Editing Gustav Mahler (section)

===Vienna, 1897–1907===

====Hofoper director====
{{further|Repertory of the Vienna Court Opera under Gustav Mahler}}
[[File:Staatsoper (ca.1898).jpg|thumb|alt=An imposing, heavily ornamented building in a city location, with numerous horsedrawn vehicles and pedestrians passing. There are visible tramlines in the street.|Vienna Hofoper (now {{Lang|de|[[Vienna State Opera|Staatsoper]]|italic=no}}), pictured in 1898 during Mahler's conductorship]]
As he waited for the [[Franz Joseph I of Austria|Emperor]]'s confirmation of his directorship, Mahler shared duties as a resident conductor with [[Joseph Hellmesberger Jr.]] (son of the former conservatory director) and [[Hans Richter (conductor)|Hans Richter]], an internationally renowned interpreter of Wagner and the conductor of the original ''Ring'' cycle at [[Bayreuth]] in 1876.<ref>La Grange, Vol. 2, p. 20</ref> Director [[Wilhelm Jahn]] had not consulted Richter about Mahler's appointment; Mahler, sensitive to the situation, wrote Richter a complimentary letter expressing unswerving admiration for the older conductor. Subsequently, the two were rarely in agreement, but kept their divisions private.<ref>La Grange, Vol. 2, pp. 20–21</ref>

Vienna, the imperial [[Austria-Hungary|Habsburg]] capital, had recently elected an anti-Semitic conservative mayor, [[Karl Lueger]], who had once proclaimed: "I myself decide who is a Jew and who isn't."<ref>La Grange, Vol 2 p. 5</ref> In such a volatile political atmosphere Mahler needed an early demonstration of his German cultural credentials. He made his initial mark in May 1897 with much-praised performances of Wagner's ''[[Lohengrin (opera)|Lohengrin]]'' and Mozart's {{lang|de|[[Die Zauberflöte]]}}.<ref name=Franklin7>Franklin (7. Vienna 1897–1907)</ref> Shortly after the {{lang|de|Zauberflöte}} triumph, Mahler was forced to take sick leave for several weeks, during which he was nursed by his sister Justine and his long-time companion, the viola player [[Natalie Bauer-Lechner]].<ref name=DLG32>La Grange, Vol 2 pp. 32–36</ref> Mahler returned to Vienna in late July to prepare for Vienna's first uncut version of the ''Ring'' cycle. This performance took place on 24–27 August, attracting critical praise and public enthusiasm. Mahler's friend Hugo Wolf told Bauer-Lechner that "for the first time I have heard the ''Ring'' as I have always dreamed of hearing it while reading the score".<ref>La Grange, Vol 2 pp. 49–51</ref>
[[File:Mahler conducting caricature.jpg|thumb|left|alt= A series of line drawings of a man in exaggerated poses, holding a conductor's baton|Mahler's conducting style, 1901, caricatured in the humour magazine {{lang|de|[[Fliegende Blätter]]}}]]
On 8 October Mahler was formally appointed to succeed Jahn as the Hofoper's director.<ref>La Grange, Vol 2 p. 54</ref>{{refn|Some sources, e.g., Paul Banks writing in Sadie, p. 509, give the appointment date as 8 September 1897. According to La Grange the decree appointing Mahler to the directorship was dated 8 October and signed by the Lord Chamberlain on behalf of the Emperor on 15 October.|group=n}} His first production in his new office was Smetana's Czech nationalist opera ''[[Dalibor (opera)|Dalibor]]'', with a reconstituted finale that left the hero Dalibor alive. This production caused anger among the more extreme Viennese German nationalists, who accused Mahler of "fraternising with the anti-dynastic, inferior Czech nation."<ref>La Grange, Vol 2, pp. 65–67</ref> The Austrian author [[Stefan Zweig]], in his memoirs ''[[The World of Yesterday]]'' (1942), described Mahler's appointment as an example of the Viennese public's general distrust of young artists: "Once, when an amazing exception occurred and Gustav Mahler was named director of the Court Opera at thirty-eight years old, a frightened murmur and astonishment ran through Vienna, because someone had entrusted the highest institute of art to 'such a young person' ... This suspicion—that all young people were 'not very reliable'—ran through all circles at that time."<ref>Stefan Zweig, {{lang|de|Die Welt von Gestern. Erinnerungen eines Europäers}}, quoted in Fischer, 2011, p. 50</ref> Zweig also wrote that "to have seen Gustav Mahler on the street [in Vienna] was an event that one would proudly report to his comrades the next morning as it if were a personal triumph."<ref>Stefan Zweig, {{lang|de|Die Welt von Gestern. Erinnerungen eines Europäers}}, quoted in Fischer 2011, p. 58.</ref> During Mahler's tenure a total of 33&nbsp;new operas were introduced to the Hofoper; a further 55 were new or totally revamped productions.<ref name=DLG941>La Grange, Vol. 3, pp. 941–944</ref> However, a proposal to stage [[Richard Strauss]]'s controversial opera ''[[Salome (opera)|Salome]]'' in 1905 was rejected by the Viennese censors.<ref>La Grange, Vol. 3, pp. 249–252</ref>

Early in 1902 Mahler met [[Alfred Roller]], an artist and designer associated with the [[Vienna Secession]] movement. A year later, Mahler appointed him chief stage designer to the Hofoper, where Roller's debut was a new production of {{lang|de|Tristan und Isolde}}.<ref>La Grange, Vol. 2, pp. 515–516, 560–561</ref>{{refn|[[Alma Schindler]], Mahler's future wife, claimed to have introduced Mahler to Roller at her stepfather's house in January 1902. However, there is some evidence that Roller had worked on designs for the Hofoper as early as January 1901.<ref>Carr, pp. 138–139</ref>|group=n}} The collaboration between Mahler and Roller created more than 20&nbsp;celebrated productions of, among other operas, Beethoven's ''[[Fidelio]]'', Gluck's ''[[Iphigénie en Aulide]]'' and Mozart's {{lang|it|[[Le nozze di Figaro]]}}.<ref name=DLG941 /><ref name=Sadie510>Sadie, pp. 510–511</ref> In the ''Figaro'' production, Mahler offended some purists by adding and composing a short recitative scene to Act&nbsp;III.<ref>Mitchell, Vol. II, pp. 419–422</ref>

[[File:Mahler-Auenbruggergasse-2.jpg|thumb|alt=A dark plaque with white lettering in which the composer's name is shown in extra large characters on the left, the main message in smaller characters on the right|Plaque on Mahler's Vienna apartment, 2&nbsp;{{lang|de|Auenbruggergasse|italic=no}}: "Gustav Mahler lived and composed in this house from 1898 to 1909"]]

In spite of numerous theatrical triumphs, Mahler's Vienna years were rarely smooth; his battles with singers and the house administration continued on and off for the whole of his tenure. While Mahler's methods improved standards, his histrionic and dictatorial conducting style was resented by orchestra members and singers alike.<ref>La Grange, Vol. 2, pp. 130–131, 630–631</ref> In December 1903 Mahler faced a revolt by stagehands, whose demands for better conditions he rejected in the belief that extremists were manipulating his staff.<ref>La Grange, Vol. 2, pp. 632–634.</ref> The anti-Semitic elements in Viennese society, long opposed to Mahler's appointment, continued to attack him relentlessly, and in 1907 instituted a press campaign designed to drive him out.<ref name=Carr150>Carr, pp. 150–151</ref> By that time he was at odds with the opera house's administration over the amount of time he was spending on his own music, and was preparing to leave.<ref name=Sadie510 /> In May 1907 he began discussions with [[Heinrich Conried]], director of the New York [[Metropolitan Opera]], and on 21 June signed a contract, on very favourable terms, for four seasons' conducting in New York.<ref name=Carr150 /> At the end of the summer he submitted his resignation to the Hofoper, and on 15 October 1907 conducted ''Fidelio'', his 645th and final performance there. During his ten years in Vienna, Mahler had brought new life to the opera house and cleared its debts,<ref>Schonberg, p. 140</ref> but had won few friends—it was said that he treated his musicians in the way a lion tamer treated his animals.<ref>Snowman, p. 246</ref> His departing message to the company, which he pinned to a notice board, was later torn down and scattered over the floor.<ref>Blaukopf, pp. 217–19</ref> After conducting the Hofoper orchestra in a farewell concert performance of his Second Symphony on 24 November, Mahler left Vienna for New York in early December.<ref name=Sadie512>Sadie, pp. 512–13</ref><ref name=Carr154>Carr, pp. 154–155</ref>

====Philharmonic concerts====
[[File:Gustav Mahler silhouette Otto Böhler.jpg|thumb|Silhouette by [[Otto Böhler]]]]
When Richter resigned as head of the Vienna Philharmonic subscription concerts in September 1898,{{refn|The subscription concerts were an annual programme of orchestral concerts, performed by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra which comprised the elite instrumentalists from the Hofoper. Mahler was therefore well known to the players before he began his duties as the concerts conductor.<ref>Blaukopf, pp. 150–151</ref>|group=n}} the concerts committee had unanimously chosen Mahler as his successor.<ref>La Grange, Vol 2, p. 116</ref> The appointment was not universally welcomed; the anti-Semitic press wondered if, as a non-German, Mahler would be capable of defending German music.<ref name=DLG117>La Grange, Vol. 2, p. 117</ref> Attendances rose sharply in Mahler's first season, but members of the orchestra were particularly resentful of his habit of re-scoring acknowledged masterpieces, and of his scheduling of extra rehearsals for works with which they were thoroughly familiar.<ref name=Franklin7 /> An attempt by the orchestra to have Richter reinstated for the 1899 season failed, because Richter was not interested. Mahler's position was weakened when, in 1900, he took the orchestra to Paris to play at the [[Exposition Universelle (1900)|Exposition Universelle]]. The Paris concerts were poorly attended and lost money—Mahler had to borrow the orchestra's fare home from the [[Rothschild banking family of France|Rothschilds]].<ref name=Carr87>Carr, pp. 87–94</ref><ref>La Grange, Vol. 2, pp. 263–264</ref> In April 1901, dogged by a recurrence of ill-health and wearied by more complaints from the orchestra, Mahler relinquished the Philharmonic concerts conductorship.<ref name=Sadie510 /> In his three seasons he had performed around 80 different works, which included pieces by relatively unknown composers such as [[Hermann Goetz]], [[Wilhelm Kienzl]] and the Italian [[Lorenzo Perosi]].<ref name=Carr87 />

====Mature composer====
[[File:Mahler Composition Hut Klagenfurt.jpg|thumb|left|alt= A small grey hut, surrounded by woods, with an open door to which is affixed a picture of the composer|Mahler's second composing hut, at [[Maiernigg]] (near [[Klagenfurt]]), on the shores of the [[Wörthersee]] in Carinthia]]
The demands of his twin appointments in Vienna initially absorbed all Mahler's time and energy, but by 1899 he had resumed composing. The remaining Vienna years were to prove particularly fruitful. While working on some of the last of his {{lang|de|Des Knaben Wunderhorn}} settings he started his [[Symphony No. 4 (Mahler)|Fourth Symphony]], which he completed in 1900.<ref>Carr, p. 233</ref> By this time he had abandoned the composing hut at Steinbach and had acquired another, at [[Maiernigg]] on the shores of the [[Wörthersee]] in [[Carinthia]], where he later built a villa.<ref>Blaukopf, p. 137</ref> In this new venue Mahler embarked upon what is generally considered as his "middle" or post-{{lang|de|Wunderhorn}} compositional period.<ref name=Cooke71>Cooke, pp. 71–94</ref> Between 1901 and 1904 he wrote ten settings of poems by [[Friedrich Rückert]], five of which were collected as {{lang|de|[[Rückert-Lieder]]}}.{{refn|One of the Rückert poems, "{{lang|de|Liebst du um Schönheit|italic=no}}", was left unorchestrated until this was carried out by a Leipzig musician, Max Puttmann. The song is usually performed alongside the others.<ref>Carr, p. 129</ref>|group=n}} The other five formed the song cycle {{lang|de|[[Kindertotenlieder]]}} ("Songs on the Death of Children"). The trilogy of orchestral symphonies, the [[Symphony No. 5 (Mahler)|Fifth]], the [[Symphony No. 6 (Mahler)|Sixth]] and the [[Symphony No. 7 (Mahler)|Seventh]] were composed at Maiernigg between 1901 and 1905, and the [[Symphony No. 8 (Mahler)|Eighth Symphony]] written there in 1906, in eight weeks of furious activity.<ref name=Sadie510 /><ref>Carr, p.148</ref>

Within this same period Mahler's works began to be performed with increasing frequency. In April 1899 he conducted the Viennese premiere of his Second Symphony; 17 February 1901 saw the first public performance of his early work {{lang|de|Das klagende Lied}}, in a revised two-part form. Later that year, in November, Mahler conducted the premiere of his Fourth Symphony, in [[Munich]], and was on the rostrum for the first complete performance of the [[Symphony No. 3 (Mahler)|Third Symphony]], at the {{lang|de|[[Allgemeiner Deutscher Musikverein]]|italic=no}} festival at [[Krefeld]] on 9 June 1902. Mahler "first nights" now became increasingly frequent musical events; he conducted the first performances of the Fifth and Sixth Symphonies at [[Cologne]] and [[Essen]] respectively, in 1904 and 1906. Four of the {{lang|de|[[Rückert-Lieder]]}}, and {{lang|de|Kindertotenlieder}}, were introduced in Vienna on 29 January 1905.<ref name=Franklin7 /><ref name=Sadie510 />

====Marriage, family, tragedy====
[[File:YoungAlmaMahler.jpg|thumb|upright|alt= Head and shoulders photo portrait of an attractive dark-haired young woman looking left with a thoughtful expression|[[Alma Schindler]], who married Mahler in 1902 (from 1902, possibly earlier)]]
During his second season in Vienna, Mahler acquired a spacious modern apartment on the Auenbruggergasse and built a summer villa on land he had acquired next to his new composing studio at Maiernigg.<ref name=Franklin7 /> In November 1901, he met [[Alma Mahler|Alma Schindler]], the stepdaughter of painter [[Carl Moll]], at a social gathering that included the theatre director [[Max Burckhard]].<ref name=DLG418>La Grange, Vol. 2, pp. 418–420</ref> Alma was not initially keen to meet Mahler, on account of "the scandals about him and every young woman who aspired to sing in opera."<ref>A. Mahler, pp. 3–5</ref> The two engaged in a lively disagreement about a ballet by [[Alexander von Zemlinsky]] (Alma was one of Zemlinsky's pupils), but agreed to meet at the Hofoper the following day.<ref name=DLG418 /> This meeting led to a rapid courtship; Mahler and Alma were married at a private ceremony on 9 March 1902. Alma was by then pregnant with her first child,<ref>La Grange, Vol. 2, pp. 487–489</ref> a daughter Maria Anna, who was born on 3 November 1902. A second daughter, [[Anna Mahler|Anna]], was born in 1904.<ref name=Sadie510 />

[[File:Emil Orlik Gustav Mahler 1902.jpg|thumb|left|upright|1902 portrait by [[Emil Orlík]]]]
Friends of the couple were surprised by the marriage and dubious of its wisdom. Burckhard called Mahler "that [[rachitic]] degenerate Jew", unworthy for such a good-looking girl of good family.<ref>La Grange, Vol. 2, p. 432</ref> On the other hand, Mahler's family considered Alma to be flirtatious, unreliable, and too fond of seeing young men fall for her charms.<ref>La Grange, Vol. 2, p. 442</ref> Mahler was by nature moody and authoritarian—Natalie Bauer-Lechner, his earlier partner, said that living with him was "like being on a boat that is ceaselessly rocked to and fro by the waves."<ref>Carr, p. 108</ref> Alma soon became resentful because of Mahler's insistence that there could only be one composer in the family and that she had given up her music studies to accommodate him. "The role of composer, the worker's role, falls to me, yours is that of a loving companion and understanding partner ... I'm asking a very great deal – and I can and may do so because I know what I have to give and will give in exchange."<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/dec/02/alma-schindler-problem-gustav-mahler |title=The Alma Problem |last=Connolly |first=Sarah |date=2 December 2010 |work=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=17 September 2019 |archive-date=26 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190826035037/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/dec/02/alma-schindler-problem-gustav-mahler |url-status=live }}</ref> She wrote in her diary: "How hard it is to be so mercilessly deprived of&nbsp;... things closest to one's heart."<ref name=Carr143>Carr, pp. 143–144</ref> Mahler's requirement that their married life be organized around his creative activities imposed strains, and precipitated rebellion on Alma's part; the marriage was nevertheless marked at times by expressions of considerable passion, particularly from Mahler.{{refn|See, for example, the letters to Alma sent from Munich in 1910, the last of which begins: "My beloved, madly beloved Almschili! Believe me, I am sick with love!"<ref>A. Mahler, pp. 334–338</ref> Carr, however, notes the extent to which Alma Mahler edited and selected the letters which she published in her book ''Memories and Letters'', initially published in 1940.<ref>Carr, p. 107</ref>|group=n}}

In the summer of 1907 Mahler, exhausted from the effects of the campaign against him in Vienna, took his family to Maiernigg. Soon after their arrival both daughters fell ill with [[scarlet fever]] and [[diphtheria]]. Anna recovered, but after a fortnight's struggle Maria died on 12 July.<ref name=Franklin8>Franklin (8. Europe and New York, 1907–11)</ref> Immediately following this devastating loss, Mahler learned that his heart was defective, a diagnosis subsequently confirmed by a Vienna specialist, who ordered a curtailment of all forms of vigorous exercise. The extent to which Mahler's condition disabled him is unclear; Alma wrote of it as a virtual death sentence, though Mahler himself, in a letter written to her on 30 August 1907, said that he would be able to live a normal life, apart from avoiding over-fatigue.<ref>Carr, pp. 152–154</ref> The illness was, however, a further depressing factor.<ref name=B217>Blaukopf, p. 217</ref> Mahler and his family left Maiernigg and spent the rest of the summer at [[Schluderbach]].<ref>Stephen E. Hefling, Julian Rushton, ''Song of the Earth'' (2000), p. 30</ref> At the end of the summer the villa at Maiernigg was closed and never revisited.<ref name=B217/>
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