Gustav Mahler

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Gustav Mahler is written by Stephen Downes and published by Reaktion Books. It's available with International Standard Book Number or ISBN identification 1836390297 (ISBN 10) and 9781836390299 (ISBN 13).

An approachable critical biography of the late nineteenth-century Viennese composer. Gustav Mahler’s status as an icon of fin-de-siècle Viennese music is assured, and while his life story has been told in numerous biographies, films, and novels, he remains an ambiguous, provocative figure. Supposedly haunted by death and trapped in a torrid marriage, Mahler’s brief meeting with Freud has spurred psychoanalytical speculations, but there are other questions to explore as well. Mahler challenged musical form and style, but he rejected most other contemporary trends, identifying with traditional German Enlightenment and Romantic culture. He rose to the pinnacle of his profession, despite the protestations of antisemitic Vienna. This book draws on the latest research to construct a fresh interpretation of Mahler’s music in relation to his life.