Gustav Mahler: The Universal Composer Gustav Mahler was the one of the last great composers and conductors at the end of the Romantic Period. Mahler composed nine colossal symphonies in is life. Arguably, one of the most innovative composers of his time, Mahler was incorporating ideas in his vocation that had not been done before such as having a single movement in a symphony be as long as an entire Mozart symphony or writing a symphony that incorporated one-thousand musicians. Mahler desired to incorporate and interpret everything around him into his music. Growing up, it is evident that Mahler’s life experiences were reflected in his compositions by the raw emotions he put into them. Born July 7, 1860 in Kaliště, Bohemia, Gustav Mahler…show more content… This movement starts out with the cellos articulating the main theme of a funeral march which is repeated throughout the movement as well as the entire symphony. The brass enters with a powerful authority that drives the march forward. The lament is taken over by the woodwinds and the key changes from minor to major as if to symbolize some sort of lighter promise to the fallen hero. The lighter second theme of the first movement provides a joyous moment in the piece as if to say to the listener that there is a reward after death. But this moment of resolution is accompanied by the main theme of death and the turmoil and uncertainty that comes with it. The piece quickly returns to its massive idea of tortured uncertainty. The main heavy theme is set against the light second theme and developed throughout the movement like a dramatic confrontation. The movement concludes with a massive descending chromatics scale from the entire symphony followed by two faint, light notes. This opposition between loud and light themes is demonstrated throughout the entire movement to foreshadow the eventual resurrection in the fifth and final…show more content… But the storm of the orchestra is interrupted by reassurances”. (Mahler’s personality and work) This movement connects back emotionally and thematically to the first movement and also structured similarly. This movement begins with a colossal eruption from the full ensemble that radiates with power that symbolizes the final moments of life. The section that follows the orchestral outburst introduces themes that will be used later by a choir in the conclusion of the movement. The first eight lines of text the choir sings are from Friedrich Klopstok’s poem Die Auferstehung. The text affirms the initial question from the first movement that death is not the end and in fact death has been conquered. The timpani roll assists the the gargantuan erupting assertion that "What was created must perish, what has perished, rise again....What you have conquered will bear you to God!" which gloriously concludes Mahler’s “Resurrection Symphony” with a mood of confident
