:
Height: 200mm,
Width: 130mm,
ISBN:9781836390305 ISBN 10: 1836390300 Series:Critical Lives Pages: 224 Publication Date:01 April 2025 Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format:Paperback Publisher's Status: Forthcoming
1. Prologue: Mahler’s Deaths/Mahler’s Lives 2. Mahler’s Childhood 3. Mahler the Reader 4. Mahler the Maestro 5. Mahler Composing in the Country 6. Gustav and Alma 7. The Late Gustav Mahler References Further Reading Acknowledgements Photo Acknowledgements
Stephen Downes is Professor of Music at Royal Holloway, University of London. His books include Music and Sentimentalism in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries (2021).