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Gustav Mahler: The Symphonies

30

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Gustav Mahler: The Symphonies

4.8

Highest ranking 101

13 comments

$30

Other platform prices

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Reviews From
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Amazon CustomerReviewed in the United States on October 3, 2023

When an author writes of the many years it took to complete, it is a signal that it's good to slow down. This is my feeling about this.

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Mr John HaueisenReviewed in the United States on May 26, 2008

By the time I opened this book I had already read more than a dozen biographies of composer Gustav Mahler. What could this one add? Well, it surprised me. It lives up to its name: GUSTAV MAHLER: THE SYMPHONIES. What it does is give you a thorough explanation of each Mahler symphony. It tells you things like when it was written, why it was written, how it was written, and suggestions as to "what the music means," which is especially relevant to Mahler's music. Thus, if I could have only a single book on Mahler, this would be the one I would keep, because it will be my learned, private guide or tutor, to better help me understand--and love even more--each Mahler symphony

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JavierReviewed in the United States on December 15, 2010

It is an amazing introduction to Mahler's Symphonies for an audience that loves his music. The programmatic ideas in his four first symphonies are well depicted through Mahler's own letters and his personal approach to musical trends of his time. The Greek musicologist, Mr. Constantin Floros, offers an interesting analysis of each Symphony of this Austrian composer. The book also illustrates few musical examples of the composer's music and some sketches of his symphonies. It is a good book for advanced students of music, musicologists, and reviewers. However you don't have to be music major to enjoy and understand this book that suggests us renewed ideas of the late-romantic music.

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Harry BransonReviewed in the United States on November 24, 2016

If you like Mahler, this is the book to have. Enlightening explanation of the symphonies. Worth reading then keeping as a reference.

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Thales FontanettiReviewed in the United States on October 2, 2013

Great and fantastic book! Look forward to studying and discovering all hidden treasures the symphonies have. Truly a masterpiece! Gustav Mahler touches the body and mind.

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AlReviewed in the United States on January 21, 2016

If you love Mahler symphonies, then this is a wonderful asset to gaining a deeper understanding.

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BJReviewed in the United States on October 13, 2014

I bought this for my son who is a Music Major. He loves the book!

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Linda McDougallReviewed in the United States on July 5, 2009

I wish I could be as enthusiastic about this work as the other reviewers, and I might be being picky, but as Mahler has been a constant study and companion to me, I found myself irritated by the more personal observations made by the author. The musical analyses are beyond reproach - so I won't go there. However,as one cannot separate the soul of Mahler from his music, I wondered why Floros backs them up with some rather inane quotes from Alma's memoirs and historical inaccuracies. Let me simply deal with the incomplete Tenth Symphony - it's a good example. And I quote from Alma's recollections:"...he was in deepest turmoil...he recognized that he had led the life of a psycopath" - her reason for Mahler's exclamations to her on the score. As much as I admire Alma Maher, I must,as a psychoanalyst, question her damning use of the word "psychopath", something she knew absolutely nothing about at a time when Freud was tearing his hair out in Vienna because not one of the so-called elite dared to consider a look at their troubled psyches. Mahler was about as far away from a psychopath as Franz Schubert. The author also attributes his suffering in 1910 as a direct result of the appearance of Walter Gropius on the scene, a "long-time admirer" of Alma. Excuse me, has anyone forgotten that she and Gropius were ardent lovers? And earlier on in the book, Floros states, after quoting lines Mahler wrote about his own fears, that he knew he was on the brink of insanity. What irks me in this type of amateur psychology is the treatment of a genius as an object to be poked at. This great, sensitive and passionate composer was a person that intellectuals such as this author can never understand...which is why "intellectuals" (and here I use the term in its deeper sense), like Claudio Abbado, don't need to talk about him, except to say the same words he uses for his favorite poet, the "insane" Holderlin: "They couldn't understand him". Abbado almost becomes Mahler when he conducts his work...his capacity to understand the soul of the man goes way beyond any analysis and superficial psychology. Deryck Cooke, no matter how fussy he may sound, let his love and compassion for Mahler show through everything he wrote about him. Same with Henry-Louis de la Grange. For that reason, I really can only recommend this particular book for technical studies of the symphonies.

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ALESSANDRO MORELLIReviewed in Italy on July 30, 2014

Uno dei più completi studi che io conosca sull'analisi delle sinfonie mahleriane. Assolutamente consigliato a chi conosce l'inglese e sa leggere uno spartito (per via dei numerosi esempi musicali).

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Loupdesmers85Reviewed in France on October 31, 2022

Édition anglaise pas trouvé d'édition en français, donc, je tente de traduire en français, defa 50 pages traduites. Très bon livre développe bien les symphonies mouvements par mouvements avec l'histoire des origines de composition. A lire absolument.

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Marco ThibeaultReviewed in Canada on January 7, 2025

A reference work that has stood the test of time. If you wish to dive into the world of Mahler's symphonies, this book has to be considered.

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PRSReviewed in Australia on February 25, 2024

Great!!

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ErikReviewed in Germany on September 8, 2019

What a magnificent book. You can really feel that the author has studied Mahler's music extensively and deeply. The book finds a very good balance between musical analysis, historical context and biography, with the focus on the musical analysis. It provides musical examples and quotes mixed with the description of the music, which make it an entertaining read. You can also feel that the author is clearly an academic, and sometimes the terminology or musical explanation went a bit over my head, but in general I could follow along easily and I actually learned a lot about musical theory in general as well. This is really a big compliment to the author. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone with an interest in Mahler's music.