This article (from 2016, but circulating this week online) is simply not on.
The Neurotic Genius – Inside Mahler’s Mind by Alicia Watson
Not at all.
The author (a therapist) says “”neurotic” has been clinically retired,” and I wish she would retire the term altogether.
In Mahler’s case, it is a term that teeters on the verge of anti-Semitic.
Moreover, the facts of Mahler’s life don’t really support the myth of him as a mentally unstable genius. He ran the largest performing arts organisation in the world as the General Director of the Vienna Opera, not just their conductor, for several years. That’s not a job one can do if one is ‘neurotic.’ It takes time management skills, organisational skills, business acumen, financial discipline, people skills and strategic thinking.
Moreover, this idea that you shouldn’t play Mahler until you’re 50 or that “[m]ost musicians feel neurotic playing Mahler” is nuts. I’ve done Mahler many times with teenagers and university-age students, always with great joy and success, and in 20+ years conducting his music, and many more playing as a cellist,
I’ve never had a musician say it made them feel neurotic. Moved? Yes. Uplifted? Yes. Devastated? Yes. Neurotic? No!
I’ve never had a musician say it made them feel neurotic. Moved? Yes. Uplifted? Yes. Devastated? Yes. Neurotic? No!And finally, Mahler’s densely marked scores are not indicative of an obsession with control, but with precision, clarity and efficiency in rehearsal. His working materials for the Beethoven and Schumann symphonies reflect a similar level of concern for detail and understanding of sonority. His approach is entirely pragmatic. Remember, as one of the very greatest and most prolific conductors who ever lived, he had an unparalleled understanding of orchestral technique, and his detailed markings are very much of their time, similar in detail and nature to those of Elgar, Strauss, Bloch, Stravinsky, Bartok, etc. One could also add Schoenberg, Berg, Debussy and countless others to the list. The shift to German musical instructions began with Beethoven and continued with Schumann and Wagner. Mahler is not the only major composer who requires you to know 30 or so German terms.
Finally, Mahler consulted Freud because he was depressed after discovering his wife was having an affair. Seeking support when one is having a tough time is a sign of resiliency and self-awareness, not neurosis or weakness. Ultimately, Mahler’s response to the trauma of Alma’s betrayal was the 10th Symphony, one of the most astounding pieces of music ever written.
I find it very troubling that a counsellor is sensationalising mental illness in order to sell tickets. And I’m not aware of any Yiddish in Mahler’s scores.
“I’m not aware of any Yiddish in Mahler’s scores.”
Maybe in the 3rd movement of Symphony 1?
Thanks for the comment!
There is music rooted in Jewish folk music throughout Mahler’s output, but he only ever used German or Italian terminology. Of course, there is some overlap between German and Yiddish, but the appearance of words like “schleppend”, which also exist in German, are always a coincidence.
In case we’re talking at cross purposes, I meant that the sound of that movement seems to me to have the feel of East European Jewish music, and that one might – at a stretch? – say it had a Yiddish folk music sound?
Mahler:Orchestra::Rush:Rock Band
Hmm, the movement you’re referring to is based on a French folk song, “Frère Jacques”. Wouldn’t this example alone make Mahler use more French than Jiddish themes?