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The Mahler Symphonies: An Owner's Manual
David Hurwitz
Since Gustav Mahler was rediscovered in the early 1960s, his symphonies have become arguably the most popular works in the modern orchestral repertoire. Orchestras worldwide ask to be judged by their expertise in playing these lengthy and colorful scores, while few composers since the mid-20th century have escaped Mahler’s influence.
Mahler was a commanding figure in his own time and renowned as the greatest living conductor. His works summarize the great German symphonic tradition. The Mahler Symphonies: An Owner’s Manual is the first discussion of the ten completed symphonies (No. 1–9 plus The Song of the Earth) to offer music lovers and record collectors a comprehensive overview of the music itself, what it sounds like, how it is organized, its form, content, and meaning, as it strikes today’s listeners.
The book caters to the novice as David Hurwitz describes what the listener will hear, section by section, using simple cues such as important instrumental solos, recognizable tunes, climaxes, and other easily audible musical facts. He explains how each work is arranged, how the various parts relate to each other, and how one work leads to the next. The emphasis throughout is on the experience of listening, and how each symphony embodies Mahler’s dictum that the symphony “must embrace the world. It must contain everything.”
In considering each of these epic “sound worlds” in turn, The Mahler Symphonies: An Owner’s Manual describes the emotional extravagance that lies at the root of Mahler’s popularity, the consistency of his symphonic thinking, the relationship of each work to its companions, and his dazzling and revolutionary use of orchestral instruments to create an expressive musical language that is varied in content and immediate in impact.
Accompanying CD contains recordings from Häenssler Classic:
1. Symphony No. 1, Third Movement
2. Symphony No. 2, First Movement
3. Symphony No. 5, Third Movement
4. Symphony No. 7, Second Movement: “Nachtmusik I”
1-57467-099-9, 224 pp, includes a music CD, 6 x 9", paperback, © 2004
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Price: $22.95 US
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Media Reviews
". . . Hurwitz writes about music in a style that is suitable for readers of all ages from young adults and up."
— The Reviewer's Bookwatch
"Music lovers will enjoy two new books from Amadeus Press, Pompton Plains, NJ. One is called Parallel Lives: Ives and Copland ($19.95) by Daniel Felsenfeld and the other is The Mahler Symphonies: An Owner's Manual ($19.95) by David Hurwitz. What makes each book particularly useful and interesting is the way both come with a CD disk. Whether you know a lot or nothing about these composers and their works, I guarantee you that, after reading either of these books, you will have acquired a body of knowledge that will enable you to listen to them with a new appreciation."
— Picks of the Month, www.bookviews.com
"In The Mahler Symphonies - An Owner's Manual, David Hurwitz breaks down the nine (he makes a solid case for omitting the incomplete 10th), exploring each masterpiece, movement by movement. The CD offers complete movements from only four symphonies - providing a tantalizing taste of what is in store for the new-born Mahler fan."
— Marc Shulgold, Music and Dance Writer, Rocky Mountain News
, January 29, 2005
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