Born:
July 7, 1860; Kaliště, Czech Republic
Died:
May 18, 1911; Vienna, Austria
Nationality:
Czech
Occupation:
Composer, Conductor
Gustav Mahler was an
Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer who was born on July 7, 1860 and died on May
18, 1911 and one of the main conductors of his generation. As a composer,
Mahler served as a bridge between 19th-century Austro-German tradition and
early 20th-century’s modernism.
Gustav Mahler's birth house, Kaliště
Although Mahler established a position as
conductor in his life, his music gained wide popularity after periods of
neglect, including the banning of performances in many parts of Europe during
the Nazi era.
After 1945, Mahler's works have been rediscovered by a new
generation of music listeners, making him one of the most frequently performed
and recorded of all composers to date. In 2016, Mahler's three symphonies were
selected among the top ten symphonies of all time by a BBC Music Magazine with
the survey of 151 conductors.
Gustav Mahler (1907)
Born in a German-speaking Jewish
family in Bohemia (then the Austrian Empire), Mahler showed musical talent from
an early age.
After graduating from the Vienna Conservatory in 1878, he took
the conducting position in the opera houses of Europe and in 1897 was appointed
as director of the Vienna State Opera. During his ten years in Vienna, Mahler,
who converted to Catholicism to secure his position, experienced constant
criticism and hostility from the anti-Semitic press.
Vienna State Opera (1898)
Nevertheless, with his
innovative works and insistence on the best performances standards, he earned
fame as one of the greatest opera conductors, especially as a stage performance
interpreter for works by Wagner, Mozart, and Tchaikovsky. Later in his life,
Mahler also served as director of New York's Metropolitan Opera and the New
York Philharmonic for a while.
The Metropolitan Opera House, New York (1908-09)
Since many of his works have been
made by spending part time while earning his living as a conductor, Mahler's
works are relatively limited. Except for early works like a piano quartet
composed when he was a student in Vienna, Mahler's works were generally made
for large orchestras, symphonic choruses and operatic soloists. These works
were controversial when they premiered, except for his Second Symphony, Third
Symphony and Eighth Symphony.
Bronze bust of Mahler, Auguste Rodin (1909)
Some of Mahler's music successors include
composers of the Second Viennese School, such as Arnold Schoenberg, Alban Berg
and Anton Webern, and Dmitri Shostakovich and Benjamin Britten are composers of
the late 20th century who were influenced by Mahler.
In 1955, The International
Gustav Mahler Institute was founded to honor Mahler's life and achievements.
Mahler's grave, Grinzing cemetery, Vienna
Thank you.
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