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Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)
This stamp, issued by Austria in 1960, commemorates the 100th birthday of Mahler.
His life was marked by one tragedy after another. He had 13 siblings, six of whom died in childhood, while another brother committed suicide when Gustav was 35; one of his 2 daughters died at the age of 4; he was diagnosed with a fatal heart condition; his wife became an alcoholic and had an extramarital affair at the sanitorium in which she was being treated; he was the subject of public displays of anti-semitism; and, on top of all that, was the target of the most bitter criticism toward his music.
He is labeled a "Late-Romantic" composer, and utilized a large sound palette to create great contrasts in mood. Understood by few, in his lifetime, he now stands as one of the true giants of late-19th and early 20th century music.
In 1998, Germany marked the 450th anniversary of the founding of the Dresden State Orchestra, or Staatskapelle Dresden (Scott #2022, Mi Nr 2025). Do the math. The orchestra was founded in the year 1548, and if I told you they perform with their original conductor, I would, of course, be lying.
Currently, their chief conductor is Christian Thielemann. In 2012, the orchestra created, for the first time, the position of principal guest conductor, the role of which was filled by the Korean pianist/conductor Myung-Whun Chung.So, here's the 2-fer I promised. The Staatskapelle Dresden, under the baton of Myung-Whun Chung, performing the 5th movement of Gustav Mahler's 2nd Symphony, subtitled, "Resurrection."
Ted
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Ted, thanks for the post on Mahler, one of my favorite composers. I've always been amazed that he never composed an opera. After all, he loved opera, and he was considered by his contemporaries to be the best operatic conductor of his day--even if they disliked his compositions. As for his compositions, Das Lied von der Erde is now considered to be one of the great vocal masterpieces of the 20th century, perhaps one of the greatest in the Western canon. Even in his symphonic works, he occasionally incorporated voice to masterful effect, as in The Symphony of a Thousand. And then there are his lieder...I could go on and on. As far as I know, he never even tried to compose an opera, and he never explained his reticence to anyone.
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"he never even tried to compose an opera, and he never explained his reticence to anyone."
As Fred Plotkin points out, perhaps it was his knowledge of opera that convinced him he was not cut out to write one.
Ted
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Excellent point, Ted. Opera demands more than vocal composition: Wagner's gesamtkunstwerk and all that.
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From my friend Dave Hickey (a classical music enthusiast), "Many very great composers whose work includes fine vocal music never wrote an opera: Bach and Brahms just to name two."
Eric
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Thanks for the info on Mahler. A great resource is Robert Greenberg's Great Courses lectures on Gustav Mahler. His story is indeed a sad one. Everything points to the fact, though, that while he was one of the preeminent conductors of his day, he was very difficult to work with.
BOB
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Today, we get a two-fer, 2 subjects for the price of 1 video.
Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)
This stamp, issued by Austria in 1960, commemorates the 100th birthday of Mahler.
His life was marked by one tragedy after another. He had 13 siblings, six of whom died in childhood, while another brother committed suicide when Gustav was 35; one of his 2 daughters died at the age of 4; he was diagnosed with a fatal heart condition; his wife became an alcoholic and had an extramarital affair at the sanitorium in which she was being treated; he was the subject of public displays of anti-semitism; and, on top of all that, was the target of the most bitter criticism toward his music.
He is labeled a "Late-Romantic" composer, and utilized a large sound palette to create great contrasts in mood. Understood by few, in his lifetime, he now stands as one of the true giants of late-19th and early 20th century music.
In 1998, Germany marked the 450th anniversary of the founding of the Dresden State Orchestra, or Staatskapelle Dresden (Scott #2022, Mi Nr 2025). Do the math. The orchestra was founded in the year 1548, and if I told you they perform with their original conductor, I would, of course, be lying. Currently, their chief conductor is Christian Thielemann. In 2012, the orchestra created, for the first time, the position of principal guest conductor, the role of which was filled by the Korean pianist/conductor Myung-Whun Chung.
So, here's the 2-fer I promised. The Staatskapelle Dresden, under the baton of Myung-Whun Chung, performing the 5th movement of Gustav Mahler's 2nd Symphony, subtitled, "Resurrection."
Ted
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re: Classical Music on Stamps - Page 2
Ted, thanks for the post on Mahler, one of my favorite composers. I've always been amazed that he never composed an opera. After all, he loved opera, and he was considered by his contemporaries to be the best operatic conductor of his day--even if they disliked his compositions. As for his compositions, Das Lied von der Erde is now considered to be one of the great vocal masterpieces of the 20th century, perhaps one of the greatest in the Western canon. Even in his symphonic works, he occasionally incorporated voice to masterful effect, as in The Symphony of a Thousand. And then there are his lieder...I could go on and on. As far as I know, he never even tried to compose an opera, and he never explained his reticence to anyone.
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re: Classical Music on Stamps - Page 2
"he never even tried to compose an opera, and he never explained his reticence to anyone."
As Fred Plotkin points out, perhaps it was his knowledge of opera that convinced him he was not cut out to write one.
Ted
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re: Classical Music on Stamps - Page 2
Excellent point, Ted. Opera demands more than vocal composition: Wagner's gesamtkunstwerk and all that.
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this post
re: Classical Music on Stamps - Page 2
From my friend Dave Hickey (a classical music enthusiast), "Many very great composers whose work includes fine vocal music never wrote an opera: Bach and Brahms just to name two."
Eric
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this post
re: Classical Music on Stamps - Page 2
Thanks for the info on Mahler. A great resource is Robert Greenberg's Great Courses lectures on Gustav Mahler. His story is indeed a sad one. Everything points to the fact, though, that while he was one of the preeminent conductors of his day, he was very difficult to work with.
BOB
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this post