3rd Mahler Festival by the Royal Concertgebouw

From May 8 to 18, 2025, the Royal Concertgebouw is organizing the third Mahler Festival in its history. During the eleven-day festival, all the symphonies and songs of the beloved composer will be performed. Are you familiar with Gustav Mahler's music, and what is his relationship to the Netherlands? Do you collect Gustav Mahler thematically?

Gustav Mahler

Gustav Mahler (1860–1911) was an Austrian composer and conductor of Jewish descent, born and raised in Bohemia. Mahler was considered one of the most important conductors of his time. He was active at the opera houses of Budapest and Hamburg, among others, and at the Court Opera in Vienna. He was also the conductor of the Vienna Philharmonic. As a composer, he is primarily regarded as one of the last representatives of the great symphonic tradition and as the one who connected late Romanticism with the modern period of classical music, which took shape particularly in the Second Viennese School. He composed 10 symphonies, the last of which remained unfinished, various songs, and a piano quartet. Gustav Mahler, originally from Bohemia, studied composition and piano at the Vienna Conservatory at the age of 15. The highly talented pianist, who began performing at the age of ten, soon won prizes for his performances and compositions. Mahler also enrolled at university to take courses in philosophy, history, and musical aesthetics, deepened his knowledge of literature, and attended harmony classes taught by Anton Bruckner. After several years of traveling and staying in Ljubljana, Olomouc, Prague, Leipzig, Budapest, and Hamburg, Mahler was appointed conductor of the famous Vienna Opera House in 1897. In his new position, he initially served as Kapellmeister, and shortly thereafter, he was appointed Director by Emperor Franz Joseph. Mahler had previously removed an obstacle to his calling—his Judaism—by converting to Catholicism. (Gustav Mahler (1860 – 1911) is regarded as a genius of the fin de siècle and a pioneer of New Music. In honor of his 150th birthday (in 2010), the Austrian Post issued a special stamp in honor of the great composer. The image shows sketch fragments for the Fourth Symphony, Movement 1, 1st version, ca. 1899 (score fragments with authenticity confirmation by Alma Mahler-Werfel). Mahler is best known for his nine completed symphonies. Together, they cover an enormous musical and emotional range: from joy and awe of nature, through sarcastic laughter, to grim despair, redemption, and hope. One of his most famous works is Symphony No. 5, written between 1901 and 1902. This symphony begins with an intense and powerful opening melody, followed by various thematic variations and a moving Adagietto. Symphony 8 (1910) is Mahler through and through: a very extensive symphony orchestra with 130 musicians, organ, vocal soloists, 2 mixed choirs and a children's choir, a total of 250 singers, so about 400 performers in total! The work was nicknamed the Symphony of a Thousand. Mahler considered the work his most personal symphony. The era of the late 19th and early 20th centuries was a time of great upheaval, characterized by fluctuations between optimism and the end of times, euphoria about the future and world-weariness, renewal and decadence. Mahler's appointment as director of the Court Opera also marked the beginning of a new era for this institution. Driven by his unconditional pursuit of perfection, he implemented a fundamental reform. However, his compositional work was not exactly well received by Viennese critics, nor were his first two symphonies from 1899. But abroad, particularly in Germany, the Netherlands, and France, Mahler became increasingly important. His worldview was shaped by natural religious and philosophical theories, which flowed virtuously into his music and resonated with the times. Among his greatest admirers were Arnold Schönberg, Alban Berg, Anton Webern, Gustav Klimt, Stefan Zweig, Adolf Loos, and Thomas Mann, who also created a literary monument to him with the novella *Death in Venice*. In 1907, Mahler's period as director in Vienna came to an end. However, fate had struck him hard: his eldest daughter died of diphtheria, and he himself was told that he had a heart condition. He submitted his resignation and bid farewell to Vienna with the performance of his Second Symphony on November 24, 1907. Mahler spent the following years commuting between New York and Vienna—in the winter months he conducted in America, while in the summer he toured Europe and devoted himself to composing. On May 18, 1911, Gustav Mahler passed away in Vienna, but his magnificent musical oeuvre lives on to this day.  

Mahler in the Netherlands

At the invitation of Willem Mengelberg, Mahler conducted the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam in 1903, 1904, 1906, and 1909 in performances of his own works. Mahler, who enjoyed the reputation of being a difficult and despotic conductor, was full of praise for the orchestra and its conductor. Through Mengelberg, he became friends with Alphons Diepenbrock, whom he considered 'an interesting Dutch musician' who wrote “peculiar (intriguing) church music”. Mahler visited Sigmund Freud during the latter's stay in Leiden to discuss the causes of his unhappy marriage. During their walk through the Breestraat on August 10, 1910, Freud is said to have told him that he sought his mother in every woman. On the following August 24, he reportedly took a long walk with Sigmund Freud to Leiden from the beach at Huis ter Duin in Noordwijk aan Zee. On March 9, 1912, the Concertgebouw Orchestra performed the Dutch premiere of Mahler's Eighth Symphony. At the same time, a wreath was laid on Mahler's grave by the Dutch consul in Vienna, 'as a token of the love, veneration, and gratitude of his Amsterdam friends'. In 1920, the artistic director of the Concertgebouw, Rudolf Mengelberg, organized a Mahler celebration to mark the 25th anniversary of his nephew Willem's conducting career. In the Netherlands during the Second World War, Mahler's music could not be heard in public due to the ban imposed by the Nazi occupiers. Following fierce protests by Willem Mengelberg, who had been his friend and a great champion of his music, to Seyss-Inquart in October 1940, the latter was allowed to perform a Mahler symphony one last time, but not the music of Mendelssohn and Hindemith that was also on the program.  

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Under the inspiring leadership of Willem Mengelberg, the first multi-day Mahler Festival took place in May 1920. After a festival edition in 1995 (featuring a Dutch stamp), the Concertgebouw is pulling out all the stops for a third time. Due to the coronavirus, the 2020 Mahler Festival was postponed to 2025. This is therefore only the third edition. Orchestras from around the world are traveling to Amsterdam. All symphonies are being performed by various international orchestras. The season tickets for the Main Hall concerts (1008 to 1950 euros) sold out in no time. Approximately half of the visitors come from abroad. Those who could not purchase tickets (too expensive or too late) can watch the concerts for free every evening on a large screen in the Vondelpark. Those staying at home can experience all the symphonies live via NPO 2 Extra and NPO Klassiek.

Mahler Festival from the comfort of your armchair, May 8 to 18, 2025:

https://npo.nl/cultuur/bekijken-bezoeken-beleven/mahler-festival-vanaf-je-luie-stoel Mahler Festival, May 8 to 18, 2025: https://mahlerfestival.concertgebouw.nl/ Everything about Gustav Mahler: https://www.npoklassiek.nl/componisten/265915ac-ff12-4470-b0f4-26ffd0c6ad57/mahler-gustav https://www.npoklassiek.nl/klassiek/alles-over-mahler/a6d6fa9e-5e30-4a69-8c03-372c6d049f42/leer-mahler-kennen-in-5-stappen