Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Mahler's World

"A symphony must be like a world.  It must contain everything."

I think few would argue the immensity of Mahler's 6th Symphony.  It is an hour and a half long, requires a huge orchestra including offstage percussion and a hammer of fate, and traverses many lands characters and emotions.  But what is it a world?  What did Mahler mean by this?  Is it possible for a single person to create a world?  Is it possible for them not to?  If something contains everything, is it complete?  Who was this man, what was his world?

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