# Understanding Mahler's 5th, Part 4



## Mahlerian (Nov 27, 2012)

Understanding Mahler's Fifth Symphony

*Part 4: III - Scherzo

Form*

Exposition
0:00~0:41 Theme A (D major)
0:41~1:16 Theme B (B minor->D major)
1:16~2:25 Variations on A and B (D major->B minor->B-flat->A major->D major)
2:25~3:20 Trio (B flat major)

Development
3:20~4:07 Variations on A and B (D major)
4:07~6:30 Trumpet call, variation on B and trio (F minor->G minor)
6:30~9:25 Variations on Trio and B (D minor->A-flat major->A minor)
9:25~10:30 Speeding up (F minor/major, modulating)

Recapitulation
10:30~11:12 Theme A (D major)
11:12~11:46 Theme B (B minor->F major)
11:46~12:22 Trio (D major)

Coda
12:22~16:08 Variations on all themes (F minor->A minor->G major->D major->D minor)
16:08~16:55 Bass drum tattoo, closing (D major)

It is unusual and likely without precedent in the literature for a symphony's longest and most complex movement to be its scherzo. This part of the symphony that had begun life as a simple minuet had developed through Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven into a movement with nearly equal weight to those that surrounded it. In his previous symphonies, Mahler's scherzos had taken on a developmental character, with less literal repetition in each succeeding work, but that of the fifth is unique even within his ouevre in its dimensions and form.

This movement was the first of the symphony's five to be written, and its unflaggingly radiant joy contrasts starkly with the morose A minor ending that precedes it. Mahler designates this movement, by itself, as the second part of the symphony, and it has no direct quotations of material from the others, although certain features of its motifs connect it to the rest. A concertante horn part runs throughout.

*Themes*

The opening horn call, which generates countless variants throughout the movement. Its shape of a rising major ninth (A-B) which acts as an appogiatura connects it with the preceding movements (which used a minor ninth), as does the dotted rhythm of the fourth and fifth bars. Elements of this theme create many variants such as that in example 2, not all of which can be detailed here.
















A jittery motif in the strings (Theme B) accompanied by a staccato figure as important for its rhythm as for its shape.









The lilting theme of the trio, and its most prominent variant, the swaying contour of which permeates much of the development.
















*Analysis*

The movement opens with a brilliant D major flourish from the horns, which lead into the entrance of the solo obbligato horn. A short phrase from the winds follows, then a dialogue between the horn and strings, setting off the dazzling counterpoint that runs throughout the movement. The continually morphing motifs lead the orchestra to a cadence, and a new, jittery string figure in B minor is accompanied by a staccato call in the clarinets, piling on one after another. A minor-key variant on the main theme follows, stepping lightly, but unable to move forward. It morphs into a flute-led variation for winds in F, which just as suddenly changes into an F# and leads the music back into D major. Following a brief, fluttering variation, the jittery theme reappears in B-flat, winding through a version of the earlier dancing theme on the edge of A major, but once again flipping back into the home key for a new variation accompanied by rapid string scale runs in irregular groupings. The horns signal the rest of the orchestra to pause, and the onward rush comes to a sudden halt.

The G held by horns turns into a G on the violins, which leads a new lilting theme in B-flat major, at a more relaxed tempo, accompanied by pizzicato in the violas and basses and echoed in the cellos. Solo winds add subtle accents, and the theme trails off gently on the dominant of B-flat. Immediately _a tempo_, a variant of the introduction returns on trumpets and horns, once again in D major. A variation, accompanied by slipping violins and dotted rhythms in the upper winds, bursts into a version of the jittery theme from earlier, now transformed brilliantly into the home key, but a number of entries of this lead into F minor, with a new trumpet melody (derived from the descending fourth of the opening horn call merged with an accompaniment figure from the trio), echoed first in the upper winds and then in the first violins against a swaying motif in the winds. The arpeggiated string figures move into the winds, with a solo horn blossoming from the winds' motif.

Moving into G minor, the horn calls become more frequent against the shifting background, and a shuddering chord moving between strings and horns for the first full tutti in the movement. The obbligato horn enters against this background, sounding out the swaying theme hesitantly. Lower strings and winds respond, muted and halting. Once more, the horn calls out, and even the English horn and violas do not reply, leaving only the lowest strings and winds. Once again in tempo, the cellos and horn begin a dialogue punctuated by fermatas, but a lamenting descent against a quiet chord in the violas and cellos leads to a halting cadence in D minor. In this key, a pizzicato exchange in the strings slowly reveals a variation of the trio, taken up more explicitly by the oboe in D-flat. A clarinet plays the swaying theme against this same pizzicato background, now hovering in the region of A-flat, but following a duet by violins and obbligato horn, the arpeggiated figures of Theme B appear in the clarinet, with the descending trumpet call now played slowly in violins against the swaying theme in violas. Timpani rolls and pedal points begin to dominate the texture, first on B-flat, then on G. The texture thins out to three horns and a clarinet.

A ghostly trumpet solo against muted violins takes these themes into a tentative E minor, which immediately dissolves into A minor. Against this etherial background, a single trombone sounds out a variation on the main theme, and a trudging brass chorale follows, accompanied by low strings and winds. Another gesture from the obbligato horn of the swaying theme is followed by a pause for the full orchestra. The strings again enter, pizzicato, with the trio theme, unsure of whether the key is F major or F minor, and the tempo begins to accelerate as the fragments of the theme merge and blend. Back in tempo, the low strings rage furiously and the upper winds transform the lilting trio theme into a shriek; against a trill in the winds and a swaying pattern in the horns, the trombones and basses turn the opening of the movement into a defiant snarl. The horns cry out with the trio theme, and the trumpet call from theme B returns to the clacking of the whip. The entire orchestra lunges forward in a crescendo.

Instead of the expected tutti, the horn calls of the introduction return unaccompanied, just as before, heralding the recapitulation. The first theme returns somewhat varied and entirely reorchestrated, and theme B's clarinet calls now appear doubled by oboes and without any introduction of their jagged accompaniment. Just as suddenly, following a massive tutti, the theme of the trio appears joyously in D major, finally bursting into a flurry of brass against the jagged patterns of B in the second violins, then the violas. The music begins to modulate.

Once again in F minor, the descending trumpet call is echoed by strings. The wind passage that follows, full of archaic-sounding parallels and part crossing, is one of the most bizarre in Mahler's oeuvre. The bassoons, trombones, and tuba intone the swaying theme across three octaves in A minor against a strangely static figuration in the upper winds derived from theme B. This morphs through two more variations before the violins jut in with a variant of the main theme, now in G major, against the trio's lilting rhythm now rendered heavy and dragging in the low strings and trombones. All of the themes begin to pile in, leading to a crescendo and a rapidly falling scale. The music again begins in D major in the low strings with a variation on the opening horn call against the trio theme in the horns, but the orchestra once again piles on in a large-scale crescendo. A brass chord brings the activity to a halt, and the obbligato horn intones the swaying theme unaccompanied. Another outburst from the orchestra, and it replies again, this time answered by a flurry of tremolo strings. This conversation concludes after a few more volleys with the obbligato horn intoning the descending call. Once again, the strings enter with the pizzicato of the trio, the clarinets responding in arpeggiated figures, and we stand on the threshold of D minor. The tempo slows to a crawl as the music trails off.

The bass drum enters, immediately in tempo, pounding out the rhythm of the clarinet call from B. Strings add a rapid staccato arpeggiation over this tattoo, which moves into the timpani as the trumpets take up the call. Horns add the theme of the trio into this maelstrom, and the winds respond with the theme of the opening horn call, which then appears in the horns as at the beginning. All of these elements are worked into a frenzy against the constant beat of the timpani, and the whole horn section, echoing the opening, brings this long and complex movement to a boisterous close.

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## Kieran (Aug 24, 2010)

It's scary, but I'm actually getting to recognise where I am in the music from your blog, especially the "ghostly trumpet solo against muted violins takes these themes into a tentative E minor, which immediately dissolves into A minor." I can hear it while I read it.

Interesting that this was the first movement written for the symph. Did he have any usual methodology for composing symphonies?

Thanks again for a fascinating and in-depth analysis!


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## Mahlerian (Nov 27, 2012)

Every one was written differently. He usually wrote the finale last, but not in the case of the 3rd, for example, where the first movement was the last to be completed, or the 4th, where the finale predates the rest of the symphony by several years, and the slow variations movement was the last written.

He only had the time to undertake creative work in the summers between seasons of the opera, and he usually had a fallow period at the beginning of that time where ideas would be slow in coming, followed by periods of intense, prolonged activity.


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## Kieran (Aug 24, 2010)

That's interesting, because it sounds like he slotted his composition into his downtime from the "paid job", which is like a lot of other people. But maybe in his case, it was how he worked best, to take each task in its turn. I think with work of this magnitude, it requires an immense amount of planning and painstaking attention.

And in saying this, I'm talking about your excellent blog! Mahler's symphonies too, I'd imagine. If he composed only through summer, then he'd have to abandon the work when he went back to conducting. I think he had amazing patience and control to do this. And most likely some very exact sketches of what he envisioned next...


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