Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth)

This is a study of Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde, widely regarded as his finest masterpiece.

Stephen E. Hefling (Author)

9780521475341, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 11 May 2000

174 pages, 3 b/w illus. 2 tables 11 music examples
22.5 x 14.4 x 1.6 cm, 0.315 kg

Since its première Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth) has been widely regarded as his finest masterpiece - 'the most Mahleresque of his works', according to his friend and disciple, the conductor Bruno Walter. As Mahler himself wrote to Walter when the draft score was finished, 'I believe it is the most personal thing I have yet created.' Das Lied was written in the wake of three catastrophic events that shook the foundations of Mahler's life in 1907, and like all his earlier works, it is deeply influenced by the composer's personal and philosophical worldview. The opening chapter, 'Background: Mahler's Symphonic Worlds before 1908,' sets the stage for a study of the work's genesis, a summary of the most important critiques of the première, and a careful reading of this six-movement symphony for voices and orchestra.

1. Background: Mahler's 'Symphonic Worlds' before 1908
2. Genesis
3. Reception
4. The music.

Subject Areas: Individual composers & musicians, specific bands & groups [AVH]