Gustav Mahler
May 2025 · Reaktion Books
Ebook
224
Pages
family_home
Eligible
info
reportRatings and reviews aren’t verified Learn More
About this ebook
An approachable critical biography of the late nineteenth-century Viennese composer.
Gustav Mahler’s status as an icon of fin-de-siècle Viennese music is assured, and while his life story has been told in numerous biographies, films, and novels, he remains an ambiguous, provocative figure. Supposedly haunted by death and trapped in a torrid marriage, Mahler’s brief meeting with Freud has spurred psychoanalytical speculations, but there are other questions to explore as well. Mahler challenged musical form and style, but he rejected most other contemporary trends, identifying with traditional German Enlightenment and Romantic culture. He rose to the pinnacle of his profession, despite the protestations of antisemitic Vienna. This book draws on the latest research to construct a fresh interpretation of Mahler’s music in relation to his life.
Gustav Mahler’s status as an icon of fin-de-siècle Viennese music is assured, and while his life story has been told in numerous biographies, films, and novels, he remains an ambiguous, provocative figure. Supposedly haunted by death and trapped in a torrid marriage, Mahler’s brief meeting with Freud has spurred psychoanalytical speculations, but there are other questions to explore as well. Mahler challenged musical form and style, but he rejected most other contemporary trends, identifying with traditional German Enlightenment and Romantic culture. He rose to the pinnacle of his profession, despite the protestations of antisemitic Vienna. This book draws on the latest research to construct a fresh interpretation of Mahler’s music in relation to his life.
About the author
Stephen Downes is professor of music at Royal Holloway, University of London. His books include Music and Sentimentalism in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries.
Rate this ebook
Tell us what you think.
Reading information
Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.
