# Beginning of Mahler 2



## dzc4627 (Apr 23, 2015)

This was bordering placement in the "too small to deserve its own thread" thread, but I came to the conclusion that it was big enough, and also could be applied to other things if they occurred in other scores.

So, Mahler's 2nd symphony begins forcefully and shockingly with the tremolo in upper strings and then the 16th passages in the celli and basses. It is this opening 4 bars I'm confused about.

The passage is notated in 16ths, at a pretty slow tempo. And yet, in almost, nay, every interpretation I have heard, they are played with utmost fury, and 32nds!

Now, do not get me wrong. I love this! It would sound much less explosive if the notes were given their written value. I just want to know what indicates this seemingly universal gesture among conductors and this piece!

Is it the "wild" given as direction to the low strings? Something else? Please do explain if you can. It has been eating me for years.


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## dzc4627 (Apr 23, 2015)

Well! Looks like I made this thread a tad too early, for I have found the answer with just a little more digging. At the bottom of the first page is a little bit of German that I just wrote off (rather stupidly now that I look back on it) as something other than the answer. I've gone ahead and translated it and here is roughly what it says:

Anmerkung fur den dirigenten. In den ersten takten des Thema's sind die Bassfiguren schnell in heftigem ansturm ungefahr (quarter note symbol) = 144, die Pausen jedoch im Hauptzeitmass (quarter note symbol) = 84 - 92. Der Halt im 4. Takte ist kurz - gleichsam ein Ausholen zu neuer Kraft. Auffuhrrungsrecht vorbehalten 

=

Note for the conductor. In the first few times of the theme, the bass figures are fast in a violent storm about quarter note = 144, the breaks however in the main time period quarter note = 84 - 92. The stop in the fourth bar is short - as it were a recovery to new force. Right of execution reserved.

So that solves that. Case closed, woops. I'd imagine it was something more cryptic than just a little note at the bottom. :lol:


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## Bruckner Anton (Mar 10, 2016)

I like this good thread that focuses on details. Mahler was a great and experienced conductor, so while composing a symphony, he spontaneously did a big part of the conductor's task by put a huge amount of notes on his scores. This actually helped the person that conducts his symphony, and restricted the interpretation of his works so that there should not be too many ways to perform it. If we pay close attention to the notes, we may find that a large part of the recordings more or less fail to convey specific details as requested by the composer.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

Perhaps there should be a new thread - Which conductors actually pay attention to Mahler's instructions on the score?


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