The Symphony No. 1 in D major by Gustav Mahler was mainly composed between late 1887 and March 1888, though it incorporates music Mahler had composed for previous works. It was composed while Mahler was second conductor at the Leipzig Opera in Germany. Although in his letters Mahler almost always referred to the work as a symphony, the first two performances described it as a symphonic poem and as a tone poem in symphonic form, respectively. The work was premièred at the Vigadó Concert Hall in Budapest, Hungary, in 1889, but was not well-received. Mahler made some major revisions for the second performance, given at Hamburg, Germany, in October 1893; further alterations were made in the years prior to the first publication, in late 1898. Some modern performances and recordings give the work the title Titan, despite the fact that Mahler only used this label for the second and third performances, and never after the work had reached its definitive four-movement form in 1896.
Mahler conducted more performances of this symphony than of any of his later works.Sir Charles Mackerras, Symphony No. 1 in Michael McManus, A Mahlerian Odyssey, Limelight, May 2010, p. 34
Composition
The symphony's movements are arranged in a fairly typical four-movement setup. Conventionally, the minuet and trio would be the third movement and the slow movement the second, but Mahler has them switched, which was also sometimes done by Ludwig van Beethoven. The keys are D major for the first movement, A major for the second, D minor for the third, and F minor for the last, with a grand finale at the end in D major. The use of F minor for the last movement was a dramatic break from convention.
For the first three performances (Budapest, Hamburg and Weimar), an additional movement, (flower piece), was played between the first and second movements of the piece as it now stands. This movement was originally written in June 1884 as the opening piece – "" – of Mahler's incidental music for a series of seven tableaux vivants based on Joseph Victor von Scheffel's poem Der Trompeter von Säckingen, which, Blumine aside, has since been lost. The addition of this movement appears to have been an afterthought, and Mahler discarded it after the Weimar performance in 1894; it was rediscovered in 1966 by Donald Mitchell. The following year, Benjamin Britten conducted the first performance of it since Mahler's time at the Aldeburgh Festival. The symphony is almost never played with this movement included today, although it is sometimes heard separately. In the 1970s, Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra made the first recording of the symphony by a major orchestra to include Blumine. Some 20 recordings exist that include Blumine; however, most of them combine it with the revised edition of the other movements, thus making a "blended" version of the symphony that was at no time authorised by Mahler.
Nevertheless, Mahler quotes the main theme from the Blumine movement in two subsequent movements. It appears early in the second movement; he also quotes it in the final movement, as well as other themes from the other movements, which is in keeping with Beethoven's own practice in his Symphony No. 9 of quoting themes from the first, second, and third movements early in the final movement. Beethoven gave the impression of rejecting the earlier themes, after he quotes them, and then introduces the famous "Ode to Joy" theme. The five-movement version generally runs around an hour, just as Mahler's later symphonies (except for Symphony No. 4) are an hour or longer in length. Mahler followed a precedent, established by Beethoven in his ninth symphony and by Anton Bruckner in many of his symphonies, of lengthier, more detailed development of the themes, usually resulting in a performance time of an hour or more.
Under this early five-movement scheme, the work was envisioned by Mahler as a large symphonic poem in two parts, and he wrote a programme to describe the piece, but without adding any further title for the 1889 Budapest première. The first part consisted of the first two movements of the symphony as it is now known plus Blumine, and the second consisted of the funeral-march and finale. For the 1893 Hamburg and 1894 Weimar performances, Mahler gave the piece the title Titan after the novel by Jean Paul, although Mahler specified that the piece was not in any way "about" the book; the nickname is often used today, but properly only applies to those two versions.
The opening of the third movement features a double bass soloist performing a variation on the theme of "Frère Jacques", distinguishing it as one of the few symphonic pieces to use the instrument in such a manner. Mahler uses the song, which he cites as "Bruder Martin",Natalie Bauer-Lechner: Erinnerungen an Gustav Mahler. Ed. by Herbert Killian. Hamburg 1984, p. 174 changed from major to minor, thus giving the piece the character of a funeral march. The mode change to minor is not an invention by Mahler, as is often believed, but rather the way this round was sung in the 19th and early 20th century in Austria.Reinhold Schmid: 50 Kanons. Vienna, n.d. [ca. 1950] (Philharmonia pocket scores No. 86)Ute Jung-Kaiser: "Die wahren Bilder und Chiffren 'tragischer Ironie' in Mahlers 'Erster'." In: Günther Weiß (ed.): Neue Mahleriana: Essays in Honour of Henry-Louis de La Grange on his Seventieth Birthday. Lang, Berne etc. 1997, . pp. 101–152 A similar use of this mode change to minor is present throughout the second movement of Beethoven's Symphony No. 7.
Versions
There are several manuscripts that document the revisions Mahler made in the work: 1888, Leipzig – The original autograph score, in Mahler's handwriting (location unknown, may no longer exist) 1889, Budapest – The base layer in a copyist's handwriting is probably identical to the original autograph score. Over this, there are many revisions in Mahler's hand, and some whole sections deleted with new replacements added, in preparation for the 1889 Budapest première on 20 November. Bound into two volumes, vol. 1 containing the first movement and Scherzo, vol. 2 containing the last movement; the Blumine and funeral march movements are missing—in fact, conflicting numbering of the Scherzo, and the smaller size of the paper on which Blumine is written, seems to indicate that the Blumine was not originally part of Mahler's conception, and that it was lifted whole from the 1884 score at some point between the symphony's completion in early 1888 and the Budapest première in late 1889. The entire symphony is scored for the standard symphonic orchestra of the time, with 2 each of all the woodwinds and 4 horns. In this version the piece was called "Symphonic-Poem in 2 Parts". (University of Western Ontario, Rose collection) 1893, Hamburg – The base layer in Mahler's hand corresponds to the final version of the Budapest manuscript, and probably was the manuscript sent by Mahler to Schott as a (engraver's copy) in 1891 in hopes of publication, and for the first time given a title: (From the Life of a Lonely-one). Over this base layer, there are many revisions and new sections (including to Blumine) added in 1893, in preparation for the second performance, in Hamburg on 27 October. Contains all 5 movements; the funeral march was apparently lifted whole out of the 1889 manuscript. Orchestra has 3 each of the woodwinds. Just before the Hamburg performance, Mahler added the titles from Titan. (Yale University, Osborn collection) 1894?, Hamburg – The base layer in a copyist's handwriting corresponds to the final version of the 1893 manuscript, with further revisions by Mahler. Probably prepared for the third performance, in Weimar on 3 June. Pages containing the Blumine have been folded over, indicating deletion. Orchestra has 4 each of the woodwinds, and 3 additional horns. Still includes the titles from Titan. (New York Public Library, Bruno Walter collection) 1896?, Hamburg – The base layer in a copyist's handwriting, with revisions by Mahler. Probably prepared for 4th performance, in Berlin on 16 March. Contains 4 movements (Blumine not included). Known from this point on as "Symphony No. 1". (Sold at auction by Sotheby's in 1984, currently inaccessible). 1898?, Vienna – In a copyist's handwriting, based on the final version of the 1894? manuscript. This is the [engraver's copy], used as a basis for the first score published by Weinberger in February 1899. Probably prepared for the 5th performance, in Prague.
An arrangement by Bruno Walter for piano four hands (two players at one piano) was published in 1906.
Instrumentation The symphony is scored for large orchestra, consisting of the following:
Woodwinds 4 flutes (3rd and 4th doubling piccolos, 2nd doubling piccolo in movements 1 and 4 briefly) 4 oboes (3rd doubling cor anglais, 4th used only in movement 4) 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) Brass 7 horns 5 trumpets (3 of which offstage in movement 1, 5th used only in movement 4) 4 trombones (4th used only in movement 4) 1 tuba Percussion 6 timpani (two players, 2nd player appears only in movement 4) bass drum (with a cymbal attached to be struck by the same player in movement 3) cymbals (crash and suspended) triangle tam-tam Strings harp 1st violins 2nd violins violas cellos double basses
In the finale, Mahler states that the first trumpet and E flat clarinet should be doubled in all fortissimo passages.
Form Mahler's symphony as ultimately published exists in the traditional four-movement form:
The first movement is in modified sonata form. The second is a scherzo and trio based on a Ländler, a traditional Austrian waltz. The third is a slower funeral march with a lyrical central section, and the fourth serves as an expansive finale. Initially, there existed an additional second movement, entitled Blumine, but it was removed by Mahler for the final publication in 1899.
In the first performances, the following program notes were attributed to the symphony:Paul Stefan, Gustav Mahler, fourth edition, Munich, 1912, pp. 107ff
Part I: From the days of youth, "youth, fruit, and thorn pieces".
Spring and no end. This introduction describes the awakening of nature at the earliest dawn. Flowerine Chapter (Andante). Set with full sails (Scherzo).
Part II: (Human Comedy)
Stranded. A funeral march in the manner of Callot. Dall'inferno al Paradiso (From Hell to Heaven), as the sudden expression of a deeply wounded heart. These programmatic notes were dropped starting with the 1896 performance in Berlin, because Mahler did not want the audience to be misled by such notes and their inherent ambiguities.Hans Redlich, Symphony No. 1 D major, Edition Eulenburg, No. 570
First movement
The first movement is in a modified sonata form, with a substantially slow introduction in A minor (Phrygian). The introduction begins eerily with a seven-octave drone in the strings on A, with the upper octaves being played on harmonics in the violins. A descending two-note motif is then presented by the woodwinds, and eventually establishes itself into the following repeated pattern:
This opening quotes the fourth movement of Johannes Brahms's Symphony No. 2 in D major, where the first half of this motif repeats several times beginning at bar 234. It also alludes to the first movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 4 in B major in its descending pattern and minimalist nature. This theme is then interrupted by a fanfare-like material first presented in the clarinets, and later by offstage trumpets, indicated in the score as "" ("placed at a very far distance").
A slow melody is also played by the horns,
and the descending two-note motif is sped up in the clarinet, imitating the sound of a cuckoo.