Inside Mahler's Second symphony : a listener's guide / Lawrence F. Bernstein.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bernstein, Lawrence F., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Composers--Austria.

Composers.

Mahler, Gustav, 1860-1911. Symphonies--no. 2.

Mahler, Gustav.

Austria.

Physical Description:

xliii, 266 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2022]

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: pt. I PRELIMINARIES

1. Setting the Stage for the Second Symphony

A Young Conductor Comes to Leipzig

Mahler's Youth and Musical Education

The Music of Mahler's Student Years

Vienna

The First Symphony

On to the Second Symphony

Todtenfeier

pt. II THE FIVE MOVEMENTS

2. The First Movement: Its Opening and a Two-Part Exposition

The Opening: "A Dreadfully Serious Voice" Articulates Existential Concerns

Echoes of Beethoven

Exposition (Part One): The Impact of Traditional Sonata Form

Exposition (Part Two): Intensification, Experimentation, and Quotation

3. The First Movement: Development and Recapitulation

Development (Part One): Traditional Development and a Preoccupation with a Gentle Theme

The Connection between Parts One and Two of the Development: The Rhetoric of Antithesis

Musical Keys and the Emotions

Development (Part Two): Explosion, an Enigmatic Motive, and a Parade of Quotations

Recapitulation: Conventional Return and an Ominous Synopsis

Mahler Suspends Work on the Second Symphony

4. The Second Movement

Mahler Returns to Composing Songs: Des Knaben Wunderhorn (Youth's Magical Horn)

Cognitive Fatigue

Two Themes Sketched Earlier are Incorporated into a New Movement

Theme One: One of the Melodies Conceived Five Years Earlier

Theme Two: A Restless Theme in the Minor Mode (also from 1888)

First Variation of Theme One: An Expressive Countermelody is Added

First Variation of Theme Two: A Variation Becomes Developmental

Second Variation of Theme One: A Climactic Moment

Mahler's Misgivings about the Second Movement

5. A Song Serves as a Study for the Third Movement

A Frenzy of Compositional Activity

The Legend of St. Anthony Preaching to the Fish

Mahler Seeks to Realize the Spirit and Essence of the St. Anthony Poem

Mahler Considers the Form of his Poem

The Critical Role of the Piano

6. The Third Movement: Scherzo and Trio

The Form of the Movement

A Song without Words for Two Categories of Listeners

The First Iteration of the Scherzo: The St. Anthony Song without Words

The Trio: Beethoven Addressed Once Again

Hans Rott

The Trio Continues

First Return of the Scherzo

The Second Trio

The Final Section of the Movement

7. The Fourth Movement: "Urlicht"

Another Song from Des Knaben Wunderhorn

The Poem: A Private Prayer at the Deathbed

The Music: A Devotional Tone and an Anomalous Intensification

The Contralto Soloist: Maureen Forrester

The Role of "Urlicht" in the Symphony

8. How to Complete the Symphony

Keeping the Finale in Mind

An Epiphany

An Alternative View of the Epiphany

9. The Last Movement, Part 1: References to Judgment and the Airing of Themes

A Return of the Orchestral Scream

Symbols of Judgment Drawn from the Jewish Liturgy

A Promissory Note

Symbols of Judgment Drawn from the Christian Liturgy

More about an Old Enigma

Back to Christian Judgment

Is this an Exposition?

10. The Last Movement, Part 2: Judgment in Action, Musical Development, and Some Continuing Enigmas

And the Dead Shall Rise

An Apocalyptic March

A Chromatic and Sensual Passage Returns Intensified

Frantic Preparation for an Ominous Return

A Harbinger of Immortality Expanded

Is This a Development Section?

Pressing Questions that Still Remain Unanswered

11. The Last Movement, Part 3: Collapse, Climactic Resolution, a Stunning Reversal, and Celebration

Apocalyptic Judgment Again

Climactic Resolution: The First Verse of the Klopstock Chorale

First Instrumental Interlude and the Second Verse of the Klopstock Chorale

A Critical Pivot

A Stunning Reversal

What Just Happened?

A Celebration of Love

A Celebration of Eternal Life

APPENDICES

Appendix 1 The Formal Template for the First Movement: Sonata Form

Tonality

Binary Form

Simple Binary Form

Rounded Binary Form

Sonata Form

Appendix 2 Second-Movement Forms

Abridged Sonata Form

Theme and Variations

Alternating Variation Form

Appendix 3 The Origins, Character, and Form of the Scherzo

The Nature of the Four-Movement Symphonic Cycle

Minuet and Trio

Beethoven and the Emergence of the Scherzo

Appendices 4A-E Complete Performances of Each Movement

Appendix 4A First Movement: Allegro Maestoso (Todtenfeier)

Appendix 4B Second Movement: Andante moderato

Appendix 4C Third Movement: Im ruhig fliessender Bewegung (Scherzo and Trio)

Appendix 4D Fourth Movement: "Urlicht"

Appendix 4E Fifth Movement: Im tempo des Scherzos (in three parts).

Notes:

Includes index.

ISBN:

0197575641

9780197575642

0197575633

9780197575635

OCLC:

1280600731

Publisher Number:

99990015332