Mozart Mahler Afkham

A hero is dead, and a trumpet calls, heralding a new time where we prepare to take a step into a new world and begin a new life. Mahler succeeded in stepping out of the shadow of Beethoven and in creating his own symphonic universe with room for everything from death marches to folk dance, and every human emotion. It is nevertheless the beautiful slow movement which remains the best known part of his dramatic fifth symphony. Similarly, the slow movement of Mozart’s otherwise vivacious Piano Concerto No. 22 is arguably the most recognised part of the piece.

It was highly uncommon for the slow movement of a piece to be played da capo when new works were presented to the public during the 1700s. Yet this is precisely what happened when Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756−1791) performed his Piano Concerto No. 22 for the first time in 1785, amazingly enough during the interval of another composer’s oratory. Yet again, Mozart succeeded in hitting a nerve in the contemporary public − this time with a calm and dreamy andante, painted in melancholy colours and featuring a particularly sensitive interplay between the piano soloist and the woodwinds.

For the first time, Mozart included clarinets in the orchestration of one of his piano concertos. He exploited this to full effect by highlighting the woodwinds, sometimes almost lifting them out of the orchestra like a chamber ensemble, not only in the second movement, but also in the lively external movements. The finale features much of the same clucking good humour as many of Mozart’s comic operas, but here it is transposed to a new genre he takes much of the credit for developing and consolidating, and not least filling with exquisite “Mozartian” melodies, before the baton was passed to Beethoven.

Ta-ta-ta-taaa! There is little doubt that Beethoven’s spirit hovers above the grandiose, overwhelming death march which introduces Gustav Mahler’s (1860−1911) Symphony No. 5. Both the rhythm and the cold chill are identical to those found in Beethoven’s fifth symphony. The fate motif becomes, also for Mahler, an important building block in his musical progression, but he chooses another direction from that of his symphonic ancestor. After the death march, the second movement brings up the same ideas, but here, sorrow is traded for a tempestuous and intense personal drama. The third movement is the work’s longest, and constitutes Mahler’s most curious masterpiece. With a mastery of counterpoint and an inventive orchestration, he juxtaposes the rustic ländler with an urbane waltz, ultimately resulting in a symphonic unity on a higher plane.

The passionate, velvety Adagietto stands as a powerful contrast to the chaotic, spectacular third movement, and this is one of Mahler’s most famous symphonic movements. The orchestra is pared down to only strings and harps, which transforms the character of the work. The conductor Willem Mengelberg believed the movement to express Mahler’s love for his wife, Alma. Counterpoint and a firework of colours return in the finale, this time in a life-affirming expression of energy.

Mahler’s fifth symphony had its world premiere in Cologne in 1904, and has grown to be a firm audience favourite among all his symphonies.

(In photo: Martin Helmchen, Photo: Giorgia Bertazzi; Text: Thomas Erma Møller; Translation: Sarah Osa)