Mahler Symphony No. 4, Part 1

After the truly heavenly slow movement of Mahler’s 4th symphony,
a soprano emerges and sings a song literally called “The Heavenly
Life.” It is a symphonic ending like no other, one that leaves
the listener peaceful and contented after taking a long(but not
as long as usual) and winding journey with Gustav Mahler and his
4th symphony. The 4th symphony is a symphony of moments, like the
famous sleigh bells that begin the piece, and a symphony of long,
massive, and momentous arcs, like in the timeless 3rd movement,
which might be my single favorite movement of any Mahler
symphony. But this symphony, so renowned for its contentedness
and beauty also features complicated emotions, drama that clouds
the blue skies, and a dark side that we never truly escape,
perhaps not until the very end of the symphony. Mahler said that
his symphony was “divinely serene, yet profoundly sad, it can
only have you laughing and crying at the same time.” What a
perfect way to define Mahler’s music, always full of dualisms,
contradictions, ironies, and complexities, but that’s what makes
Mahler’s music so irresistible; its ability to plumb the depths
of not only the human spirit but also its psyche. Mahler’s music
is truly musical therapy, and if there’s one of his symphonies
that really exemplifies that, it’s this fourth symphony. With all
that said, this is also his simplest and most easily grasped
symphony in terms of its purely musical content. I’ve gotten a
lot of emails in the past from folks who are skeptical or
confused about Mahler and his appeal, so if you’re one of those
people, than this symphony MIGHT just be the one that changes
your mind. As always with Mahler, his symphonies get multi-part
episodes, so this week I’ll go through the first two movements of
the symphony, from the sleigh bells and brilliant sunshine of the
first movement, to the devilish and ironic second movement. We’ll
talk all about Mahler’s brilliant orchestration, his use(and
deliberate misuse) of form, the pure beauty of this music, and
the oddly negative reception that this symphony got when it was
first performed. Join us!