|
Composer |
Title |
Soloist(s) |
Conductor |
Orchestra |
|
| Class One | Gustav Mahler | Symphony 4 (excerpts) | Leonard Bernstein | NY Philharmonic | |
| Gustav Mahler | Das Klagende Lied (excerpt) | Pierre Boulez | Vienna Philharmonic | ||
| Class Two | Franz Schubert | Gretchen am Spinnrade | Marina Rebeka & Giulio Zappa | ||
| Franz Schubert | Ständchen | Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau | Wilhelm Furtängler | Berlin Philharmonic | |
| Franz Schubert | Der Tot und das Mädchen | Julia Varady, & Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau | |||
| Gustav Mahler | Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen | Magdalena Kožená | Claudio Abbado | Lucerne Festival | |
| Gustav Mahler | Blicke mir nicht in die Lieder | Susan Graham | Michael Tilson Thomas | San Francisco Symphony | |
| Gustav Mahler | Ich atmet’ einen linden Duft | Magdalena Kožená | Simon Rattle | Berlin Philharmonic | |
| Gustav Mahler | Um Mitternacht | Susan Graham | Michael Tilson Thomas | San Francisco Symphony | |
| Gustav Mahler | Liebst du um Schönheit | Susan Graham | Michael Tilson Thomas | San Francisco Symphony | |
| Class Three | Franz Schubert | Das Wandern | Thomas Oliemans & Malcom Martineau | ||
| Gustav Mahler | Wenn mein Schatz Hochzeit macht | Thomas Hampson | Michael Tilson Thomas | San Francisco Symphony | |
| Gustav Mahler | Ging heut’ morgen übers Feld | Thomas Hampson | Michael Tilson Thomas | San Francisco Symphony | |
| Gustav Mahler | Symphony 1 (Movements 1 & 2) | Michael Tilson Thomas | San Francisco Symphony | ||
| Class Four | Gustav Mahler | Ich hab’ ein glühend Messer | Thomas Hampson | Michael Tilson Thomas | San Francisco Symphony |
| Gustav Mahler | Die zwei blauen Augen | Thomas Hampson | Michael Tilson Thomas | San Francisco Symphony | |
| Gustav Mahler | Symphony 1 (Movements 3 & 4) | Michael Tilson Thomas | San Francisco Symphony | ||
| Class Five | Gustav Mahler | Symphony 2 (Movements 1, 2, & 3) | Anne Schwanewilms & Olga Borodina | Valery Gergiev | Münchner Philharmoniker |
| Gustav Mahler | Des Antonius Von Padua Fischpredigt | Hanno Müller-Brachmann | Michael Gielen | SWR Symphony Orchestra | |
| Class Six | Gustav Mahler | Urlicht | Susan Graham | Michael Tilson Thomas | San Francisco Symphony |
| Gustav Mahler | Symphony 2 (Movements 4 & 5) | Anne Schwanewilms & Olga Borodina | Valery Gergiev | Münchner Philharmoniker | |
| Class Seven | Gustav Mahler | Symphony 3 (Movements 1 & 2) | Claudio Abaddo | Lucerne Festival | |
| Class Eight | Gustav Mahler | Symphony 3 (Movements 4, 5, & 6) | Claudio Abaddo | Lucerne Festival | |
| Class Nine | Gustav Mahler | Symphony 5 (Movements 1, 2, & 3) | Claudio Abaddo | Lucerne Festival | |
| Class Ten | Gustav Mahler | Symphony 5 (Movements 4 & 5) | Claudio Abaddo | Lucerne Festival | |
Gustav Mahler Timeline
1860: Mahler is born
1875-80: Studies in Vienna
1880: Das Klagende Lied
1880: First conducting job in Bad Hall
1881-82: Conductor in Laibach
1882-83: Conductor in Olmütz
1883-85: Conductor in Kassel
1885-86: Conductor in Prague
1885-86: Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen
1887-88: Conductor in Leipzig
1888-90: Conductor in Budapest
1888-96: Symphony No. 1
1892: Begins Des knaben Wunderhorn
1888-94: Symphony No. 2
1891-97: Conductor in Hamburg
1897-1907: Conductor in Vienna
1894-96: Symphony No. 3
1899-1901: Symphony No. 4
1901-04: Rückert Lieder
1901-04: Kindertotenlieder
1901-02: Symphony No. 5
1903-04: Symphony No. 6
1904-05: Symphony No. 7
1906-07: Symphony No. 8
1908-09: Das Lied von der Erde
1908-11: Conductor in New York
1909-10: Symphony No. 9
1910: Symphony No. 10 (unfinished)
1911: Mahler dies
List of Mahler’s Songs
Those in RED will be heard in this class.
|
Date |
Song Title |
Song Cycle |
|
1880 |
Im Lenz | |
|
1880 |
Winterlied | |
|
1880 |
Maitanz im Grünen | |
|
1883 |
Frülingsmorgen | |
|
1883 |
Erinnerung | |
|
1883 |
Hans und Grete | |
|
1883 |
Serenade aus Don Juan | |
|
1883 |
Phantasie aus Don Juan | |
|
1885 |
Wenn mein Schatz Hochzeit macht | Lieder einen fahrenden Gesellen |
|
1885 |
Ging heut’ Morgen über’s Feld | Lieder einen fahrenden Gesellen |
|
1885 |
Ich hab’ ein glühend Messer | Lieder einen fahrenden Gesellen |
|
1885 |
Die zwei blauen Augen von meinem Schatz | Lieder einen fahrenden Gesellen |
|
1887 |
Um schlimmeKinder artig zu machen | |
|
1887 |
Ich ging mit Lust durch einen grünen Wald | |
|
1887 |
Aus! Aus! | |
|
1887 |
Starke Einbildungskraft | |
|
1890 |
Zu Straßburg auf der Schanz’ | |
|
1890 |
Ablösung im Sommer | |
|
1890 |
Schneiden und Meiden | |
|
1890 |
Nicht wiedersehen | |
|
1890 |
Selbstgefühl | |
|
1892 |
Der Schildwache Nachtlied | Des Knaben Wunderhorn |
|
1892 |
Verlor’ne Müh | Des Knaben Wunderhorn |
|
1892 |
Trost im Unglück | Des Knaben Wunderhorn |
|
1892 |
Wer hat dies Liedlein erdacht? | Des Knaben Wunderhorn |
|
1892 |
Das irische Leben | Des Knaben Wunderhorn |
|
1893 |
Des Antonius von Padua Fischpredigt | Des Knaben Wunderhorn |
|
1893 |
Rheinlegendchen | Des Knaben Wunderhorn |
|
1893 |
Urlicht | Des Knaben Wunderhorn |
|
1895 |
Es sungen drei Engel | Des Knaben Wunderhorn |
|
1896 |
Lob des hohenVerstandes | Des Knaben Wunderhorn |
|
1898 |
Lied des Verfolgten im Turm | Des Knaben Wunderhorn |
|
1898 |
Wo die schönen Trompeten blassen | Des Knaben Wunderhorn |
|
1899 |
Revelge | Des Knaben Wunderhorn |
|
1901 |
Der Tamboursg’sell | Des Knaben Wunderhorn |
|
1901 |
Ich atmet’ einen linden Duft | Rückert-Lieder |
|
1901 |
Liebst du um Schönheit | Rückert-Lieder |
|
1901 |
Blicke mir nicht in die Lieder | Rückert-Lieder |
|
1901 |
Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen | Rückert-Lieder |
|
1901 |
Um Mitternacht | Rückert-Lieder |
|
1901 |
Nun will die Sonn’ so hell aufgeh’n | Kindertotenlieder |
|
1901 |
Nun seh’ Ich wohl, warum so dunkle Flammen | Kindertotenlieder |
|
1901 |
Wenn dein Mütterlein | Kindertotenlieder |
|
1901 |
Oft denk’ Ich, sie sind nur aufgegangen | Kindertotenlieder |
|
1901 |
In diesem Wetter | Kindertotenlieder |
|
1909 |
Das Trinklied vom Jammer der Erde | Das Lied von der Erde |
|
1909 |
Der Einsame im Herbst | Das Lied von der Erde |
|
1909 |
Von der Jungend | Das Lied von der Erde |
|
1909 |
Von der Schönheit | Das Lied von der Erde |
|
1909 |
Der Trunkene im Frühling | Das Lied von der Erde |
|
1909 |
Der Abschied | Das Lied von der Erde |
Gustav Mahler: Songs and Symphonies
In 1960 Leonard Bernstein said he doubted anyone in his Carnegie Hall audience had ever heard of Gustav Mahler. Bernstein would go on to be a leading advocate for Mahler’s music in North America. He would record two complete cycles of Mahler’s symphonies and would be a tireless proponent for scheduling performances of his music by symphony orchestras.
As of January 2018 there are 1237 recordings available of Mahler’s music. This number is especially remarkable given that his output consists of just 10 symphonies, 45 songs, and a couple of other compositions.
This class will explore Mahler’s life and music. Perhaps more than any other prominent composer Mahler’s music is, in a sense, autobiographical. He once said, “My whole life is contained in my two symphonies. In them I have set down my experience and suffering, truth and poetry in words. To anyone who knows how to listen my whole life will become clear.”
Mahler’s music is not literally autobiographical, but it is true to say that almost everything he wrote was directly inspired by important emotionally wrenching events of his life.
Mahler’s life (1860-1911) covered a period where the old order of European stability established by the Congress of Vienna was breaking down. One of Bernstein’s favorite contentions was that Mahler was one of the composers, artists, and writers of that era who foresaw the violent and tragic turn that events would take in the twentieth century.
One of the reasons his music speaks so eloquently to us today is the sense we have that he somehow knew what was coming and was writing music in response to events yet to come.
Mahler Class One Outline
- Mahler’s world: late 19th century Europe,Mahler’s contemporaries
- The Mahler revival of the 1960s: Leonard Bernstein and Michael Gielen
- Mahler the conductor: his fame and his innovations
- Benjamin Zander: on why Mahler is so popular with conductors, orchestras, and the public
- Mahler’ early years and education
- Das Klagende Lied (The Song of Lamentation)
Mahler Class Two Outline
- Mahler’s place in history
- German Romanticism: Mahler’s psychological world
- German Lieder (songs)
- Mahler’s Rückert Lieder
- Mahler’s near-death experience
- Mahler in love, Alma Schindler
1940 Revisited
Even though it was 76 years ago, there are remarkable parallels between the current election campaign and the election of 1940. It is, of course, a different era. However, the similarity of candidates and themes is striking. It is surprising how little some things have changed.
In 1940 the Democratic candidate was Franklin Roosevelt, running for his third term. This year Hillary Clinton is said to be running for Barack Obama’s third term.
In 1940 the Republican candidate was Wendell Willkie, who had only recently changed his party registration from Democratic to Republican. Willkie was a political neophyte who had never previously been elected to any office. Willkie’s most salient characteristics were his image as a self-made millionaire and his preference for speaking extemporaneously and avoiding prepared texts. Willkie also bragged of his supposed advantage in having a small amateur campaign staff in contrast to Roosevelt’s large experienced staff.
A prominent Republican theme in both campaigns was (and is) America First. Indeed, the America First Committee was established in September 1940 to oppose lend-lease aid being provided to Great Britain during the first year of WWII. Charter members included two future presidents: Gerald Ford and John Kennedy, future Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, and future Peace Corps head Sargent Shriver.
Viewed from a post-war perspective where WWII enjoys quasi-sacred status as “The Good War” fought by the “Greatest Generation” is is surprising how widespread and virulent was domestic opposition to American involvement. Early in the war, public opinion polls showed 80% to 90% opposition to providing aid to great Britain. Opinion did start to move in the other direction during 1940 as stories of Nazi atrocities and the heavy bombing of London were publicized. But, even so, the America First Committee started in September of 1940 expressly to oppose aid.
Isolationism is still a major theme in this year’s election, although it is couched in different language. For all of the talk about destroying the Islamic State it would be a political poison pill for a candidate to advocate sending American ground forces to fight such a battle. Candidates instead mumble generalities that imply this task can be accomplished by remote control at zero cost. Similarly, in 1940 America Firsters seemed to think Hitler could be dissuaded from attacking us by diplomacy.
In both 1940 and today immigration is a source of ongoing angst. In 1940 the outcry was against accepting European Jewish refugees. The same dire warnings and predictions today made about Mexicans and Syrians were then thrown at Jews.
In both 1940 and 2016 the United States faced a volatile world situation where the next president would be confronted with difficult challenges. In both elections a new comer with zero previous political experience faced off against a candidate with many years of experience. In both 1940 and 2016 polls taken in late September would show both races as being near dead heats.
America’s War – Bibliography
This bibliography contains references for material directly quoted in the courseware presented in class. It also includes references for some of the other books I have read in preparing this class, publications mentioned as source material but not directly quoted, and publications read but not explicitly cited in the class.
This is a link to a PDF document. This document may be revised or updated during the duration of the course.
America’s War – Class of Sept. 26
The War Begins
The war for the Greater Middle East can be said to have been prompted by a near-hysterical over reaction to a geologist’s report stating that oil production in North America had peaked and would soon begin to fall off sharply. This led to president Jimmy Carter’s infamous “Crisis of Confidence” national address urging energy conservation. The response from conservative pundits and the public was so savagely negative that Carter’s ensuing State of the Union Message in January 1980 would announce what came to be known as the Carter Doctrine: the United Staes would regard the Persian Gulf area to be of vital national security interest. Carter immediately order the Department of Defense to seek out locations for military installations in the area.
America’s War – Class of Sept. 19
Agriculture, Nations, and Nation States
We will begin with a discussion of Hydraulic Civilizations who discovered how to use knowledge of seasonal weather and irrigation to create vast empires by virtue of armies of soldiers freed from farming. We will discuss empires and various theories regarding nations and nationalism. We will find that both are recent developments and are often in opposition.
We will discuss the clash of civilizations and wether war is the inevitable consequence of the emergence of nation states.