A brief introduction to Mahler's Fourth Symphony
The famous scholar Mahler, Mahler Egan Jiadengbao second, third, fourth of the three Symphony called "magic number" trilogy, mainly because of the three Symphony lyrics and themes is drawn from "children's magic" folk songs. Therefore, before exploring the creative background of the Fourth Symphony, we should first know its origin.A collection of folk songs "magic number" of children is mainly Prussian aristocracy acme von aning and bard Clemens Brentano two published. Because they love the traditional German folk music, and to the country visits by farmers, herders and bard ancient oral records, collected more than 500 songs, and in 1806 to 1808 years into the 3 book."Magic number" children folk songs described the contents of medieval legends, the thirty years' War (1618 ~ 1648) and the seven years' War (1756 ~ 1763), reflect the cruel and ironic fantasy. The protagonist in the song not suffer in hell, God is banished, and hungry people and people waiting to be executed. Mahler was thrilled by the desires, love, parting, the night, the death, the kingdom of heaven. As Mahler's student, German conductor and pianist Bruno Walter said, "when Mahler read the children's magic, he seemed to have found his roots."."Thus, from 1892 onwards, Mahler in the "children's magic" in the more than 500 folk songs, selected 25 of the music into music. One of them is "the kingdom of heaven", the finale of the fourth symphony. So, strictly speaking, the final movement of the Fourth Symphony was completed as early as 1892. When Mahler in 1895, near the completion of the "Third Symphony", once considered to be "Heaven life" this song "as the finale of the third symphony", but "Third Symphony" has 6 movements, if additional space seems too long. After several considerations, I finally gave up. But he was able to grasp the main thoughts of the Fourth Symphony by the title he used to tell me: "what children told me.".
Muller (1860 - 1911, the composer of Austria) lived like a magnificent symphonic epic poem, and each of his symphonies was a different chapter of the epic. If it is a total name for this epic, it should be called "the history of soul exile" or "the history of spiritual vagrancy"". In the real world, Mahler is not his real identity and belonging to hometown; in the kingdom of God, and he really can not settle down. So he only continue to pursue, and his creation of music, is one to record these wandering soul.The Fourth Symphony in G major is just a temporary resting place for his first wandering history. In this symphony, Mahler depicts the good life of heaven through the innocent imagination of children. However, Mahler is not Mozart, he did not of course to Mozart's utter innocence, childish Frank mood to enjoy paradise, so music is still mixed with the fear of death and inexplicable sadness."Fourth Symphony" is Mahler's symphony in the smallest, most simple structure of a song, but Mahler in the deep and vast sea of mind, and still endless enthone.
The summer of 1899 Mahler in southern Austria Mayr negore resort. He was so stressed by his work that he had a nervous breakdown and was anxious to write the Fourth Symphony, but his mood was not calm. So during the summer, his writing was slow and with little concrete results. When the holidays were over, he had to go back to work at the Vienna opera house. In the summer of 1900, Mahler returned to his negore villa, rethink the "Fourth Symphony" creation. Then he thought of music fountain, write like an angel. Completed the creation of the whole symphony in August 6th. According to Mahler himself, in fact, his subconscious has been working hard for a whole year, to the holiday, but the brain is to store the melody to write it out. If this is true, then the "Fourth Symphony" the beautiful melody, is pouring out Mahler deep springs Lake heart obscure. If the "Third Symphony" shows the nature of the life of the macro, then this short exquisite "Fourth Symphony", that is, the yearning for the kingdom of heaven and the earth.Mahler scholar Paul Beck believes that Mahler's "Fourth Symphony" in the description of "exaltation to paradise journey", in this song, death is to lead people into his music heaven in a friendly face. In order to further analyze the spiritual changes in the journey of the Kingdom described in the Fourth Symphony, the main contents of each movement of the symphony are described below.
