A Mahler Piano Series
In 2018, Iain perfomed an eleven concert series at the 1901 Arts Club, London, exploring the music of Gustav Mahler. It featured nearly all of Mahler’s symphonies in Iain’s solo piano arrangements, along with songs and piano music that influenced Mahler. Below is the introduction to the series, followed by the complete programme listing.
In 2018, Iain perfomed an eleven concert series at the 1901 Arts Club, London, exploring the music of Gustav Mahler. It featured nearly all of Mahler’s symphonies in Iain’s solo piano arrangements, along with songs and piano music that influenced Mahler. Below is the introduction to the series, followed by the complete programme listing.
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The modern Western world has recently become preoccupied with the idea of identity: national identity, religious identity, sexual identity. These concepts have become hotly debated, raising significant questions of who we are and where we belong. In the cultural arena, 'identity' is a buzzword filled with positive and negative meanings. Composers are often defined by their musical identity and how it reflects the society in which they live. The music of Gustav Mahler is a remarkable product of the times and locations in which he lived, drawing together a wide range of different musical styles that he heard throughout his life. This stylistic diversity is a key aspect of Mahler's work, as he forged his identity through these disparate musical elements. While this eclectic musical mix is much written about in Mahler scholarship, it is rarely explored in concert programmes. The series juxtaposes many of these different musical influences with Mahler's own work. It includes a large variety of songs and piano music from Mahler's contemporaries and major influences, along with a rich selection of other genres. These then feed into the large-scale symphonies, in my own two hand piano arrangements. Mahler often played his latest works on the piano to friends and colleagues, and his early training as a pianist left him with a good virtuoso technique. By performing the music in this way, it enabled the first listeners to hear the melodies and harmonies unadorned. The idiomatic style, the wide-ranging content, the emotional depth, the unique structure: all these pieces of the musical jigsaw were presented by Mahler himself on the piano to those trusted friends. A black-and-white image of the Symphony was presented, a kind of musical X-ray. Mahler also composed at the piano, each one of his composing 'huts' having an instrument at his disposal to bring these fiery elements together. The sketches are often on two/three staves of music, and can be read directly on the piano. We are fortunate to have piano rolls of Mahler playing parts of his own work, and these provided a vital stimulus for this series. Although they are probably only loosely accurate representations of his piano playing, the piano rolls demonstrate Mahler's 'orchestral' piano technique, full in texture and tone, carrying the sweep and drama of the music without getting bogged down by the intricate details of the score. Mahler also accompanied singers at the piano in recitals of his songs, and published piano scores of many of them alongside the orchestral versions. Performing Mahler on the piano is therefore not such an unusual idea, as he did exactly that throughout his whole life. I've arranged and performed a lot of different music on the piano, including Elgar's symphonies as well as Mahler's. I've been fortunate to accompany some of the great English symphonic choirs, and have played Mahler's 2nd and 8th Symphonies many times in rehearsal. With this practical experience comes the grounding of what makes a satisfying piano arrangement. It requires not just a literal transcription of the notes onto two staves, but a transformation into pianistic texture of the full sonic landscape. The main bulk of the melodic, harmonic and rhythmic material remains intact, but the emotional sweep and scale of the sound is of equal importance, as it is in Mahler's own piano performance. Rich pianistic textures are often sought, to maintain the sustain and richness of the sound, although there is no unnecessary virtuosity or fireworks. Hearing the symphonies and songs in this way allows us to take in the content as 'pure' music. By performing them in a salon venue, the concert is more direct and personal, as well as being free from the usual expectations concerning standard concert repertoire. Perhaps experiencing a sole performer tackling such complex music adds an element of heroic struggle, as well as a sense of intimacy and loneliness. Certainly the physical sensation of playing this music is an intensely rewarding (and exhausting) one for the pianist. Each symphony (including Das Lied von der Erde) is placed in the context of many of its influencing elements, with the exception of the choral 2nd and 8th, which are used as a template to explore related ideas. These different musical styles cover Mahler's life from a simple childhood in rural Bohemia until his death as a world-famous conductor/composer. The following is a summary of the wide range of music featured in the series, that all contribute to Mahler's musical identity: Mahler often enjoyed telling the story of an early memory, where he attended the synagogue as a child and interrupted the cantor by loudly singing a Czech folk song. This is the starting point for the series, as well as a characteristic of Mahler's music: the sudden juxtaposition of different styles, often of an opposing character. The great Jewish prayer Kol Nidrei is the opening piece and is filled with Mahler traits: a highly expressive melody, rising and falling in step-wise motion, with a tugging, lamenting quality. This contrasts with the simple and relaxed nature of folksongs, a style that was an essential feature of Mahler's early songs and symphonies. These folksongs were influential both in terms of the music and the lyrics, featuring recurring themes in Mahler's output: simple joys, the naivety of youth, Nature as consoler and inspiration, the rejected lover with thoughts of suicide. Drawn from both German and Czech/Bohemian traditions, folk music was of profound importance to Mahler's musical identity. Also taken from local traditions was the country dance, in particular the ländler, a feature throughout Mahler's entire output. Its essential characteristics frequently occur: a moderately paced dance, always in three-time, multi-sectional in form, and mostly in a sweet and sentimental style, smiling in a major key. The ländler is often paired with the waltz, that most typical Viennese dance, represented by Johann Strauss II and also Thomas Koschat, an immensely popular song composer. Quicker than the ländler, the waltz has a stronger rhythmic lilt and a more varied mood. It features prominently in Lehar's operetta The Merry Widow which Mahler enjoyed at its first run in Vienna. A particularly influential sound from Mahler's childhood was that of a military band, one which had many different uses and meanings in his own music. Two of the most well-known of the period are featured, full of pride, optimism and pounding rhythms. A political song is included, brimming with the same nationalistic confidence that Mahler knew well as a student. The sounds of Eastern European music (or klezmer) are an unmissable reference in the early symphonies. Their exotic melodies and harmonies add a spicy flavour to the music, a 'foreign' influence that was much derided by Mahler's critics. Salon piano music was hugely popular in the period, especially that of Gustav Lange: the music possesses an easy charm, a relaxed nature and catchy melodic earworms designed to be quickly memorable, elements that were essential to Mahler's work. Of the many Classical influences in Mahler's music, works from his main idols are included: Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Wagner, along with Mendelssohn, Schumann, Brahms, Liszt and Bizet. Many of Mahler's contemporaries reflect the widening stylistic diversity of the time, composers that were sometimes friends or rivals to Mahler: from the original singspiel version of Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel, through Elgar, Richard Strauss, Janacek, Zemlinsky, Josef Suk, Berg, Schoenberg, Busoni and Korngold. The influence of Eastern culture in Das Lied von der Erde is heard in colourful piano works by Arensky, Satie, Debussy, Ravel and Godowsky. Avoiding the impossible demands of the 8th Symphony serves as an opportunity to explore a programme made up entirely of female composers. The Symphony was dedicated to Mahler's wife Alma, with a text concerning the glorification of the 'Eternal Feminine'. This concert explores the wealth of music from Mahler's female contemporaries, especially Alma herself, as well as composers from other nationalities, including France, England and the USA. Finally, some of Mahler's lesser-known pieces are featured, such as Blumine, Totenfeier and numerous songs, to give a rounded and balanced picture of the composer. This broad and diverse selection of music provides a backdrop of sounds that were familiar to Mahler's audiences, and gives context to his own work. These listeners were shocked that Mahler could use so many disparate 'popular' elements in his music, and critics accused him of lacking a compositional identity by borrowing from so many other styles. Of course, with Mahler's output now familiar to modern concert-goers, his identity is indeed made up of these disparate elements, but moulded into something personal, modern, direct and universal. By putting all of this music side by side, Mahler can be appreciated even more as a brilliant and original composer. Perhaps we can hear the music in a different way, find new meanings in the notes, discover unexpected depths. One thing is certain: Mahler's identity is that of a powerful and individual voice, with the capacity to change our lives more than an century after his death. |
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1 - From the countryside Traditional – Kol Nidrei Traditional – A vy pani muzikanti Traditional – Tanz tanz yidelekh Traditional - Untersteirer Landler Traditional – 3 folksongs: Horch was kommt von draussen rein, Ach blumlein blau, Bruder Martin Mahler – Blumine Mahler – Lieder eines fahrenden gesellen -- Mahler – 1st Symphony The first concert in this series exploring Mahler's musical world begins with the sounds of his childhood. Mahler was surrounded by different musical styles and a number of these are included: a cantor singing in the synagogue, a popular local Moravian song, a Jewish klezmer melody, a traditional Austrian country dance, as well as familiar children's songs. Two of Mahler's early pieces are included, Blumine and the folk-inspired song cycle Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen. All of these musical elements are poured into Mahler's First Symphony, here made more apparent in an arrangement for solo piano. 2 - On Angel's Wings Beethoven – Sonata in A flat major 1st mvt Traditional - Weinsteirer Landler Traditional – Dem Rebns Nign Wagner – Die Erlosung (Redemption) Parsifal Mahler – Totenfeier -- Mahler – Wo die schonen Trompetten Schumann - Das ist ein Floten und Geigen Mahler – Des Antonius von Padua Fischpredigt Mahler - Urlicht Klopstock – Die Auferstehung Bruckner – Ave Maria Wagner – Der Engel Brahms – O Tod wie bitter bist du Strauss – Befreit Elgar – The Angel's Farewell In his Second Symphony, Mahler portrays a dramatic and triumphant journey from death to resurrection. Many of the musical influences heard in the Symphony are explored in this concert: the nobility of Beethoven, the grace of a country dance, the exoticism of Jewish klezmer and the ecstatic harmonies of Wagner. Mahler's Totenfeier is performed as well as his own songs that were to feature in the Symphony. Continuing the theme of human mortality, there follows a sequence of songs from the late 19th century that displays the various perspectives on death and religion: from bitter regret to blissful serenity. 3 - A Hymn to Nature Josef Wagner – Under the Double Eagle Traditional - Wir hatten gebauet ein stattliches Haus Traditional – Ach du lieber Augustin Traditional - Es zogen drei Burschen Mahler – Ablosung im Sommer Mahler - 3rd Symphony, Part 1 -- Mahler - 3rd Symphony, Parts 2-6 Artists of the Romantic era often explored the contrast between the calm beauty of nature and the hectic noise of the city. Mahler's Third Symphony depicts this struggle on an epic scale, using musical styles that are featured in this concert: a strident nationalist military march, a political street song, sentimental folksongs as well as Mahler's own nature-inspired songs. The Third Symphony is performed in a piano arrangement highlighting the diversity of influences in Mahler's work. 4 - Visions of Childhood Mozart – Piano Sonata in C, K309 1st mvt Schumann – Traumerei (Kinderszenen) Traditional – Nukh Shale-Sudes Humperdinck – Songs from Hansel and Gretel: Tanzliedchen, Schlummerliedchen, Morgenwechauf, Ein Echo im Walde, Lied des Sandmanns Mahler – 3 songs: Das irdische Leben, Ich ging mit Lust, Lob des hohen Verstands -- Mahler - 4th Symphony In Mahler's Fourth Symphony, the work ends with a song depicting a child's view of Heaven. It was a song Mahler recorded on the piano, and inspired the childlike innocence and optimism of the rest of the Symphony. This concert features music of delicate simplicity that inspired Mahler, including works by Mozart and Schumann, a Jewish klezmer melody and the original 'singspiel' version of Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel. Tuneful songs by Mahler precede the graceful Fourth Symphony, performed in a suitably intimate piano version. |
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5 - Love and Death
Mendelssohn – Song without words E minor, Op. 62, no. 3
Bizet – Adagietto
Bach – Prelude and Fugue in D major
Thomas Koschat – Am Worthersee
Mahler – 4 songs: Der Tambourgsell, Liebst du um Schonheit, Revelge, Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen
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Mahler - 5th Symphony
Mahler's Fifth Symphony contains a huge emotional range, from funereal despair to exuberant joy. The main musical influences are explored in this concert, including works by Mendelssohn, Bizet, Bach and a waltz of sequence by one of the most popular songwriters of the day, Thomas Koschat. A number of Mahler's mature songs are performed, inhabiting the same musical worlds as the Symphony: brutal marches, quiet introspection and a love song to his young wife Alma. Mahler himself recorded the first movement of the Symphony on the piano, and the complete work will be performed in a new piano arrangement.
6 - Musical Revolutionaries
Schrammel - Wien bleibt Wien
Janacek – Piano Sonata
Strauss – Dance of the Seven Veils (Salome)
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Mahler - 6th Symphony
During the opening years of the 20th century, innovative and daring artists created works of revolutionary power. The pieces in this concert reflect the clash of the old stability with new radical ideas. Cheerful Viennese optimism is represented by a popular military march, contrasted with Janacek's tragic Piano Sonata, composed in protest at the oppression of the Czech people. Strauss's opera Salome was seen as dangerous and subversive and was banned in Vienna. The famous Dance of the Seven Veils performed here was recorded on the piano by Strauss himself. Mahler's Sixth Symphony is a tumultuous and turbulent work where the military march turns savage and violent. It is performed in a virtuoso arrangement for solo piano.
7 - The Popular and the Profound
Lehar – Merry Widow Waltzes
Liszt – Bagatelle sans tonalite
Zemlinsky – 2 piano pieces: Liebe, Albumblatt
Gustav Lange – Edelweiss
Josek Suk – Yearning (Spring)
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Mahler - 7th Symphony
In his Seventh Symphony, Mahler drew on the many different sounds of his contemporaries, as well as his own groundbreaking concept of symphonic construction. This concert features influential works from the 'serious' musical world of Liszt and Zemlinsky, to the salon and operetta sounds of Lehar and Lange. Their influence is made apparent in a piano arrangement of the Seventh Symphony, a work of character, power and intimacy.
8 - Female Pioneers
Clara Schumann – Souvenirs de Vienne
Mathilde Kralik - Rhapsodie
Lili Boulanger – 2 songs: Reflets, Dans l'immense tristesse
Alma Mahler – 4 songs: Laue Sommernacht, Licht in der Nacht, Erntelied, In meines Vaters Garten
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Amy Beach – 2 piano pieces: A Bit of Cairo, Out of the Depths
Rebecca Clarke – 3 songs: The Seal Man, June Twilight, Tiger
Florence Price – Fantasie Negre
Ethyl Smyth – Three Songs
Mahler's Eight Symphony concludes with a celebration of 'The Eternal Feminine' and was dedicated to his wife Alma. This concert features songs and piano music exclusively by female composers who were Mahler's near-contemporaries. The range of nationalities include British, French and American music, as well as Austro-German composers, all of whom were pioneers in their musical world. A wide range of music is performed, works of great variety, colour and beauty.
9 - Echoes of the East
Arensky – Etude on a Chinese theme
Satie – Trois Gnossiennes
Debussy – Pagodes
Ravel – Laideronette
Godowsky - Gamelan (Java Suite)
Busoni – Turandots Frauengemach
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Mahler - Das Lied von der Erde
European composers, artists and writers of the early 20th century were increasingly inspired by the exotic lure of the East. The music in this concert is influenced by the sights and sounds of Asia, reflecting the trend of the period. Mahler's song-symphony Das Lied von der Erde sets ancient Chinese texts, and inhabits a unique and personal sound-world. Performed with piano accompaniment, it is an intense and intimate musical experience.
10 - Old World Farewells
Johann Strauss II - Freut euch des Lebens
Schoenberg – Piano piece, Op. 11, No. 3
Berg – Piano Sonata
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Mahler - 9th Symphony
The city of Vienna before the First World War was one of the leading centres of radical modernism in music, art and science. Composers such as Arnold Schoenberg (an admirer and friend of Mahler) wrote music that pushed at the boundaries of traditional musical harmony. This concert presents two seminal piano works by Schoenberg and Berg, alongside a Strauss waltz that was to influence Mahler's own Ninth Symphony. The Symphony (the last Mahler was to complete) seems to bid farewell to life, as well as to the old style of music. It is performed in a piano arrangement highlighting both the Romantic and radical elements of the piece.
11 - New Beginnings
Korngold – Ball beim Marchenkonig
Schoenberg – Six Piano Pieces, Op. 19
Busoni – Berceuse
Wagner/Liszt – Liebestod
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Mahler - 10th Symphony
In the final concert of this series, several of Mahler's brilliant contemporaries are featured: the young prodigy Korngold, the trailblazer Schoenberg and the futurist Busoni. Wagner's music was always central to Mahler's work and was to influence his final piece, the Tenth Symphony. Although unfinished at the time of his death, Mahler's sketches for the Symphony provide a complete score, un-orchestrated and essentially in piano form. The Symphony is performed in a full piano version, a fitting and moving culmination to Mahler's output.
Mendelssohn – Song without words E minor, Op. 62, no. 3
Bizet – Adagietto
Bach – Prelude and Fugue in D major
Thomas Koschat – Am Worthersee
Mahler – 4 songs: Der Tambourgsell, Liebst du um Schonheit, Revelge, Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen
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Mahler - 5th Symphony
Mahler's Fifth Symphony contains a huge emotional range, from funereal despair to exuberant joy. The main musical influences are explored in this concert, including works by Mendelssohn, Bizet, Bach and a waltz of sequence by one of the most popular songwriters of the day, Thomas Koschat. A number of Mahler's mature songs are performed, inhabiting the same musical worlds as the Symphony: brutal marches, quiet introspection and a love song to his young wife Alma. Mahler himself recorded the first movement of the Symphony on the piano, and the complete work will be performed in a new piano arrangement.
6 - Musical Revolutionaries
Schrammel - Wien bleibt Wien
Janacek – Piano Sonata
Strauss – Dance of the Seven Veils (Salome)
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Mahler - 6th Symphony
During the opening years of the 20th century, innovative and daring artists created works of revolutionary power. The pieces in this concert reflect the clash of the old stability with new radical ideas. Cheerful Viennese optimism is represented by a popular military march, contrasted with Janacek's tragic Piano Sonata, composed in protest at the oppression of the Czech people. Strauss's opera Salome was seen as dangerous and subversive and was banned in Vienna. The famous Dance of the Seven Veils performed here was recorded on the piano by Strauss himself. Mahler's Sixth Symphony is a tumultuous and turbulent work where the military march turns savage and violent. It is performed in a virtuoso arrangement for solo piano.
7 - The Popular and the Profound
Lehar – Merry Widow Waltzes
Liszt – Bagatelle sans tonalite
Zemlinsky – 2 piano pieces: Liebe, Albumblatt
Gustav Lange – Edelweiss
Josek Suk – Yearning (Spring)
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Mahler - 7th Symphony
In his Seventh Symphony, Mahler drew on the many different sounds of his contemporaries, as well as his own groundbreaking concept of symphonic construction. This concert features influential works from the 'serious' musical world of Liszt and Zemlinsky, to the salon and operetta sounds of Lehar and Lange. Their influence is made apparent in a piano arrangement of the Seventh Symphony, a work of character, power and intimacy.
8 - Female Pioneers
Clara Schumann – Souvenirs de Vienne
Mathilde Kralik - Rhapsodie
Lili Boulanger – 2 songs: Reflets, Dans l'immense tristesse
Alma Mahler – 4 songs: Laue Sommernacht, Licht in der Nacht, Erntelied, In meines Vaters Garten
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Amy Beach – 2 piano pieces: A Bit of Cairo, Out of the Depths
Rebecca Clarke – 3 songs: The Seal Man, June Twilight, Tiger
Florence Price – Fantasie Negre
Ethyl Smyth – Three Songs
Mahler's Eight Symphony concludes with a celebration of 'The Eternal Feminine' and was dedicated to his wife Alma. This concert features songs and piano music exclusively by female composers who were Mahler's near-contemporaries. The range of nationalities include British, French and American music, as well as Austro-German composers, all of whom were pioneers in their musical world. A wide range of music is performed, works of great variety, colour and beauty.
9 - Echoes of the East
Arensky – Etude on a Chinese theme
Satie – Trois Gnossiennes
Debussy – Pagodes
Ravel – Laideronette
Godowsky - Gamelan (Java Suite)
Busoni – Turandots Frauengemach
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Mahler - Das Lied von der Erde
European composers, artists and writers of the early 20th century were increasingly inspired by the exotic lure of the East. The music in this concert is influenced by the sights and sounds of Asia, reflecting the trend of the period. Mahler's song-symphony Das Lied von der Erde sets ancient Chinese texts, and inhabits a unique and personal sound-world. Performed with piano accompaniment, it is an intense and intimate musical experience.
10 - Old World Farewells
Johann Strauss II - Freut euch des Lebens
Schoenberg – Piano piece, Op. 11, No. 3
Berg – Piano Sonata
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Mahler - 9th Symphony
The city of Vienna before the First World War was one of the leading centres of radical modernism in music, art and science. Composers such as Arnold Schoenberg (an admirer and friend of Mahler) wrote music that pushed at the boundaries of traditional musical harmony. This concert presents two seminal piano works by Schoenberg and Berg, alongside a Strauss waltz that was to influence Mahler's own Ninth Symphony. The Symphony (the last Mahler was to complete) seems to bid farewell to life, as well as to the old style of music. It is performed in a piano arrangement highlighting both the Romantic and radical elements of the piece.
11 - New Beginnings
Korngold – Ball beim Marchenkonig
Schoenberg – Six Piano Pieces, Op. 19
Busoni – Berceuse
Wagner/Liszt – Liebestod
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Mahler - 10th Symphony
In the final concert of this series, several of Mahler's brilliant contemporaries are featured: the young prodigy Korngold, the trailblazer Schoenberg and the futurist Busoni. Wagner's music was always central to Mahler's work and was to influence his final piece, the Tenth Symphony. Although unfinished at the time of his death, Mahler's sketches for the Symphony provide a complete score, un-orchestrated and essentially in piano form. The Symphony is performed in a full piano version, a fitting and moving culmination to Mahler's output.