# Mahler: Symphonies or Songs?



## adriesba (Dec 30, 2019)

Which do you prefer?


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## ORigel (May 7, 2020)

In spite of his greatest composition being DLVDE, I chose symphonies.


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## EdwardBast (Nov 25, 2013)

I'd trade four or five of the symphonies for their weight in songs.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Does equal count for once?


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

In terms of my own enjoyment, both genres are top notch (the three main song cycles, Das Lied von der Erde, and six of the numbered symphonies all score 6/6 on the Artrockometer). In terms of quantity that is 7-3 for the symphonies (in line with Mahler's own choice, I include DLVDE with the symphonies).


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## Kreisler jr (Apr 21, 2021)

I have probably listened overall more to the lieder, simply because of convenience as the symphonies are so huge. I'd also recommend the Wunderhorn and Wayfarer cycles to all newbies, especially if they struggle with the symphonies. I'd even say that Mahler is a bit underrated in the song department and a bit overrated as a symphonist (he went from niche to supreme in the estimation of audiences within two decades in the 1970-80s) and I also think that many (including the notorious Dave Hurwitz) underestimate the whole genre of lieder. But I could not prefer either as both seem essential and the best of the symphonies (such as the 9th) are overall so important that it would be strange to set them behind the song cycles. It seems to me also that despite being maybe the best orchestral songs in the repertoire, they hardly advance the range or unity of a song *cycle* beyond the early/high romantics. In fact, both Wunderhorn and Rückert are merely collections, not cycles, as is shown by publication history.


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## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

For me the lieder is more satisfying than the symphonies because of their compactness. The symphonies to me all have stretches of music that becomes tiresome and defeats regular listening. I don't find this ever happens with Un Mitternacht or any of the other better songs.


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

Having been a rabid Mahler listening for 50 years I'm still surprised how little I know the songs. I own all the classic recordings and have even played Songs of Dead Children and Wayfarer. And I enjoy the songs when I hear them, but just spend more time with the symphonies.


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

Symphonies. No contest.


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## allaroundmusicenthusiast (Jun 3, 2020)

ORigel said:


> In spite of his greatest composition being DLVDE, I chose symphonies.


Das Lied von der Erde is a symphony


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## TwoFlutesOneTrumpet (Aug 31, 2011)

Symphonies by a light year, even without considering Das Lied von der Erde as a symphony.


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

TwoFlutesOneTrumpet said:


> Symphonies by a light year, even without considering Das Lied von der Erde as a symphony.


Is there any vocal stuff in classical music you like?


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## TwoFlutesOneTrumpet (Aug 31, 2011)

hammeredklavier said:


> Is there any vocal stuff in classical music you like?


Yes. Arias with beautiful melodies like Nussum Dorma or Una Furtiva Lagrima. Choruses like the Hebrew Slave Chorus or choruses from Bach's Mass in B minor, just to provide a couple of examples. I also quite enjoy Carmina Burana. And lots more, actually.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

I love Mahler's lieder but it has to be the symphonies - Mahler's cycle was central to my fledgling collection and still is within my expanded one twenty-odd years down the line. I like lieder as a genre but on the whole I prefer symphonies far more - in terms of composers who contributed substantially to both lieder and symphony I would probably only choose lieder in the cases of Schubert and Schumann.


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## Axter (Jan 15, 2020)

Mahler’s 5th and 1st are on top of any Mahler works for me, so therefore the symphs get my vote.


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## julide (Jul 24, 2020)

Kindertotenlieder by far is my favorite work. I cannot live without the janet baker and kathleen ferrier performances.


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## Coach G (Apr 22, 2020)

My answer would really depend upon how you define _Das Lied Von Der Erde_. If you count it as a symphony then I like Mahler symphonies more than the songs. If you call it a song cycle then I like the songs better than the symphonies. Mahler is a great composer of monster symphonies and deserves a place next to Beethoven, Schubert, Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Bruckner, Sibelius, Shostakovich, and Vaughan Williams. Mahler is one of the great, top-tier, composers of the symphony and the "symphonic cycle". Generally, I think the finest Mahler symphonies are front-loaded (1-4, maybe also including #5). Bruckner's, conversely, are back-loaded with 8 and 9 being his best.


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## thejewk (Sep 13, 2020)

Symphonies for me, by a country mile. I also prefer the melodies from the songs used in the symphonies more than the original songs, when they can mix into the kaleidoscope of other elements.


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## adriesba (Dec 30, 2019)

Of what I've heard so far, his symphonies don't really hold my attention, but the songs are great.


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## Skakner (Oct 8, 2020)

Symphonies by far!


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