Mahler: Essential Works for Beginners

[@dionysiandreams3634]

I’m 21 and got into Mahler by watching your videos. I decided to get into symphonic repertoire whilst going on walks with headphones. So I got into Mahler precisely as you suggested by starting with 1 and going through a chronological playlist. I thought 1 was extraordinary, but 2 absolutely blew me away. You’re almost certainly right, 3 took a while for me to come close to wrapping my head round, and doing song cycles earlier would have given me a better measure of Mahler in hindsight for sure. Anyway I’m not someone who grew up with classical music, and getting into it became immensely logistically easier because of the existence of your channel, and Mahler, among many others I discovered through your recommendations, thank you very much.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Thank YOU. You made my day (and week, and month...).

[@TheIrrationalist]

That was a GREAT introduction to Mahler and terrific even for people like me who have listened to and played his music for decades.

[@Bobbnoxious]

As a teen I saw Ken Russell's film "Mahler" on PBS. It opens with the 3rd Symphony on the soundtrack, and I had to have it. This sparked my first ever visit to Tower Classical Records in West Hollywood, CA. I wound up working there for years; it was an enriching experience, and I have Mahler to thank for it.

[@ThreadBomb]

How did you know it was the 3rd symphony being played?

[@Bobbnoxious]

@@ThreadBomb I asked a couple of clerks at Tower, and one of them had seen the film. He unwrapped a copy of the 3rd (Bernstein NY Phil) and played it for confirmation. The mocking fanfare theme in the first movement came on and I immediately recalled the movie scene of Mahler's lakeside hut bursting into flames. The clerk's name was Jeremy Gerber, and we became co-workers and great friends until his tragic passing in 1990. I still have that Mahler 3rd double LP Jeremy found for me.

[@firzaakbarpanjaitan]

I hope our old pal Anton B would get a video in this series!

[@marijntenvelde8106]

Your prayers have already been answered!

[@barryguerrero6480]

In my book, ALL works of Mahler are essential. But that's just me (and a few hours).

[@zdl1965]

My first exposure to Mahleria was his First Symphony, Haitink's Philips recording, a mind-blowing experience. My first reaction was "Who's afraid of Mahler? Not me, anymore!" The other symphonies take a little more time to appreciate.

[@citroen2cvnz]

Agree on your list. But I started my love of Mahler with Cooke's Symphony 10. It absolutely blew me away!

[@alexandergroth6549]

Dear Dave, as a German I want to point out that your pronunciation of German-speaking titles is very good 👍🏻😃

[@leestamm3187]

I've been enjoying Mahler's exquisite music for well over 50 years. The beginner grouping you suggest is very good. It's important to note the connection between his songs and symphonic works, I agree, particularly for new listeners. I might also suggest "Das Klagende Lied" as an ancillary to "Songs of a Wayfarer," wherein roots of his early songs, as well as some aspects of his later orchestration style are evident. Also, as you noted, Mahler has been programmed and recorded with great regularity for many years now, and continues to draw crowds at concert venues world wide. Given his predictions of that happening in times long after his passing, I don't think he would be displeased.

[@mr-wx3lv]

Can i just add. Mahler is a great composer to watch live, especially works with voices and chorus. He's very theatrical in some ways. With his colossal forces and numerous twists and turns in his music Nr2 has to be my favourite, Nr1 is definitely a good place to start as more compact..

[@michaelshort7472]

Good advice on starting to listen to Mahler. My own introduction happened 50 years ago in my Music History class. The professor disposed of Mahler in about 90 seconds and went on like "nothing to see here." Even I had heard of Mahler and decided I should investigate in my spare time (in music school? What's that?). I sat down with recordings and scores and listened to each symphony in order, over and over. By the time I got through the Symphony #2 I was hooked. I've performed Nos. 1, 2, 5 and 6. My only regret is that I'll never get to perform the others (4 is out anyway since I'm a low brass musician). You are doing great educational work!

[@markmiller3713]

The opening bars of Mahler #4 is my favorite opening of any symphony.

[@StephanieM772]

My first experience of Mahler was around 1968 in High School when I bought Bruno Walter’s Columbia 2 LP release out of sheer curiosity. I was immediately hooked and from that moment became a lifelong Mahler fan.

[@tomstarzeck7137]

My first exposure to mahler was the finale of no 9 as carl hass was discussing it on an episode of "adventures in good music ".. it grabbed me as a 18 year old uncertain of my future.. then it was no 1 followed by no 2. And I had to drive all the way to the downtown library in Buffalo to pick up the 3rd which totally mesmerized me..I wound up doing a book report on a biography of mahler in 2 volumes and my enthusiasm and knowledge of the material got me a 98 out of 100 and a new mahler musical convert in my teacher 😂 and several of my close freinds who only knew rush and iron maiden etc.. I did get to hear MTT conduct the 6th in that same period of time..I really enjoy your content and knowledge of music 🎶

[@panneddead-centre6844]

I started with Four, as per conventional wisdom. I wasn't blown away. Since Three held the world record for length at the time, I eventually gave that a try. Been hooked on Mahler since I heard the opening notes. Four makes more sense when it's heard in context.

[@eddihaskell]

Have you heard the Szell/Cleveland) recording of the 4th with Judith Raskin? I think it makes Mahler understandable.

[@panneddead-centre6844]

That was my first Mahler 4, and it is indeed good, but it took time for me to appreciate that.

[@phanboyiv]

Had a hard time getting into Mahler because I initially found him very florid and bombastic and heart-on-sleeve but one of your reviews made me pick up the Gilbert Mahler 9th and it's just wonderful, and from there I went.

[@timyork6150]

When I first became aware of classical music from my parents' wartime black box of very basic repertoire on 78s, Mahler was completely absent from most people's awareness and certainly did not figure in that box. It was the enthusiastic reviews of Bruno Walter's and Kathleen Ferrier's recordings of Kindertotenlieder and Das Lied von der Erde in the early 50s which led me to get the LPs and they were an absolute revelation. I guess that was a moment of awakening for many music lovers to the greatness of Mahler. Walter's recordings of most of the symphonies soon followed providing sustenance to appetites for more music from this remarkable composer. My first purchases of the symphonies were, of course, no.4 (Kletzki/Philharmonia) and no.5 (Walter/NY) followed over the years by all his other works in multiple versions.

[@jdeeside]

In the 🇬🇧 in the 80s there was a magazine, with cassette, subscription called The Great Composers. Usual suspects such as Beethoven 5th, Brahms 1st, and Tchaikovsky piano concerto etc. But it also included the Mahler 3rd. As a young teenager I'd never heard anything so moving. Jessye Norman sang 'O mensh...' and I was hooked to Mahler and her.

[@curseofmillhaven1057]

I wish I'd had a guide like this when I was starting (beginning with a song cycle was wonderfully apposite). Thank you.

[@michaelpdawson]

I started my Mahler journey with the 1st symphony, first hearing a live performance on the radio (I have no idea who the performers were) and then buying the Leinsdorf recording on RCA. I spent the following months picking up the rest of his works one at a time, starting with the 8th (Kubelik) and Das Lied (Walter/Miller/Haefliger).

[@georgequievryn1150]

A fascinating and wonderful suggestion to start with the songs! I am a Mahler addict and first discovered him probably 35 years ago. While I don’t remember exactly my progression at that time, I think it matches pretty closely your suggestion except for the songs. I remember clearly Sym 1 was my first experience. I loved it and immediately wanted more. Then I heard Sym 2 and was hooked for life.

[@jamesboswell9324]

Likewise, the first symphony I came across was Mahler 2 recorded by Solti and unsurprisingly it totally blew me away. For years afterwards I found it extremely difficult to listen to any of his symphonies later than the fifth (the eighth was the hardest to grasp) but eventually I came to love them all.

[@scp240]

Outstanding video. I've heard Mahler's 3, 4, 5, and 6 performed live, memorably, but oddly I've never heard the 2nd performed. I have a ticket for the Vienna Phil performing Mahler 9 at Carnegie Hall in March 2024, I'm looking forward to that! On recordings, I adore the song cycles, everything from Songs of a Wayfarer (von Stade/Andrew Davis) to Kindertotenlieder (Janet Baker/Barbirolli). Das Lied von der Erde is sui generis, I have the Klemperer recording.

[@ThreadBomb]

My first Mahler was symphonies 4 and 5, with Inoue conducting the RPO for their own label in the late 1980s. The CDs were in a box on the floor under the CD racks, and going for $5 each. I knew of Mahler because he was mentioned in the film Educating Rita (which I tried rewatching years later, but the synth soundtrack was unbearably loud). Looking back, the performances are very good (and sound great), perhaps a little slow. And it was only after listening to the 5th that I realised I already knew its opening passage -- it was used in the opening titles of "Great Mysteries of the World", which is the title under which the US documentary series "In Search Of" was broadcast in Australia.

[@socratez]

It's rightfully not on the list, but my introduction to Mahler was actually the Allegro from his unfinished/lost Piano Quartet. It's too bad he didn't do more chamber music.

[@bigg2988]

I shall be short - that Allegro is a great one! And thoroughly Mahlerian.

[@tomstarzeck7137]

I realized early on that Mahler can not be played as background music for study or a gathering. He demands total attention from start to finish..

[@Warp75]

I heard the Mahler’s 8th somewhere & went down HMV on Oxford Street to buy it, but ended up buying the Chailly box set because of a recommendation by one of knowledgeable staff. This was around 2007. Unfortunately I didn’t really engage with classical music again until last year.

[@jimyoung9262]

I had a difficult time getting my head around Mahler until I listened to his 1st. The 4th came after, then the 5th and 6th. I'm still working on the others.

[@bigg2988]

Oh man, get that 2 down, already! I vouch, the choir and the soloists are not that hard to swallow (for once). :) It will not be more "difficult" than 6.

[@richfarmer3478]

The first Mahler I heard was the 2nd on an LP from the library. The first Mahler I owned was Bruno Walter's 1st on Columbia Great Performances. I love all the symphonies but I've always had trouble appreciating Song of the Earth. Maybe after this talk I'll give it another try.

[@bigg2988]

One really has to immerse and pay attention with "The Song of the Earth". I had the same problem, thinking, what am I missing? Until I just sat and listened to it with no interruptions. That ending is long-a-coming, but it gets you.

[@murraylow4523]

Yes, I get you, and you’re not alone. I feel a bit guilty that I can’t share the general estimation of the work. In the second and last movements I seem to have trouble not drifting off at times. But this doesn’t mean I won’t be listening many times again!

[@ThreadBomb]

@@murraylow4523 I suggest the recording by Tennstedt, which doesn't get a lot of mentions. Great sound, very atmospheric.

[@murraylow4523]

Thank you mr Threadbomb. I like the Klemperer, despite the obvious tempo issues in the quicker tenor songs. But I’ll try and check that out @@ThreadBomb

[@ilunga146]

I've never had much love for Das Lied either. I love all the symphonies, but DLVDE has never been my lied. I've been listening to 2 and 3 a lot, partly because I've been reading about Bradley Cooper's Maestro movie. I can't wait to see the Ely Cathedral concert.

[@HYP3RK1NECT]

El primer encuentro con la música de Mahler, fue la primera sinfonía. Me gustó el primer movimiento que hace alegoría al primer movimiento de la cuarta de Beethoven. El segundo movimiento también me gustó. Pero más allá, no me interesó seguir escuchandolo. Hasta qué llegó su guía de que interpretaciones de Mahler hay que escuchar.

[@macmadnes5262]

You didn’t want to try anything different? 1 isn’t exactly his most authentic work

[@HYP3RK1NECT]

@@macmadnes5262 Lo que pasa, es que me acomodé demasiado con la música del Maestro Beethoven. Y quería expandir. En su momento, Mahler era un terreno desconocido. Y no supe apreciar debido a que no tiene el "strum und drang", o algo así. Así que con el guía del señor Hurwitz, me aclaró mi mente, me atreví a empezar de nuevo y empecé escuchando el ciclo de Michael Gielen. Luego termine escuchando la segunda por Fischer y la octava por Bertini/Wit. Y fue lo más épico qué he escuchado después de Beethoven y Bruckner.

[@Kyle-ur4mr]

I 100% agree with this list!

[@jppitman1]

The Baltimore Symphony this season is to perform some musical atrocity titled "Resurrection Mixtape" which purports to couple Mahler`s 2nd with the rap of Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. So.....is that the strategy for introducing young people to Mahler these days? Daftness has reached a new level. All that will do is take a B.I.G. wet dump on the most far-reaching poetically-inspired composer who has ever lived. That`s one Mahler I have yet to witness live. Now I`ve got to wait several more season cycles with either Baltimore or DC to witness it UNENCUMBERED. You might as well paint a pair of Groucho Marx glasses directly onto the Mona Lisa or Gallagher and his Sledge-O-Matic into The Last Supper.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Well, I suppose it will depend on how it's done. I hate to prejudge these things, no matter how silly it may sound.

[@leestamm3187]

​@@DavesClassicalGuide Me neither. It has value if even one attendee finds their way to the Mahler cosmos by this route.

[@gsaproposal]

Hey Dave... Would love a review of "Tár".

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

I'd sooner die.

[@ThreadBomb]

@@DavesClassicalGuide 🤣

[@jgesselberty]

I got started on No. 2, as well, and by accident. I had purchased a copy of the Beethoven 9th on LP at a Pittsburgh department store. Sadly, it was scratched and I returned it. They did not have another copy, but the clerk (music store clerks actually were knowledgeable bacl then) recommended the Mahler 2 since it, too, had a choral ending. Bernseting and the New York Phil. I took it home and was mesmerized and hooked.

[@ilunga146]

Not so sad, after all, the scratch on the Beethoven 9.

[@GG-cu9pg]

@@ilunga146 depends which recording 😉

[@ilunga146]

@@GG-cu9pg Hahahaha

[@ilunga146]

My first two were 1 (Bernstein, CBS) and 4 (HVK). I was CD shopping with two classical cognoscenti (a reviewer and a professor); one loved Bernstein, the other, Karajan. Then came Rattle's 2 and Tennstedt's 8, courtesy of their Gramophone awards ('86 & '87?). Loved the second symphony most. Then Tower was having a sale on CBS CDs, and I bought the rest of the Bernstein, and mainly fell in love with 6. I've never been able to listen to another version of the sixth. They're all too slow in the beginning, and I switch to LB. I've always found 2, 3, and 6 to be my favorites, no matter who's conducting.

[@morrigambist]

A very fine video. My Mahler touchstone is the trumpet "funeral march" in the Ninth, after the first movement climax. The trumpets should be at least as solemn as in Bernstein/New York, with the woodwinds following suit. If you are just beginning, be assured that at least some of Mahler's output will give you a lifetime of musical pleasure.

[@AlexMadorsky]

I agree with your explanation as to omitting Symphony 4 from the list. Even though the 4th is historically regarded as Mahler’s most approachable work (correctly in my view), that doesn’t mean it is the right place for beginners to start. Even after listening to a ton of Mahler and possessing the overall context, Mahler’s 4th still sounds to me like it could plausibly have been written by someone else. I wouldn’t say that about any of the other symphonies. As a friend said, the 4th is ALMOST normal music.

[@murraylow4523]

Alex, really interested in your perceptions here. I mean, that Mahler 4 could have been written by someone else. Sure, it’s more compact than it’s neighbours (no surprise after no 3 that he might have aimed at something less sprawling!) But its Mahler 4! Who on earth else does it sound like? Sure, he’s doing a bit of Viennese pastiche in the first movement, but then there are all the childhood references (=> the finale), some dark episodes, and that curious annunciation of the trumpet theme at the start of the 5th. Creepy Ländler, radiant slow movement, Wunderhorn song finale with fascinating orchestral effects. It’s as defining of Mahler as any of the other things. I mean we wouldn’t think Beethoven’s 8th could have been written by somebody else because it’s not the 7th or the 9th, would we? I think it’s one of his most successful and indeed characteristic works.

[@AlexMadorsky]

@@murraylow4523 I don’t disagree with much of what you’ve said. But try to think of a novice listener who knows none of the musicological details you’ve listed above, just that they vaguely enjoy classical music and are about to tackle Mahler for the first time. Would the 4th sound somewhat similar to other things you’ve heard on the radio in your car? I think it probably would.

[@murraylow4523]

@@AlexMadorsky with all due respect no! It’s a remarkable modernist work, it’s not Vivaldi or Mozart. There wasn’t really anything i said that would count as “musicological” it was just a description of the music, in the context of what else he did. And indeed for the so named novice, it’d be totally ideal, frankly, wouldn’t recommend Das Lied Von der Erde or the Seventh symphony in that context, would you?

[@AlexMadorsky]

@@murraylow4523 DLVDE probably not, the 7th definitely not although it happens to be a personal favorite of mine. I’d probably tell someone to start with the 1st (which of course has some chronological merit if they like what they hear and want to work their way through the cycle) and the 5th.

[@tomstarzeck7137]

The 7th with Abado and Lucerne is a favorite of mine.. I love every aspect about it and the camera work is on point 👉