Classical Gas July 18th 2021

Gustav Mahler (7th July, 1860 - 18th May, 1911)

For the last couple of weeks we’ve listened to some of the op. 20 string quartets of Josef Haydn. This when the string quartet came into its own and, thus, began the idea of the quartet as a conversation between four equal instruments. After this, Haydn went on to compose magnificent string quartets – op. 33 and op. 54 being two of the very greatest examples of the art. Mozart began writing string quartets when he was fourteen and, though his early quartets are fine works, it wasn’t until the set of quartets published in 1785 (now called the “Haydn Quartets”) that he made a tremendous step forward that goes far beyond his earlier efforts. This may be the pinnacle of quartet writing of the time. Haydn, of course, knew and appreciated Mozart’s greatness – he adored both the man and his music. Mozart reciprocated Haydn’s feelings and he dedicated the six quartets to Haydn, writing “here then great man and my dearest friend are my six children …the fruits of a long and difficult labour”

The fourth of this group is nicknamed the hunt – though I must admit to not hearing any hunt like sounds in it. The nickname is posthumous but has certainly added to the Quartet’s popularity.   We’ll listen a fine recording of Mozart’s String Quartet No. 17 in Bb major, “The Hunt”, played in a live and previously unreleased recording by the Hollywood String Quartet. Recorded when they made their only trip outside of America and appeared (among other places) at the Royal Festival Hall on the 8^th September 1957.

There has always been some confusion about the two Serenades (op. 11 and op. 17) – that they are somehow second rate Brahms? Well, I can assure you that this is not true. It’s just another example of the people who write about music being more interested in talking (and writing) than listening! These are both charming works, filled with melody. It’s true that they are early works, written when Brahms was feeling his way with scoring and orchestration. Later, Brahms in his symphonies, would be criticized for writing thick and clunky orchestrations. Yes, true! His scoring could be dense – but I think that he felt that the symphony should be a piece for the whole orchestra and scored it accordingly. But there is no such denseness in the Serenade op. 11 in D major. It is really scored for a chamber orchestra and has six wonderful movements. No trumpets or trombones!  But a wonderful horn melody that kicks off the first movement – which Brahms would have never done in his more mature years.

We’ll hear an excellent recording of the Serenade by the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra conducted by the excellent Brahms conductor Gerard Schwarz.

Regular listeners to this programme will know that I love the music of Gustav Mahler  – the symphonies and especially the songs. Well, as July 7^th is his birthday, I’ll use this as a tenuous excuse to play some of his excellent songs – Des Knaben Wunderhorn.

The songs of Des Knaben Wunderhorn (The Boy’s Magic Horn) are, voice-and-piano and voice-and-orchestra, settings of German folk poems chosen from a collection of the same name assembled by Achim von Arnim and Clemens Brentano and published between 1805 and 1808.

Firstly, a ten songs set (for soprano or baritone and orchestra) was published by Mahler as a cycle in 1905, but in total twelve orchestral songs exist - as well as twelve songs for voice and piano. The first nine ‘Wunderhorn’ settings were composed between 1887 and 1890 and in 1892 he wrote another 12 and so these were published in their finished form in 1899 (that is for voice and orchestra). In 1905, Mahler replaced two of these songs with two new ones and now we have the complete cycle.

As these songs use folk poetry they are populated by soldiers, children, phantoms and animals. Mahler was influenced for many years with settings of Des Knaben Wunderhorn, and his symphonies Nos 2, 3 & 4 bear out this influence. We’ll hear eleven of the songs from Des Knaben Wunderhorn of Gustav Mahler, played by the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Charles Mackerras. The Singers are Ann Murray and Thomas Allen.