In class three we will start out discussing the idea of a Liederkreis (song cycle), a group of songs linked together by a common story line. We will discuss the event in Mahler’s life that prompted him to write Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (Songs of a Wayfarer).
There is a vital link between Mahler’s songs and his symphonies. Two of the four movements of his Symphony Number 1 are based upon songs from the Wayfarer cycle. A third movement is based upon another song, a folk song commonly sung by children.
We will hear the first two Wayfarer songs, see videos where Michael Tilson Thomas discusses the symphony, and the class will conclude with videos of complete performances of the first two movements of Mahler’s Symphony Number 1.
