I love Gustav Mahler for his tunes. For the way he can evoke a time, place and mood. For the way he creates a world you can not only see & hear, but can touch and walk around in.
His First Symphony evokes what for me is the first day of Planet Earth. The first movement gives us a fine summer morning. The sun rises rises over the forest. In the second movement, the forest's plants and animals dance, free of all care. The third movement introduces Man, in the person of a Stone Age family arduously pushing their stone-wheeled cart. Yes, they have an ox out front but the ox is near exhaustion. The fourth movement is the big storm, a storm that, of course, finally, gloriously clears.
I remember putting on the Bruno Walter performance of the First Symphony during a make-out session in college. Yeah, I won't go into details, but the girl had to admit that the music really did create a universe.
His First Symphony evokes what for me is the first day of Planet Earth. The first movement gives us a fine summer morning. The sun rises rises over the forest. In the second movement, the forest's plants and animals dance, free of all care. The third movement introduces Man, in the person of a Stone Age family arduously pushing their stone-wheeled cart. Yes, they have an ox out front but the ox is near exhaustion. The fourth movement is the big storm, a storm that, of course, finally, gloriously clears.
I remember putting on the Bruno Walter performance of the First Symphony during a make-out session in college. Yeah, I won't go into details, but the girl had to admit that the music really did create a universe.