Solti
Kubelik
I. Langsam, schleppend, Immer sehr gemächlich – D major
II. Kräftig bewegt, doch nicht zu schnell, Recht gemächlich – A major
III. Feierlich und gemessen, ohne zu schleppen, Sehr einfach und schlicht wie eine Volksweise, Wieder etwas bewegter, wie im Anfang – D minor
IV. Stürmisch bewegt – Energisch – F minor, D major
Instruments:
- 4 flutes (3rd and 4th doubling piccolos, 2nd doubling piccolo in movements 1 and 4 briefly), 4 oboes (3rd doubling cor anglais), 3 B♭, A, C clarinets (3rd doubling bass clarinet and E♭ clarinet), E♭ clarinet (doubling 4th B♭ clarinet in movement 3 briefly, “doubled at least” in movement 4), 3 bassoons (3rd doubling contrabassoon)
- 7 horns, 5 trumpets (5th used only in movement 4), 4 trombones (4th used only in movement 4), tuba
- 6 timpani (two players), bass drum (with a cymbal attached to be struck by the same player in movement 3), cymbals, triangle, tam-tam
- Strings
- harp
There is music in this symphony from earlier in his life:
Ironically this symphony was described by Mahler through the first two performances as a symphonic tone poem. In addition, the nickname, “Titan”, was only used by Mahler in very early performances, but the nickname stuck. The symphony did not reach its eventual four-movement form until 1896.
First movement:
Langsam, schleppend (Slowly, dragging) Immer sehr gemächlich (very restrained throughout) – D major: It start out with bird calls and nature sounds, very peacefully, then just develops very naturally.
Second movement:
Kräftig bewegt, doch nicht zu schnell (Moving strongly, but not too quickly), Recht gemächlich (restrained), a Trio—a Ländler – A major: The second movement is a modified minuet and trio. Mahler replaces the minuet with a ländler, a dance-form that came befor the Viennese waltz.
Third movement:
Feierlich und gemessen, ohne zu schleppen (Solemnly and measured, without dragging), Sehr einfach und schlicht wie eine Volksweise (very simple, like a folk-tune), and Wieder etwas bewegter, wie im Anfang (once again somewhat more agitated, as at the start) – D minor: It has A–B–A structure. A woodcut by Moritz von Schwind called “The Hunter’s Funeral” was possibly the inspiration for this movement. It’s a funeral march based on “Frère Jacques”, and surprisingly this tune used to be in minor, as Mahler presented it. I assume when the world first heard this it was like nothing they had every experienced before.
Fourth movement:
Stürmisch bewegt – Energisch (Stormily agitated – Energetic) F minor → D major: Moving from D minor to F# minor is a double morph. D goes to C#, and F goes to F#. It’s a powerful change, very modern, and suddenly he’s in a totally new key. This is very unusual. He eventually gets back to his key – D major – and as Beethoven did in his 9th symphony. He binds the whole symphony together by referring to the last movement in the first, then referring to other movements throughout. This glues the whole thing together. Essentially he brings in a lyrical theme, then finished up with a huge climax, which turns out to be a fake, because he winds down, repeats the lyrical theme, then builds up a second time to an even bigger climax. The whole symphony is nearly an hour long, very long at that time, but because the structure is so tight and the drama so well paced that to me it feels much shorter. I never feel like this is too long. I’m always a bit sad when it’s over.