Mahler's Seventh Symphony

Description

Gustav Mahler's Seventh Symphony stands out as one of the most provocative symphonic statements of the early twentieth century. Throughout its performance history, it has often been heard as "existing in the shadow" of the Sixth Symphony or as "too reminiscent" of Richard Wagner's opera Die Meistersinger von N�rnberg. Anna Stoll Knecht's Mahler's Seventh Symphony offers a new interpretation of the Seventh based on a detailed study of Mahler's compositional materials and a close reading of the finished work. With a focus on sketches previously considered as "discarded," Stoll Knecht exposes unexpected connections between the Seventh and both the Sixth and Meistersinger, confirming that Mahler's compositional project was firmly grounded in a dialogue with works from the past. This referential aspect acts as an important interpretive key to the work, enabling the first thorough analysis of the sketches and drafts for the Seventh, and shedding light on its complex compositional history. Considering each movement of the symphony through a double perspective, genetic and analytic, Stoll Knecht demonstrates how sketch studies and analytical approaches can interact with each other. Mahler's Seventh Symphony exposes new facets of Mahler's musical humor and leads us to rethink much-debated issues concerning the composer's cultural identity, revealing the Seventh's pivotal role within his output. Cover Series Mahler’s Seventh Symphony Copyright Dedication Contents Series Editor’s Foreword Acknowledgments Note on Sources About the Companion Website List of Abbreviations Introduction 1. Premiere and Reception Premiere Reception The “Problems” of the Seventh 2. Structure, Interpretation, and Genesis Structure Main Interpretive Leads Genesis 3. Compositional History Autobiographical and Biographical Evidence Musical Evidence 4. Rondo-​Finale Form and Content Interpretive Views 5. Genesis of the Rondo-​Finale The Vienna Sketchbook and the Moldenhauer Sketches The Paris Sketchbook Leaves and the Moldenhauer  Sketches Other Sketches and Drafts for the Finale 6. Nachtmusiken The First Nachtmusik The Second Nachtmusik 7. Scherzo Dancing Death (“Der Teufel tantz es mit mir”) Structure Sketches and Drafts Walpurgis Night 8. First Movement Beginning of the Seventh Form and Content Sketches and Drafts (Auto)biography, Genesis, and Interpretation 9. Die Meistersinger in the Seventh Symphony The Meistersinger References in the Finale Quartal Harmony in the Seventh and Meistersinger Preliminary Sketches in the Vienna Sketchbook E minor to C major: From Night to Day Mahler and Beckmesser Conclusion What the Genesis Tells Us “Problems” of the Seventh From Tragedy to Comedy Beginnings and Ends Appendices A: Manuscripts and Editions of the Seventh Symphony B: Mahler Discography F: Formal Tables M: Motivic Tables CSk: Correspondences between the Sketches MSk: Motivic Table for the Sketches Synopsis of Richard Wagner’s Die Meistersinger  von Nürnberg Bibliography Index