Mahler’s Symphonic World: Music for the Age of Uncertainty

Berger (emeritus, music, Stanford Univ.; Beyond Reason: Wagner Contra Nietzsche) presents detailed analyses of the symphonies of Gustav Mahler (1860–1911), intriguingly treating various similarly positioned movements in the symphonies together (e.g., all the finales), rather than addressing each work individually. Woven around these are musings on influences upon the composer, including his Jewish upbringing and musical forebears Beethoven and Wagner, and explorations of how his music has been received since its late 19th- and early 20th-century premieres. Appearances by prominent literary figures ranging from Dante through Goethe to Proust add interest, while quotes from Mahler, extensive commentary from influential later critics such as Theodor W. Adorno, and an exhaustive bibliography buttress Berger’s arguments. This erudite traversal of Mahler’s symphonic oeuvre will add considerably to current scholarship. It is especially welcome for its balancing act juxtaposing academic music theorizing with flights of philosophical fancy.