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Mahler · Gustav Mahler

Mahler Symphony No. 9 in D major

He tried to avoid the "curse of the Ninth," but...

Key
D major
Composed
1909
Premiere
1912 Vienna
Duration
About 80 min
Movements
4 movements
Instrumentation
Woodwinds 5·4·5·4 (including piccolo, English horn, E♭ clarinet, bass clarinet, contrabassoon) · Brass 4·3·3·1 · Timpani · Percussion (bass drum, snare drum, cymbals, triangle, tam-tam, low bells ×3, glockenspiel) · Harps 2 · Strings

The story behind this piece

There was a superstition that Beethoven, Schubert, and Bruckner all failed to get past their ninth symphonies. Mahler shied away from it, and he didn't number the work after his Eighth, calling it only 'Das Lied von der Erde' (The Song of the Earth). Only after that did he take on a 'Ninth.'

He began sketching in the summer of 1908 at the resort of Toblach and finished in the summer of 1909. But Mahler died in May 1911 and never heard the work. The premiere took place in Vienna on June 26, 1912, with his student Bruno Walter conducting the Vienna Philharmonic.

Leonard Bernstein interpreted the hesitant, off-beat rhythm at the start of the first movement as a picture of Mahler's irregular heartbeat. It's only an interpretation, but it's fun to keep in mind as you listen. The piece ends so quietly it is almost inaudible, marked 'ersterbend' (dying away).

What to listen for

  • Opening of movement 1: Listen for the hesitant, off-beat rhythm. It's the part Bernstein heard as a 'heartbeat.'
  • Movement 1: A melody from Johann Strauss II's waltz 'Freut euch des Lebens' (Enjoy Life) is quoted in passing.
  • End of movement 4: The strings gradually fade away. For the last few minutes, even the audience holds its breath.

Listen · Score

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