The pairing of Mahler and Freud is a happy choice. Both shared the same intellectual climate of Mitteleuropa at the end of the 19th. century: progressive dissolution of ancient structures - political, social, personal and artistical – accompanied by a groping for the new, not yet fully perceived in its contours. As Gramsci said, “The old is dying and the new cannot be born. In this interregnum, there arises a great diversity of morbid symptoms." It would take a few decades and a world war for the new century to start gaining its shape but both Freud and Mahler were important pathfinders in their respective fields.
At the same time, both looked back at a rich tradition and felt an immense longing for the certainties of older times, made more acute by the knowledge that it belonged to the past. This longing perpasses Mahler's whole oeuvre and culminates in Das Lied von der Erde. And in the unfinished 10th. Symphony, written soon after Das Lied, Mahler anticipates many of the features of the second Viennese school. A similar parallel can be found in Freud studies of childhood and the necessity of living and transcending it to fully achieve adulthood.
An excellent piece, intelligent, well researched and especially clarifying without the use of condescending clichés.
Longing is the keyword in this piece. The last years of Mahler's emotional life streams from his music like tears. It sings the longing for hope and the aching for things left unsaid. The music is also a narrator in this piece that reaches and stirs the emotion even if the lyric sung is foreign. As the piece progresses you'll find words from the Chinese poem(s) uncovering Mahler's state of mind, thus realize why he took to a book of poem published centuries earlier. You will be captivated by the narrative style and will find this piece a great listen, music lover or not.
Comments for RN Documentary: Song of a Troubled Heart
This piece belongs to the series "RN Documentaries"
Produced by David Swatling
Other pieces by Radio Netherlands Worldwide
Rating Summary
2 comments
Anastacio J. Palafox
Posted on July 23, 2005 at 08:19 PM | Permalink
Review of RN Documentary: Song of a Troubled Heart
The pairing of Mahler and Freud is a happy choice. Both shared the same intellectual climate of Mitteleuropa at the end of the 19th. century: progressive dissolution of ancient structures - political, social, personal and artistical – accompanied by a groping for the new, not yet fully perceived in its contours. As Gramsci said, “The old is dying and the new cannot be born. In this interregnum, there arises a great diversity of morbid symptoms." It would take a few decades and a world war for the new century to start gaining its shape but both Freud and Mahler were important pathfinders in their respective fields.
At the same time, both looked back at a rich tradition and felt an immense longing for the certainties of older times, made more acute by the knowledge that it belonged to the past. This longing perpasses Mahler's whole oeuvre and culminates in Das Lied von der Erde. And in the unfinished 10th. Symphony, written soon after Das Lied, Mahler anticipates many of the features of the second Viennese school. A similar parallel can be found in Freud studies of childhood and the necessity of living and transcending it to fully achieve adulthood.
An excellent piece, intelligent, well researched and especially clarifying without the use of condescending clichés.
Emon Hassan
Posted on May 22, 2005 at 05:51 PM | Permalink
Review of RN Documentary: Song of a Troubled Heart
Longing is the keyword in this piece. The last years of Mahler's emotional life streams from his music like tears. It sings the longing for hope and the aching for things left unsaid. The music is also a narrator in this piece that reaches and stirs the emotion even if the lyric sung is foreign. As the piece progresses you'll find words from the Chinese poem(s) uncovering Mahler's state of mind, thus realize why he took to a book of poem published centuries earlier. You will be captivated by the narrative style and will find this piece a great listen, music lover or not.