Mahler's Symphony Number 10

[GarethSE]

My english literature lecturer just played us a bit of this as an introduction to Modernism and I nearly burst into tears in class.
I could go into the theoretical aspects of how it's all built around the 12 tone row and all that jazz, but I don't think all of that completely undersells it.
It's one of the most powerful pieces of music I've ever heard and a perfect example of why technicality is all for naught if there's no soul. This is all fairly simple, but the feeling of it is just so palpable.

Fuck it, here's a link

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gOwZZkHzlU&feature=PlayList&p=46060AF1CCED9025&index=0[/ame]

Enjoy, there's a playlist with the whole symphony there.

 

[John_C]

very nice! I've never heard much mahler before, although i suppose i've heard a lot through his influences on shostakovitch.

 

[RemoWilliams]

Mahler is my homeboy. Though, I don't think "Adagio" movement of his 10th(really its his 11th) is built around the 12 tone action since Schoenberg was still building his own ideas of atonal harmony at the time. I think its built around Mahler's own dense and wonderful ideas of harmony. If you are able to listen to a full playing of the rough sketches of the "10", theres a lot of beautiful stuff going on. Actually, I love everything Mahler wrote. "Das Lied Von Der Erde" is a very beautiful piece of work as well.

 

[Genius Gone Insane]

I just discovered Mahler. No idea what took me so long. 5th Symphony might be the greatest music ever written IMO.

 

[rispsira]

"This video is no longer available because the YouTube account associated with this video has been terminated"
I havent heard of him until today you got me intrigued! lets see wat i can find on youtube

 

[Chaos_Moon]

I just discovered Mahler. No idea what took me so long. 5th Symphony might be the greatest music ever written IMO.

I agree with the 5th Symphony. It has one of the most famous trumpet solos (I'm a little biased since I'm a trumpet player). My university's orchestra did a Mahler cycle last year. He writes some incredible music.

 

[Genius Gone Insane]

I agree with the 5th Symphony. It has one of the most famous trumpet solos (I'm a little biased since I'm a trumpet player). My university's orchestra did a Mahler cycle last year. He writes some incredible music.

How does the 5th rank as far as difficulty? It seems like it's not too much virtuoso, just some really great atmospheres, like really Dimmu-ish, sort of Star Wars meets Tchaikovsky, really just perfect.

 

[Chaos_Moon]

How does the 5th rank as far as difficulty? It seems like it's not too much virtuoso, just some really great atmospheres, like really Dimmu-ish, sort of Star Wars meets Tchaikovsky, really just perfect.

I personally don't know from the rest of the orchestra's perspective, but you're right, it's not too virtuoso. The trumpet excerpts are a pain in the ass to play, but overall, it's not too crazy difficult of a piece, at least trumpet-wise. What really amazes me is the level of perfection at which the top orchestras can perform it at. It's ridiculous to know that every member of the orchestra can play at such a high level that it all sounds so easy.

 

[AD Chaos]

I remember back in music history class I was told this guy secluded himself for months at a time to compose in a small cabin by the woods, and he enjoyed being hard on performers and treating them like s***.

 

[Rogueleader]

Mahler is a great composer. I really enjoy some of his work. The early 20th century really was the best time for "classical" music IMO.

Lately I've been finding that the composer that most resonates with me though is Richard Strauss. Specifically the pieces Eine Alpensinfonie and Also sprach Zarathrustra. I love a lot of classical music, and by and large I was raised on the genre. But it's hard, for me, to truly enjoy a lot of pieces for 45+ minutes, but I don't have that problem with the afore mentioned Strauss pieces at all.

 

[Genius Gone Insane]

Just saw Mahler's 5th with the San Francisco Symphony tonight. Absolutely astounding. Michael Tilson Thomas's conducting and command were amazing. It was far superior to the CD I have (which is still great). Goes to show how differently Mahler's work can be interpreted.

The first two movements tonight may have been the greatest performance I've ever seen. I was almost in tears.

Samuel Carl Adams's piece was a nice surprise as well.