Gustav mahler plays the post horn, piano, etc.... He was a
composer and a chef orchestrer. He is generally recognized as the
last great German symphonist. He sought to expand the scope and
breadth of the symphony to the greatest possible extent, believing
that the symphony should "take in the whole world". The major
influence on his work, however, was not a symphonic composer at all
but rather that of Wagner, who was, according to Mahler, the only
composer after Beethoven to truly have "development" in his
music.
With the exceptions of an early piano quartet. Mahler's entire
output consists of only two genres: symphony and song. His music is
mostly in the tradition of astro-german.
