A simpler time. A Mahler time.

Lately I've been involved in the conscious, careful, explicit design of mathematical arguments. Also lately I've been listening to a lot of Mahler, which is kind of funny, because I think Mahler is a composer who could have benefitted from a little more conscious design in his compositions.

Well, I'm taking this opportunity to be a little Mahlerian, a little more relaxed. Basically, I'm just going to give some opinions, and not even pretend to justify them. And what will I give opinions about? Well naturally, Mahler.

Below I'm just going to list what I think about Mahler's nine symphonies, and few song cycles. The purpose of this list is just to provide a snapshot of my feelings for Mahler, right now.

Symphony no. 1

Overall, I think a strong symphony, and a young symphony, compared to all the rest. I think without question the middle two movements are the most successful for me. The first movement is ranked slightly below in my mind, simply because I don't think the dramatic flow holds up well over such a long movement. The fourth movement is the worst in this respect, as it is even longer and even less coherent. This last movement is one of the quintessential examples in my mind of the "Mahler long-form" . I think he was successful in constructing these forms very infrequently.

Symphony no. 2

Possibly his strongest symphony, taken as a whole, with the exception of Symphony no. 9 (see below). Again, the middle, more "characteristic" movements are the strongest. The third and fourth movements are basically songs from Des Knaben Wunderhorn. The fourth, Urlicht, is the most beautiful and most successful. The third is pretty sprawling, and I think I prefer the original song. The first movement is a long-form, but I think one of his most successful; very cohesive. On the other hand, the last movement is powerful, but too rambling for my tastes. Though the final chorus has brought me to tears on a number of occasions.

Symphony no. 3

Overall, not a very cohesive effort, in my opinion. The second and third movements are the most successful; the first hundred bars or so of the second movement are breathtakingly orchestrated. The first movement is a disappointment: it has tremendous musical content, but fails to be dramatically effective. The fourth is too static for my tastes. I am reminded of Der Einsame im Herbst from Das Lied von der Erde, but not yet matured. The fifth movement is too simple to be effective. It sounds pleasant enough, but is not engaging. And the last movement, which everyone just cums their pants over, is, like the fourth movement, an example of an immature effort. It's like the last movement of Symphony no. 9, without the weight.

Symphony no. 4

People call the first movement very "classical". I like its ideas, but I find it to be long-winded. I am not very familiar with the middle two movements, as I have only heard them a handful of times, but they don't grab me in any particular way. The last movement is like a rewrite of parts of Symphony No. 3! It is charming, but again, hasn't grabbed me.

Symphony no. 5

This is another one of those "Mahler favorites". I'm not very familiar with this symphony, but I have been rather unimpressed by each of its movements every time I hear them.

Symphony no. 6

The first movement is one of Mahler's most effective long-forms. It is brutal and gentle in turns, but very coherent nonetheless. The fourth movement on the other hand is one of his sprawling, less effective long-forms. As for the middle movements, the Scherzo is nice, but I have never had any special connection to it. The Andante moderato is one of the most glorious symphonic works I have ever heard.

Symphony no. 7

Another symphony I am not very familiar with. Its opening bars are very effective, but honestly beyond that nothing else has made an impression on me.

Symphony no. 8

I have listened to this symphony many many times, yet due to its sheer size I am still not very familiar with it. Perhaps also for this reason I have had a real problem connecting to it. It doesn't really feel coherent at any part, and is not dramatically effective for me. But really, with a symphony of this size, how can I tell?

Das Lied von der Erde

Probably my favorite composition by Mahler. Yet I don't even know what to say about it. I loved it the first time I listened to it --after struggling hard with Symphony no. 2-- , and I have loved it ever since.

Symphony no. 9

Mahler's finest symphony, not counting Das Lied von der Erde, hands down. It is musically the most beautiful, coherent, dramatic, effective, and innovative. There really is nothing much more to say about it: The first movement is his finest long-form, as if Mahler had finally learned that you don't need to yoke together drastically different material to make a long movement interesting. The middle two movements are rhythmically and harmonically exhilarating. And the final movement is sublime.

Symphony no. 10, first movement

Honestly, I don't even think I've heard the whole movement once through. It sounds nice though, like basically another movement of Symphony no. 9.

Des Knaben Wunderhorn

This is hands down my favorite Mahler song cycle, not counting Das Lied von der Erde. It's youthful, but each of the songs is particularly rich. Marc Gelfo and I planned to play these in transcription for harpischord and melodica. It'll happen.

Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen

Nice, youthful, but not particularly rich. I prefer the second song in its "reincarnation" as the first movement of Symphony no. 1. The last song, Die zwei blauen Augen, is pretty great.

Ruckertlieder; Kindertotenlieder

I'm less familiar with these, although I've listened to the former quite a bit without enjoying them.

Well, that was fun!