Conflict and Alienation in Mahler’s First

A Critical Analysis

Authors

  • Emma Loughlin University of Glasgow

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36399/GroundingsUG.9.197

Keywords:

Mahler, Mahler's First, Conflict, Alienation, Analysis

Abstract

This article focuses on critically reviewing the current state of analysis of Gustav Mahler’s First Symphony, with reference to score analysis of the work. This article presents the argument that the most coherent interpretation of the symphony can be drawn through analysing it specifically in relation to Adorno’s theories on alienation, conflict, disintegration and truth in Mahler’s symphonies. Many music historians have claimed that this symphony is most coherently interpreted as conveying the narrative of an heroic protagonist triumphing over adversity – this article argues, however, that the opposite of such a narrative is portrayed by the music of this symphony.

References

T. W. Adorno, Mahler: A Musical Physiognomy (The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., 1992).

P. Barford, Mahler Symphonies and Songs (British Broadcasting Corporation, 1970).

N. Cardus, Gustav Mahler: His Mind and his Music (The Camelot Press Ltd,1965).

C. Dahlhaus, Nineteenth-Century Music (University of California Press, 1989), translated from German by J. Bradford Robinson.

A. David, Beethoven’s Influence on Modern Musical Thought. Available at: http://digitalcommons.colby.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1010&context=ugrs, 2007.

S. Downes, After Mahler: Britten, Weill, Henze and Romantic Redemption (Cambridge University Press, 2013).

C. Floros, Gustav Mahler: The Symphonies (Amadeus Press, 1993), translated from German by Vernon Wicker.

J. Holly, A Presentation on the Life and Music of Ludwig van Beethoven. Available at: online publication: http://www.slideshare.net/jpholly/beethoven-27224139, 2013.

J. Johnson, Mahler's Voices: Expression and Irony in the Songs and Symphonies (Oxford University Press, 2009).

J. Johnson, article, The Breaking of the Voice (2011) 8 Nineteenth-Century Music Review, 179–195.

R. Knapp, Symphonic Metamorphoses: Subjectivity and Alienation in Mahler's Re-Cycled Songs (Wesleyan University Press, 2003).

H. A. Lea, Gustav Mahler: Man on the Margin (Bonn: Bouvier, 1985).

N. Lebrecht, Why Mahler? How one man and ten symphonies changed the world (Faber and Faber Ltd., 2010).

D. Mitchell, Gustav Mahler: The Wunderhorn Years (Faber and Faber Ltd., 1975).

K. Painter, Mahler and his World (Princeton University Press, 2002).

L. M. Smoley, Gustav Mahler's Symphonies: Critical Commentary on Recordings Since 1986 (Greenwood Press: Westport, 1996).

https://wiki.umn.edu/pub/MethodologySeminar8902/WebHome/Leppert.pdfhttp://gustavmahler.com/symphonies/No1/Musical-Analysis-Of-Fourth-Movement-From-The-Inferno-To-Paradise.html

http://gustavmahler.com/symphonies/No1/1st-Movement-Themes-Motifs.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/ptop/plain/A11690660

http://www.bsomusic.org/mahler1-titan?promo=40361http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/02690403.2011.562721

http://www.recmusic.org/lieder/assemble_texts.html?LanguageId=7&SongCycleId=108

Downloads

Published

2016-04-01

Issue

Section

Vol. IX Articles

How to Cite

Conflict and Alienation in Mahler’s First: A Critical Analysis. (2016). Groundings Undergraduate Journal, 9, 47-60. https://doi.org/10.36399/GroundingsUG.9.197