Masterpieces by Gustav Mahler. Popular classical music.

From Five Songs on Poems by Rückert: “I Am Lost to the World”Gustav Mahler

Mahler Song “I am lost to the world” / Conducted by Klemperer (with lyric subtitles)

The 18th-century German poet Rückert is the most beloved poet among composers in the history of the German Lied, with many composers, beginning with Schubert, setting his poems to music.

Mahler also composed a song cycle based on his poetry.

In this piece, which begins gently with the cor anglais, the figure of an artist who withdraws from the worldly realm and lives with a solitary, lofty spirit is movingly portrayed.

Mahler’s unhurried melodies are exquisite.

Symphony No. 5 in C-sharp minor, Movement IV: AdagiettoGustav Mahler

Mahler: Adagietto from Symphony No. 5

A renowned masterpiece celebrated for its serene beauty and profound emotion, this work by Mahler was conceived in 1901 during his summer vacation in southern Austria, at a time when he was extremely busy as conductor of the Vienna Court Opera.

Scored solely for strings and harp, its delicate musical ideas are said to be woven with thoughts of a beloved, resonating deeply in the listener’s heart.

The melody, unfolded at an unhurried tempo, draws the listener into a quiet vortex of feeling, as if time itself had stopped.

It is a highly recommended piece for moments when you wish to calm your mind or immerse yourself in deep emotion.

“At Midnight” from Five Songs on Poems by RückertGustav Mahler

Jessye Norman “Um Mitternacht” Ruckert Lieder 3/5

Jessye Norman was an American soprano noted for her dramatic singing, described as soprano drammatico.

That said, she was by no means lacking in lyric expression, and she was primarily active in opera.

The somber musical ideas depict the deepening of midnight and despair, but in the closing section, sung together with the brass, the piece suddenly unfolds with operatic drama and comes to a close.

“On the Day of My Beloved’s Wedding” from the song cycle “Songs of a Wayfarer”Gustav Mahler

Christian Gerhaher – Mahler – Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen

Experiences of heartbreak in adolescence can influence a person’s entire life, and this song cycle is said to have been born from Mahler’s own heartbreak.

The composer wrote the lyrics himself, and I believe the work vividly delineates a particular period in Mahler’s life.

It is also closely related to his early symphonies and foreshadows the development of Mahler’s highly songful compositional technique.

From the song cycle ‘Songs of a Wayfarer’: ‘The Blue Eyes of the Beloved’Gustav Mahler

Mahler: Songs of a Wayfarer, Fischer-Dieskau & Furtwängler (1952) 'Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen'

The protagonist’s love did not come to fruition, and his lover left him.

Lying in the shade of a linden tree, he wishes, “If only nothing would happen, if only everything would go well, if only everything… love… sorrow… the world… dreams…” and lets the petals cover his body.

Resignation and lamentation—this piece is also used in the third movement of “Titan.”

From the song cycle ‘Songs of a Wayfarer’: ‘When I Walk in the Morning Fields’Gustav Mahler

When I Passed Through the Meadow This Morning (from Songs of a Wayfarer)

This song is the melody known as the principal theme of Symphony No.

1 “Titan,” first movement.

Beginning cheerfully with the words “This morning, as I walked through the fields, the dew still lay on the grass,” its melody brims with youthful purity and vitality.

However, it closes with a negative sentiment: “Has my happiness begun? No, what I desire will never come to bloom.” One could call it a song of Mahler’s youth.

When Your Mother Comes Through the Door, from the song cycle “Songs on the Death of Children”Gustav Mahler

Mahler; Kindertotenlieder, 3. Wenn dein Mütterlein.wmv

Many of Mahler’s song cycles are thought to have been conceived with piano accompaniment, with orchestral versions added later.

While the piano cannot rival an orchestra in terms of color, it possesses all the elements needed for orchestration—range, harmony, and more—so one could say the pianist is the conductor of a “one-person orchestra.” In this video, please enjoy the piano-accompanied version.

“Three Angels Were Singing a Tender Song” from the song cycle “Des Knaben Wunderhorn”Gustav Mahler

Konzerte der Gustav Mahler Vereinigung — XXII — “Es sungen drei Engel einen süssen Gesang”

This piece is best known as the fifth movement of the Symphony No.

3, “What the Angels Tell Me.” It is far more frequently heard within the symphony than as a standalone song.

It begins with a children’s chorus evocative of pealing bells, and then the soprano enters, supported by a brisk, sharply contoured accompaniment from the strings and winds.

It is a masterpiece that showcases Mahler’s instrumentation and orchestration, conveying a keen musical intelligence.

“Who Wrote This Song?” from the song cycle “Des Knaben Wunderhorn”Gustav Mahler

Thomas Hampson Mahler Wer hat dies Lied erdacht, Coburg 31 8 2009

Within German Lieder, Mahler’s presence is distinctive.

Schumann and Brahms—and further back, Beethoven and Schubert—composed mostly for voice with piano accompaniment.

Mahler, however, left many versions with orchestral accompaniment.

Richard Strauss, who also belongs to the late Romantic period, shows a similar tendency, which I believe resulted from a pursuit of greater expressive variety and color.

From the song cycle “Des Knaben Wunderhorn”: “Where the Trumpet Sounds So Beautiful”Gustav Mahler

Wo die schonen Trompeten blasen

I can almost see the young Mahler, head down, walking unhurriedly.

It evokes a poetic mood akin to Schubert’s Winterreise.

Mahler is said to have suffered from severe bipolar disorder, and perhaps because his emotional range was exceptionally wide, both his passions and his longings were intense.

Even in this piece, from within the gentle, tranquil musical ideas, one hears a song of powerful yearning.