Symphony No. 3 (Mahler)
Encyclopedia
The Symphony No. 3 by Gustav Mahler
was written between 1893 and 1896. It is his longest piece and is the longest symphony in the standard repertoire, with a typical performance lasting around ninety to one hundred minutes.
The first movement alone, with a normal duration of a little more than thirty minutes, sometimes forty, forms the first part of the symphony. The second part consists of the other five movements and has a duration of about sixty to seventy minutes.
As with each of his first four symphonies, Mahler originally provided a programme of sorts to explain the narrative of the piece. In the third symphony this took the form of titles for each movement:
All these titles were dropped before publication in 1898.
There was originally a seventh movement, "What the Child Tells Me", but this was eventually dropped, becoming instead the last movement of the Symphony No. 4
.
The symphony, particularly due to the extensive number of movements and their marked differences in character and construction, is a unique work. The opening movement, colossal in its conception (much like the symphony itself), roughly takes the shape of sonata form, insofar as there is an alternating presentation of two theme groups; however, the themes are varied and developed with each presentation, and the typical harmonic logic of the sonata form movement—particularly the tonic statement of second theme group material in the recapitulation—is changed. The opening gathers itself slowly into a rousing orchestral march. A solo tenor trombone passage states a bold (secondary) melody that is developed and transformed in its recurrences. At the apparent conclusion of the development, several solo snare drums "in a high gallery
" play a rhythmic passage lasting about thirty seconds and the opening passage by eight horns is repeated almost exactly.
As described above, Mahler dedicated the second movement to "the flowers on the meadow". In contrast to the violent forces of the first movement, it starts as a graceful Menuet, but also features stormier episodes.
The third movement, a scherzo
, with alternating sections in 2/4 and 6/8 metre, quotes extensively from Mahler's early song "Ablösung im Sommer" (Relief in Summer). In the trio
section, a complete mood changes from playful to contemplative occurs with an off-stage post horn (or flugelhorn) solo. The reprise
of the scherzo music is unusual, as it is interrupted several times by the post-horn melody.
At this point, in the sparsely instrumentated fourth movement, we hear an alto solo singing a setting of Friedrich Nietzsche
's "Midnight Song" from Also sprach Zarathustra ("O Mensch! Gib acht!" ("O man! Take heed!")), with thematic material from the first movement woven into it.
The cheerful fifth movement, "Es sungen drei Engel", is one of Mahler's Des Knaben Wunderhorn songs, (whose text itself is loosely based on a 17th century church hymn, which Paul Hindemith
later used in its original form in his Symphony "Mathis der Maler") about the redemption of sins and comfort in belief. Here, a children's choir
imitating bells and a female chorus join the alto solo.
Of the great finale, Bruno Walter
wrote, “In the last movement, words are stilled—for what language
can utter heavenly love more powerfully and forcefully than music itself? The Adagio, with its broad, solemn
melodic line, is, as a whole—and despite passages of burning pain—eloquent of comfort and grace. It is a
single sound of heartfelt and exalted feelings, in which the whole giant structure finds its culmination.”
The movement begins very softly with a broad D-major chorale melody, which slowly builds to a loud and majestic conclusion culminating on repeated D major chords with bold statements on the timpani.
, a viola player, during the time period when he composed this third symphony. The structure and content was not revealed by Mahler to the public but he informed Bauer-Lechner about it. She kept a private journal on what he stated about this third symphony. Mahler said, "You couldn't imagine how this will sound!"
l forces consisting of the following:
Woodwinds
:
Brass
:
Percussion
:
Voices (on stage):
"In the distance
":
"In a high gallery
":
Strings
"Very large complements of all strings":
1The 2 Glockenspiel parts may be played by two percussionists on one instrument. Today's mallet technique allows the part to be performed by one player holding two mallets in each hand.
's Also sprach Zarathustra
: the "Midnight Song"
The symphony is sometimes described as being in the key of 'D minor'; the 'New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians', however, represents the progressive tonal scheme by labelling the work's tonality as 'd/F--D'
When it is performed, a short interval is sometimes taken between the first movement (which alone lasts around half an hour) and the rest of the piece. This is in agreement with the manuscript copy of the full score (held in the Pierpont Morgan Library, New York), where the end of the first movement carries the inscription Folgt eine lange Pause! ('there follows a long pause'). The inscription is not found in the score as published.
The final movement was used as background music in one episode of the 1984 television
series, "Call to Glory
" and on an episode of the BBC
's 'Coast' programme, during a description of the history of HMS Temeraire. It also served as background music (in full length) during the "Allegory" segment of the Athens
2004 Summer Olympics
opening ceremony
cultural show.
A section from the Fourth Movement 'Midnight Song' features in Luchino Visconti
's 1971 film Death in Venice
, where it is presented as the music Gustav von Aschenbach composes before he dies.
The second movement was arranged
by Benjamin Britten
in 1941 for a smaller orchestra. This version was published by Boosey & Hawkes
as What the wild flowers tell me in 1950.
The Adagio movement is being arranged by Yoon Jae Lee in 2011 for a smaller orchestra. This version will be premiered by Ensemble212 with Lee as conductor in New York on the eve of the 10th anniversary of 9/11.
The 1947 UK premiere was not recorded by the BBC, but an off-air recording was made on acetate discs. These were transferred complete onto CD in 2008 and now represent the earliest extant recording of Mahler's Third Symphony.
Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...
was written between 1893 and 1896. It is his longest piece and is the longest symphony in the standard repertoire, with a typical performance lasting around ninety to one hundred minutes.
Structure
In its final form, the work has six movements:- Kräftig. Entschieden (Strong and decisive) [D minor to F major]
- Tempo di Menuetto (In the tempo of a minuetMinuetA minuet, also spelled menuet, is a social dance of French origin for two people, usually in 3/4 time. The word was adapted from Italian minuetto and French menuet, and may have been from French menu meaning slender, small, referring to the very small steps, or from the early 17th-century popular...
) [A major] - Comodo (Scherzando) (Comfortably, like a scherzoScherzoA scherzo is a piece of music, often a movement from a larger piece such as a symphony or a sonata. The scherzo's precise definition has varied over the years, but it often refers to a movement which replaces the minuet as the third movement in a four-movement work, such as a symphony, sonata, or...
) [C minor to C major] - Sehr langsam—Misterioso (Very slowly, mysteriously)
- Lustig im Tempo und keck im Ausdruck (Cheerful in tempo and cheeky in expression) [F major]
- Langsam—Ruhevoll—Empfunden (Slowly, tranquil, deeply felt) [D major]
The first movement alone, with a normal duration of a little more than thirty minutes, sometimes forty, forms the first part of the symphony. The second part consists of the other five movements and has a duration of about sixty to seventy minutes.
As with each of his first four symphonies, Mahler originally provided a programme of sorts to explain the narrative of the piece. In the third symphony this took the form of titles for each movement:
- "Pan Awakes, Summer Marches In"
- "What the Flowers on the Meadow Tell Me"
- "What the Animals in the Forest Tell Me"
- "What Man Tells Me"
- "What the Angels Tell Me"
- "What Love Tells Me"
All these titles were dropped before publication in 1898.
There was originally a seventh movement, "What the Child Tells Me", but this was eventually dropped, becoming instead the last movement of the Symphony No. 4
Symphony No. 4 (Mahler)
The Symphony No. 4 by Gustav Mahler was written between 1899 and 1901, though it incorporates a song originally written in 1892. The song, "Das himmlische Leben", presents a child's vision of Heaven. It is sung by a soprano in the work's fourth and last movement...
.
The symphony, particularly due to the extensive number of movements and their marked differences in character and construction, is a unique work. The opening movement, colossal in its conception (much like the symphony itself), roughly takes the shape of sonata form, insofar as there is an alternating presentation of two theme groups; however, the themes are varied and developed with each presentation, and the typical harmonic logic of the sonata form movement—particularly the tonic statement of second theme group material in the recapitulation—is changed. The opening gathers itself slowly into a rousing orchestral march. A solo tenor trombone passage states a bold (secondary) melody that is developed and transformed in its recurrences. At the apparent conclusion of the development, several solo snare drums "in a high gallery
Offstage brass and percussion
An offstage brass and percussion part is a sound effect used in Classical music, which is created by having one or more trumpet players , horn players, or percussionists from a symphony orchestra or opera orchestra play a note, melody, or rhythm from behind the stage...
" play a rhythmic passage lasting about thirty seconds and the opening passage by eight horns is repeated almost exactly.
As described above, Mahler dedicated the second movement to "the flowers on the meadow". In contrast to the violent forces of the first movement, it starts as a graceful Menuet, but also features stormier episodes.
The third movement, a scherzo
Scherzo
A scherzo is a piece of music, often a movement from a larger piece such as a symphony or a sonata. The scherzo's precise definition has varied over the years, but it often refers to a movement which replaces the minuet as the third movement in a four-movement work, such as a symphony, sonata, or...
, with alternating sections in 2/4 and 6/8 metre, quotes extensively from Mahler's early song "Ablösung im Sommer" (Relief in Summer). In the trio
Trio
- Musical ensembles and forms :*Trio , three people performing music in some way*Piano trio *String trio *Trio *Clarinet-violin-piano trio...
section, a complete mood changes from playful to contemplative occurs with an off-stage post horn (or flugelhorn) solo. The reprise
Reprise
Reprise is a fundamental device in the history of art. In literature, a reprise consists of the rewriting of another work; in music, a reprise is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the...
of the scherzo music is unusual, as it is interrupted several times by the post-horn melody.
At this point, in the sparsely instrumentated fourth movement, we hear an alto solo singing a setting of Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a 19th-century German philosopher, poet, composer and classical philologist...
's "Midnight Song" from Also sprach Zarathustra ("O Mensch! Gib acht!" ("O man! Take heed!")), with thematic material from the first movement woven into it.
The cheerful fifth movement, "Es sungen drei Engel", is one of Mahler's Des Knaben Wunderhorn songs, (whose text itself is loosely based on a 17th century church hymn, which Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith was a German composer, violist, violinist, teacher, music theorist and conductor.- Biography :Born in Hanau, near Frankfurt, Hindemith was taught the violin as a child...
later used in its original form in his Symphony "Mathis der Maler") about the redemption of sins and comfort in belief. Here, a children's choir
Boys' choir
A boys' choir is a choir primarily made up of choirboys who have yet to begin puberty or are in the early to middle stages of puberty and so retain their more highly pitched childhood voice type...
imitating bells and a female chorus join the alto solo.
Of the great finale, Bruno Walter
Bruno Walter
Bruno Walter was a German-born conductor. He is considered one of the best known conductors of the 20th century. Walter was born in Berlin, but is known to have lived in several countries between 1933 and 1939, before finally settling in the United States in 1939...
wrote, “In the last movement, words are stilled—for what language
can utter heavenly love more powerfully and forcefully than music itself? The Adagio, with its broad, solemn
melodic line, is, as a whole—and despite passages of burning pain—eloquent of comfort and grace. It is a
single sound of heartfelt and exalted feelings, in which the whole giant structure finds its culmination.”
The movement begins very softly with a broad D-major chorale melody, which slowly builds to a loud and majestic conclusion culminating on repeated D major chords with bold statements on the timpani.
Natalie Bauer-Lechner
Mahler was well acquainted with Natalie Bauer-LechnerNatalie Bauer-Lechner
Natalie Bauer-Lechner was a viola-player who is best known to musicology for having been a close and devoted friend of Gustav Mahler in the period between the break-up of her marriage in 1890 and the start of his to Alma Schindler in 1902...
, a viola player, during the time period when he composed this third symphony. The structure and content was not revealed by Mahler to the public but he informed Bauer-Lechner about it. She kept a private journal on what he stated about this third symphony. Mahler said, "You couldn't imagine how this will sound!"
Instrumentation
As is usual practice for Mahler, the symphony is written for large orchestraOrchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
l forces consisting of the following:
Woodwinds
Woodwind instrument
A woodwind instrument is a musical instrument which produces sound when the player blows air against a sharp edge or through a reed, causing the air within its resonator to vibrate...
:
- 4 FluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
s (all 4 doubling PiccoloPiccoloThe piccolo is a half-size flute, and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. The piccolo has the same fingerings as its larger sibling, the standard transverse flute, but the sound it produces is an octave higher than written...
s) - 4 OboeOboeThe oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
s (Ob. 4 doubling Cor anglaisCor anglaisThe cor anglais , or English horn , is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family....
) - 3 ClarinetClarinetThe clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
s in B-flat, A (Cl. 3 doubling Bass ClarinetBass clarinetThe bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B , but it plays notes an octave below the soprano B clarinet...
) - 2 E-flat clarinetE-flat clarinetThe E-flat clarinet is a member of the clarinet family. It is usually classed as a soprano clarinet, although some authors describe it as a "sopranino" or even "piccolo" clarinet. Smaller in size and higher in pitch than the more common B clarinet, it is a transposing instrument in E, sounding a...
s (E-flat Cl. 2 doubling B-flat Cl. 4) (E-flat Cl. 1 reinforced in fifth movement when possible) - 4 BassoonBassoonThe bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
s (Bsn. 4 doubling ContrabassoonContrabassoonThe contrabassoon, also known as the double bassoon or double-bassoon, is a larger version of the bassoon, sounding an octave lower...
)
Brass
Brass instrument
A brass instrument is a musical instrument whose sound is produced by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips...
:
- 8 Horns in F
- 4 TrumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s in F, B-flat (if possible 2 extra high trumpets for reinforcement) - 4 TromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
s - TubaTubaThe tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
Percussion
Percussion instrument
A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
:
- TimpaniTimpaniTimpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
(2 players) - Bass DrumBass drumBass drums are percussion instruments that can vary in size and are used in several musical genres. Three major types of bass drums can be distinguished. The type usually seen or heard in orchestral, ensemble or concert band music is the orchestral, or concert bass drum . It is the largest drum of...
- Snare DrumSnare drumThe snare drum or side drum is a melodic percussion instrument with strands of snares made of curled metal wire, metal cable, plastic cable, or gut cords stretched across the drumhead, typically the bottom. Pipe and tabor and some military snare drums often have a second set of snares on the bottom...
- CymbalCymbalCymbals are a common percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture. The greater majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a...
s - TambourineTambourineThe tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....
- Tam-tam
- TriangleTriangle (instrument)The triangle is an idiophone type of musical instrument in the percussion family. It is a bar of metal, usually steel but sometimes other metals like beryllium copper, bent into a triangle shape. The instrument is usually held by a loop of some form of thread or wire at the top curve...
- RuteRute (music)The rute is a beater for drums. Commercially-made rutes are usually made of a bundle of thin birch dowels or thin canes attached to a drumstick handle. These often have a movable band to adjust how tightly the dowels are bound toward the tip. A rute may also be made of a bundle of twigs attached...
or "Switch" - 2 GlockenspielGlockenspielA glockenspiel is a percussion instrument composed of a set of tuned keys arranged in the fashion of the keyboard of a piano. In this way, it is similar to the xylophone; however, the xylophone's bars are made of wood, while the glockenspiel's are metal plates or tubes, and making it a metallophone...
s1
Voices (on stage):
- AltoAltoAlto is a musical term, derived from the Latin word altus, meaning "high" in Italian, that has several possible interpretations.When designating instruments, "alto" frequently refers to a member of an instrumental family that has the second highest range, below that of the treble or soprano. Hence,...
soloSolo (music)In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
(used in fourth and fifth movements)
"In the distance
Offstage brass and percussion
An offstage brass and percussion part is a sound effect used in Classical music, which is created by having one or more trumpet players , horn players, or percussionists from a symphony orchestra or opera orchestra play a note, melody, or rhythm from behind the stage...
":
- Post hornPost hornThe post horn is a valveless cylindrical brass or copper instrument with cupped mouthpiece, used to signal the arrival or departure of a post rider or mail coach...
in B-flat (sometimes substituted by a FlugelhornFlugelhornThe flugelhorn is a brass instrument resembling a trumpet but with a wider, conical bore. Some consider it to be a member of the saxhorn family developed by Adolphe Sax ; however, other historians assert that it derives from the valve bugle designed by Michael Saurle , Munich 1832 , thus...
) (used in third movement) - Several Snare Drums (used in first movement)
"In a high gallery
Offstage brass and percussion
An offstage brass and percussion part is a sound effect used in Classical music, which is created by having one or more trumpet players , horn players, or percussionists from a symphony orchestra or opera orchestra play a note, melody, or rhythm from behind the stage...
":
- Four to six Tuned Bells (or Tubular BellsTubular bellTubular bells are musical instruments in the percussion family. Each bell is a metal tube, 30–38 mm in diameter, tuned by altering its length. Its standard range is from C4-F5, though many professional instruments reach G5 . Tubular bells are often replaced by studio chimes, which are a smaller...
) (used in fifth movement) - Women's ChoirChoirA choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
(used in fifth movement) - Boys' Choir (used in fifth movement)
Strings
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
- 2 harpHarpThe harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
s
"Very large complements of all strings":
- ViolinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
s I, II - ViolaViolaThe viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
s - Violoncellos
- Double bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
es (Some with low C extensions)
1The 2 Glockenspiel parts may be played by two percussionists on one instrument. Today's mallet technique allows the part to be performed by one player holding two mallets in each hand.
Fourth movement
Text from Friedrich NietzscheFriedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a 19th-century German philosopher, poet, composer and classical philologist...
's Also sprach Zarathustra
Thus Spoke Zarathustra
Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for All and None is a philosophical novel by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, composed in four parts between 1883 and 1885...
: the "Midnight Song"
|
|
Fifth movement
Text from Des Knaben WunderhornDes Knaben Wunderhorn
Des Knaben Wunderhorn is a collection of German folk poems edited by Achim von Arnim and Clemens Brentano, and published in Heidelberg, in the Grand Duchy of Baden, between 1805 and 1808...
|
|
Tonality
The symphony's first movement begins in D minor, but by its end has defined relative F major as its tonic; and the finale concludes in D major, as would be expected. Throughout the work, traditional tonality is employed in a creative and original manner, but always logical in its ends.The symphony is sometimes described as being in the key of 'D minor'; the 'New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians', however, represents the progressive tonal scheme by labelling the work's tonality as 'd/F--D'
Performance
The piece is performed in concert less frequently than Mahler's other symphonies, due in part to its great length and the huge forces required. Despite this, it is a popular work and has been recorded by most major orchestras and conductors.When it is performed, a short interval is sometimes taken between the first movement (which alone lasts around half an hour) and the rest of the piece. This is in agreement with the manuscript copy of the full score (held in the Pierpont Morgan Library, New York), where the end of the first movement carries the inscription Folgt eine lange Pause! ('there follows a long pause'). The inscription is not found in the score as published.
The final movement was used as background music in one episode of the 1984 television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
series, "Call to Glory
Call to Glory
Call to Glory was an American television series that aired 23 episodes during the 1984-1985 TV season on the ABC-TV network. Starring Craig T. Nelson as a USAF pilot, Colonel Raynor Sarnac. In the course of its production run, it drifted away from its original reasonably authentic setting and...
" and on an episode of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's 'Coast' programme, during a description of the history of HMS Temeraire. It also served as background music (in full length) during the "Allegory" segment of the Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
2004 Summer Olympics
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
opening ceremony
2004 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony
The Opening Ceremony of the 2004 Summer Olympic Games was held on August 13, 2004 at the Olympic Stadium in Maroussi, Greece, a suburb of Athens. 72,000 spectators attended the event, with approximately 15,000 athletes from 202 countries participating in the ceremony as well...
cultural show.
A section from the Fourth Movement 'Midnight Song' features in Luchino Visconti
Luchino Visconti
Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo was an Italian theatre, opera and cinema director, as well as a screenwriter. He is best known for his films The Leopard and Death in Venice .-Life:...
's 1971 film Death in Venice
Death in Venice (film)
Death in Venice is a 1971 film directed by Luchino Visconti and starring Dirk Bogarde and Björn Andrésen. The film is based on the novella Death in Venice by Thomas Mann.-Plot:...
, where it is presented as the music Gustav von Aschenbach composes before he dies.
The second movement was arranged
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
by Benjamin Britten
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
in 1941 for a smaller orchestra. This version was published by Boosey & Hawkes
Boosey & Hawkes
Boosey & Hawkes is a British music publisher purported to be the largest specialist classical music publisher in the world. Until 2003, it was also a major manufacturer of brass, string and wind musical instruments....
as What the wild flowers tell me in 1950.
The Adagio movement is being arranged by Yoon Jae Lee in 2011 for a smaller orchestra. This version will be premiered by Ensemble212 with Lee as conductor in New York on the eve of the 10th anniversary of 9/11.
Premieres
- Premiere of second, third and sixth movements only: 1897, BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, conducted by Felix WeingartnerFelix WeingartnerPaul Felix von Weingartner, Edler von Münzberg was an Austrian conductor, composer and pianist.-Biography:...
. - Premiere of the complete symphony: June 9, 1902, KrefeldKrefeldKrefeld , also known as Crefeld until 1929, is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, its centre lying just a few kilometres to the west of the River Rhine; the borough of Uerdingen is situated directly on the Rhine...
, conducted by the composer. - Dutch premiere: October 17, 1903 in ArnhemArnhemArnhem is a city and municipality, situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland and located near the river Nederrijn as well as near the St. Jansbeek, which was the source of the city's development. Arnhem has 146,095 residents as one of the...
, five days later the composer himself conducted the AmsterdamAmsterdamAmsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
premiere with the Concertgebouw Orchestra. - AmericanUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
premiere: May 9, 1914 at the Cincinnati May Festival conducted by Ernst KunwaldErnst KunwaldErnst Kunwald was an Austrian conductor.Ernst Kunwald was born and died in Vienna. He studied law at the University of Vienna, earning his Dr. Juris in 1891. He also studied piano with Teodor Leszetycki and composition with Hermann Graedener... - New York PhilharmonicNew York PhilharmonicThe New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
premiere: February 28, 1922, New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, conducted by Willem MengelbergWillem MengelbergJoseph Willem Mengelberg was a Dutch conductor, famous for his performances of Mahler and Strauss with the Concertgebouw Orchestra.- Biography :...
. - United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
premiere (BBC broadcast): November 29, 1947, BBC Symphony OrchestraBBC Symphony OrchestraThe BBC Symphony Orchestra is the principal broadcast orchestra of the British Broadcasting Corporation and one of the leading orchestras in Britain.-History:...
conducted by Adrian BoultAdrian BoultSir Adrian Cedric Boult CH was an English conductor. Brought up in a prosperous mercantile family he followed musical studies in England and at Leipzig, Germany, with early conducting work in London for the Royal Opera House and Sergei Diaghilev's ballet company. His first prominent post was...
.- UK first live public performance, February 28, 1961, St Pancras Town Hall, conducted by Bryan FairfaxBryan FairfaxBryan Fairfax is a retired Australian conductor based in the United Kingdom, who is known for his championing of little known or neglected works....
- UK first live public performance, February 28, 1961, St Pancras Town Hall, conducted by Bryan Fairfax
- First radio studio recording: Hermann Scherchen, Hilde Rössl-Majdan (contralto), choirs, Vienna SymphonyOrchestra, 1950.
- Commercial recording premiere: F. Charles AdlerFrederick Charles AdlerFrederick Charles Adler was an English-German conductor....
, Hilde Rössl-Majdan (contralto), choirs, Vienna Symphony OrchestraVienna Symphony Orchestra-History:In 1900, Ferdinand Löwe founded the orchestra as the Wiener Concertverein . In 1913 it moved into the Konzerthaus, Vienna. In 1919 it merged with the Tonkünstler Orchestra. In 1933 it acquired its current name...
, 1951. - SingaporeSingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
premiere: January 26, 2008, Singapore Symphony OrchestraSingapore Symphony OrchestraThe Singapore Symphony Orchestra is a 96 members professional symphony orchestra. Its main performing venue is the Esplanade Concert Hall in Singapore although it has also toured widely in Asia, Europe and the United States...
conducted by Lan ShuiLan ShuiLan Shui is a Chinese-American conductor and currently holds the post as Music Director of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Principal Conductor of Copenhagen Philharmonic and Principal Guest Conductor of Denmark's Aalborg Symphony.-Early life and career:...
. - ThailandThailandThailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
premiere: July 21, 2010, Mahisorn Hall, Bangkok, Siam Philharmonic OrchestraSiam Philharmonic Orchestrathumb|right|580px|Siam Philharmonic Orchestra during its 2004 Singapore tourThe Siam Philharmonic Orchestra was founded in 2002 in Bangkok, Thailand, under the name "Mifa Sinfonietta". At that time it was a small chamber ensemble devoted to bringing the discipline of the classical style to...
conducted by Somtow Sucharitkul
The 1947 UK premiere was not recorded by the BBC, but an off-air recording was made on acetate discs. These were transferred complete onto CD in 2008 and now represent the earliest extant recording of Mahler's Third Symphony.