Experiencing Mahler: A Listener's Companion (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781538104866)

Experiencing Mahler surveys the symphonies and major song sets of Gustav Mahler, presenting them not just as artworks but as vivid and deeply felt journeys. Mahler took the symphony, perhaps the most tradition-bound genre in Western music, and opened it to the widest span of human experience. He introduced themes of love, nature, the chasmic depth of midnight, making peace with death, facing rebirth, seeking one's creator, and being at one with God. Arved Ashby offers the non-specialist a general introduction into Mahler's seemingly unbounded energy to investigate the elements that make each work an experiential adventure--one that has redefined the symphonic genre in new ways.

In addition to the standard nine symphonies, Ashby discusses Das Lied von der Erde, the three most commonly heard song sets (the Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, Kindertotenlieder, and R?kert-Lieder), and the unfinished Tenth Symphony (in Cooke's edition).

Experiencing Mahler is a far-reaching and often provocative search for meaning in the music of one of the most beloved composers of all time.

Author: Arved Ashby
ISBN-10: 1538104865
ISBN-13: 9781538104866
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Language: English
Published: 01/08/2020
Pages: 272
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.20lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.20w x 1.00d

Review Citation(s):
Choice 09/01/2020