Symphony No. 3

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The Symphony No. 3 in D minor by Gustav Mahler was written between 1893 and 1896. It is his longest piece and is the longest symphony in the standard repertoire, with a typical performance lasting around ninety to one hundred minutes.

Structure

In its final form, the work has six movements:

1. Kräftig entschieden (Strong and decisive)
2. Tempo di Menuetto (In the tempo of a minuet)
3. Comodo (Scherzando) (Comfortably, like a scherzo)
4. Sehr langsam—Misterioso (Very slowly, mysteriously)
5. Lustig im Tempo und keck im Ausdruck (Cheerful in tempo and bold in expression)
6. Langsam—Ruhevoll—Empfunden (Slowly, tranquil, deeply felt)

The first movement alone, with a normal duration of a little more than thirty minutes, sometimes forty, forms the first part of the symphony. The second part consists of the other five movements and has a duration of about sixty to seventy minutes.

As with each of his first four symphonies, Mahler originally provided a programme of sorts to explain the narrative of the piece. In the third symphony this took the form of titles for each movement:

1. "Pan Awakes, Summer Marches In"
2. "What the Flowers on the Meadow Tell Me"
3. "What the Animals in the Forest Tell Me"
4. "What Man Tells Me"
5. "What the Angels Tell Me"
6. "What Love Tells Me"

All these titles were dropped before publication in 1898.

There was originally a seventh movement, "What the Child Tells Me", but this was eventually dropped, becoming instead the last movement of the Symphony No. 4.

The symphony, particularly due to the extensive number of movements and their marked differences in character and construction, is a unique work. The opening movement, grotesque in its conception (much like the symphony itself), roughly takes the shape of sonata form, insofar as there is an alternating presentation of two theme groups; however, the themes are varied and developed with each presentation, and the typical harmonic logic of the sonata form movement—particularly the tonic statement of second theme group material in the recapitulation—is replaced here by something new. The slow opening can seem to evoke the primordial sleep of nature, slowly gathering itself into a rousing orchestral march. A solo tenor trombone passage states a bold melody that is developed and transformed in its recurrences. Innovation is present everywhere in this movement, including its apparent length. At the apparent conclusion of the development, several solo snare drums "in a high gallery" play a rhythmic passage lasting about thirty seconds and the opening passage by eight horns is repeated almost exactly.

The third movement quotes extensively from Mahler's early song "Ablösung im Sommer"(Relief in Summer). The fourth is a setting of Friedrich Nietzsche's "Midnight Song" from Also sprach Zarathustra, while the fifth, "Es sungen drei Engel", is one of Mahler's Des Knaben Wunderhorn songs.

It is in the finale, however, that Mahler reveals his true genius for stirring the soul. The construction of it is masterful, and the interplay of a developing chromatic harmony and sonorous string melody, developed and re-orchestrated with perfect grace and poise builds to a conclusion that, though seemingly overblown when heard in isolation, is, in the wider context of the symphony, both musically justified and emotionally overwhelming. The symphony ends with repeated D major chords and timpani statements before one final long chord.

Natalie Bauer-Lechner

Mahler was well acquainted with Natalie Bauer-Lechner, a viola player, during the time period when he composed this third symphony. The structure and content was not revealed by Mahler to the public but he informed Bauer-Lechner about it. She kept a private journal on what he stated about this third symphony. Mahler said, "You couldn't imagine how this will sound!"^{[cite this quote]}

Instrumentation

As usual for Mahler, the piece is written for large orchestral forces consisting of the following:

¹The 2 Glockenspiel parts may be played by two percussionists on one instrument. Today's mallet technique allows the part to be performed by one player holding two mallets in each hand.

Text

Fourth Movement

Text from Friedrich Nietzsche's Also sprach Zarathustra: the "Midnight Song"

Fifth Movement

Text from Des Knaben Wunderhorn

Performance

The piece is performed in concert less frequently than Mahler's other symphonies, due in part to its great length and the huge ensemble required. When it is performed, a short interval is sometimes taken between the first movement (which alone lasts around half an hour) and the rest of the piece. Despite this, it is a popular work and has been recorded by most major orchestras and conductors.

The final movement was used as background music in one episode of the 1984 television series, "Call to Glory" and on an episode of the BBC's 'Coast' programme, during a description of the history of HMS Temeraire. It also served as background music (in full length) during the "Allegory" segment of the Athens 2004 Summer Olympics opening ceremony cultural show.

A section from the Fourth Movement 'Midnight Song' features in Luchino Visconti's 1971 film Death in Venice, where it is presented as the music Gustav von Aschenbach composes before he dies.

The second movement of this work was arranged by Benjamin Britten for a smaller orchestra, a version published by Boosey & Hawkes in 1950.

Premieres

• Premiere of second, third and sixth movements only: 1897, Berlin, conducted by Felix Weingartner.
• Premiere of the complete symphony: June 9, 1902, Krefeld, conducted by the composer.
• Dutch premiere: October 17, 1903 in Arnhem, five days later the composer himself conducted the Amsterdam premiere with the Concertgebouw Orchestra.
• American premiere: May 9, 1914 at the Cincinnati May Festival conducted by Ernst Kunwald
• New York Philharmonic premiere: February 28, 1922, New York City, conducted by Willem Mengelberg.
• English premiere (BBC broadcast): November 29, 1947, BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Adrian Boult.
• Recording premiere: F. Charles Adler, Hilde Rössl-Majdan (contralto), choirs, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, 1951.
• English concert premiere: February 28, 1961, St Pancras town hall, conducted by Bryan Fairfax.
• Singapore premiere: January 26, 2008, Singapore Symphony Orchestra conducted by Lan Shui.

Media

	Trombone solo from the Symphony No. 3, first movement Arranged for trombone and organ
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

External links

• Extensive history and analysis by renowned Mahler scholar Henry Louis de La Grange