Mahler’s granddaughter reflects upon her grandfather’s symphonies, and which one is her favorite.
Amsterdam Mahler Festival
Simon Reinink
General Director, Concertgebouw
Simon Reinink explains the origins of the Amsterdam Mahler Festival and the planning of the 2025 festival.
Extra Special
Joseph Horowitz
Author and Cultural Historian
Joseph Horowitz points out surprising similarities between Mahler and the American composer Charles Ives in his article Anchoring Shards of Memory.
Colorado Mahlerfest
Ethan Hecht
Executive Director, Colorado Mahlerfest
The Colorado Mahlerfest takes place every May in Boulder, Colorado. Executive Director Ethan Hecht talks about the history of the festival.
Extra Special
Morten Solvik
Vice President, Mahler Foundation
The Mahler Hour has become a beloved monthly event for Mahler enthusiasts worldwide. Host Morten Solvik discusses how the program originated.
Amsterdam Mahler Festival
Eveline Nikkels
Chair, Dutch Gustav Mahler Foundation
The book Gustav Mahler and the Netherlands is being published in English. It includes many letters from Mahler to the conductor Willem Mengelberg.
Season 3 Extra
Marilyn McCoy
Music Professor
Columbia University
Mahler himself is often thought of as the hero of his First and Second Symphonies. How about his Third Symphony?
Season 1 Extra
Paul Merkelo
Principal Trumpet
Montreal Symphony Orchestra
What is the most difficult part for the trumpets in Mahler’s First Symphony? It's in the fourth movement, but it's not the high notes.
Season 3 Extra
Robert Chen
Concertmaster
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Why did Mahler write so many directions into his score? And do musicians always follow these directions?
Season 3 Extra
Jason Starr
Film Director, Writer & Producer
Cultural Media Collaborative
“What the Universe Tells Me” is a documentary movie about Mahler’s Third Symphony. The director talks about the circumstances that led to the making of his film.
Season 3 Extra
Natalie Bauer-Lechner
(1858-1921)
Violist
Natalie Bauer-Lechner was Mahler’s great friend and confidante. Here she describes an essential element of his personality.
Extra Special
Michael Henoch
Former Assistant Principal Oboe
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
After playing with the Chicago Symphony for more than 50 years, oboist Michael Henoch shares his favorite conductors of Mahler symphonies.
Extra Special
Anthony McGill
Principal Clarinet
New York Philharmonic
Mahler's symphonies are filled with wonderful solos for the wind instruments. But are these the most exciting parts for them to play?
Season 3 Extra
Bill Hudgins
Principal Clarinet
Boston Symphony Orchestra
Mahler wrote some of the longest symphonies in the standard repertoire. This creates occasional problems for the players.
Season 2 Extra
Joanna Neilly
Professor of German
St. Peter’s College, Oxford University
Mahler drew inspiration from Des Knaben Wunderhorn for many compositions. Here is some background on this collection of folk texts.
Season 2 Extra
Gustav Mahler
(1860-1911)
Composer
Mahler wrote to his friend Richard Strauss with a long list of requests for the first rehearsal of the Second Symphony in 1895.
Extra Special
Ed Yim
Chief Content Officer and Senior Vice President
WQXR Radio, New York
Who gets to conduct Mahler symphonies? A fascinating behind-the-scenes look at how these decisions get made.
Season 3 Extra
James Burton
Choral Director
Boston Symphony Orchestra
Mahler is known for his detailed instructions to musicians. Here we learn about a very important instruction that Mahler left out.
Season 3 Extra
Christopher Martin
Principal Trumpet
New York Philharmonic
Mahler considered certain kinds of sounds as musical symbols. How does this idea pertain to his trumpet parts?
Season 2 Extra
Stefan Dohr
Principal Horn
Berlin Philharmonic
What is the most difficult part for the French Horns in Mahler’s Second Symphony? This unexpected answer might surprise you.
Extra Special
William Henry Curry
Conductor and Music Director
Durham Symphony Orchestra
What did it sound like when Mahler conducted his own symphonies? Some intriguing musical detective work provides potential clues.
Season 1 Extra
Phil Bohlman
Ethnomusicologist
University of Chicago
Mahler’s favorite dance form to use in his symphonies was the Ländler. What does it look like to dance a Ländler?
Season 3 Extra
Friedrich Nietzsche
(1844-1900)
Philosopher
Mahler appreciated Nietzsche’s poetic fire. In this excerpt from Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Nietzsche meditates on sounds and dance.
Season 1 Extra
Christian Glanz
Director of the Gustav Mahler Science Center
University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna
Mahler grew up listening to military bands and used these sounds in his symphonies. What kind of marches did the military bands play?
Season 3 Extra
Ioannis Konstantakos
Professor of Ancient Greek Literature
University of Athens, Greece
Mahler drew much inspiration from the God Pan of ancient Greece. And Pan was, himself, a musician with his own famous musical instrument.
Season 2 Extra
Gustav Mahler
(1860-1911)
Composer
Mahler was on a quest to find the perfect bell for the end of his Second Symphony. He told this story to the soprano Anna von Mildenburg.
Season 1 Extra
Christine Lee Gengaro
Professor of Music
Los Angeles City College
Is there a parallel between the story arc of Mahler’s First Symphony and Joseph Campbell’s popular idea of The Hero’s Journey?
Season 1 & 2 Extra
Joseph Conyers
Principal Bass
Philadelphia Orchestra
Mahler used every instrument to bring his musical ideas to life. Here we learn about how he used the lowest part of the orchestra.
Season 3 Extra
Arthur Schopenhauer
(1788-1860)
Philosopher
Schopenhauer reflects on the cyclical nature of life, an idea that would’ve resonated with the philosopher Nietzsche, as well as Mahler.
Season 3 Extra
Gustav Theodor Fechner
(1801-1887)
Scientist and Philosopher
One of Mahler’s favorite philosophers described an illness that eventually allowed him to see the magic of nature with new clarity.
Season 3 Extra
Kent Nagano
Conductor
Hamburg State Opera & Philharmonic State Orchestra and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra
Mahler said the second movement of his Third Symphony should be interpreted in the tempo of a minuet. What exactly did he mean by that?
Season 1 Extra
Michael Tilson Thomas
Conductor
San Francisco Symphony, London Symphony Orchestra, and the New World Symphony
How did Mahler choose which instruments to use? A discussion of the instrumental choices he made for the opening of his First Symphony.
Season 2 Extra
D.D. Jackson
Multi-Emmy-Winning Jazz Pianist and Composer
An intriguing connection between the ragtime music of Scott Joplin and the harmony of the second movement of Mahler’s Second Symphony.
Extra Special
Marina Mahler
President & Founder of the Mahler Foundation
Gustav Mahler’s granddaughter discusses her reasons for establishing the Mahler Foundation, one of the world’s leading Mahler organizations.
Season 1 Extra
Caroline Kita
Professor of German and Comparative Literature
Washington University in St. Louis
“Titan” was the original name Mahler gave to his First Symphony. He later removed the title, but why did Mahler find “Titan” appealing?
Season 3 Extra
Carter Brey
Principal Cello New York Philharmonic
Towards the end of the second movement of his Third Symphony, could Mahler have borrowed a melody from Brahms?
