{"id":2885,"date":"2011-06-16T18:55:42","date_gmt":"2011-06-16T17:55:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/?p=2885"},"modified":"2017-01-24T15:01:22","modified_gmt":"2017-01-24T14:01:22","slug":"mahler-6-some-of-the-reasons-why-i-conduct-scherzo-andante-and-why-i-could-be-wrong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/2011\/06\/16\/mahler-6-some-of-the-reasons-why-i-conduct-scherzo-andante-and-why-i-could-be-wrong\/","title":{"rendered":"Mahler 6: Some of the reasons why I conduct Scherzo-Andante (and why I could be wrong)"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are few more contentious subjects amongst Mahlerians than the order of movements in the 6th Symphony. As part of the Performer’s Perspective series last year, I tried to explain what a big and fairly complicated question it is<\/a>. More recently, as part of my interview with Erik Klackner the other day at Everything but the Music<\/a>, I attempted to thread the needle and explain the competing rationales for the two possible orders, before coming down on the side of Scherzo-Andante. I thought it might be of some interest to excerpt that part of our conversation here as a stand-alone blog post. For a long time, I’ve wanted to find the time for a proper analytical post illustrating the musical reasons for the original order (Scherzo-Andante), and why I think those might ultimately militate against my adopting Mahler’s published wishes (Andante-Scherzo). This is not yet that post<\/em>, but it gives a little<\/em> sense of the arguments on both sides. In fact, I was so<\/em> even-handed that some readers thought I had decided on Andante-Scherzo. Hopefully, the title of this post clarifies things a little. Until I have time to write something more detailed, I refer readers to the final volume of de la Grange’s Mahler study, which has a whole chapter on the issue (de la Grange endorses, cautiously, Scherzo-Andante)<\/p>\n

I’ve also clarified some of my language from the original interview with Erik.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s keep it narrow- On AS-SA (Andate\/Scherzo or Scherzo\/Andante): In my opinion, here is an instance where the usual rules break down. 99 times out of 100, or more like 999,999 times out of a million, the last word of the genius is always right. As far as we now know, the last word of Gustav Mahler was Andante-Scherzo. \u00a0The current research from Bruck\/Kubik\/Kaplan makes a pretty compelling case for Andante-Scherzo on historical grounds: Mahler changed the order from S-A to A-S at the first performance and never looked back nor did he later perform it any other way. Gilbert Kaplan also told me something very interesting- apparently Mahler had also written the 2nd Symphony with the Scherzo and Andante movements in reverse order from what we know now. With that in mind, the change in Mahler 6 looks less like an aberration. Kaplan thinks that had it not been for the malfeasance of Erwin Ratz, nobody would even be debating the question. He may well be right.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve tried in every symphony of Mahler\u2019s I\u2019ve done to track all the changes between the first version and where he\u2019d left off when he died. It\u2019s very time consuming, but very, very interesting. Of course, Mahler didn\u2019t believe in \u201cfinal versions.\u201d All of his works were one performance away from revision at any time. What is really striking is that in all these tweaks and edits, one can almost always see what he was after with the changes, and the changes are just about always clear and obvious practical improvements. Even in situations where the record is contradictory, like his indecision over whether to slow down, speed up or slow down at the end of the Adagietto<\/em> of the 5th, one can see what he was after: that music is so passionate that it does want to push and pull at the same time.<\/p>\n

However, I still have yet to see a compelling musical rationale for the change of movement order in the 6th. Not so in the 2nd- the anticipations of the Finale in the Scherzo are much stronger when placed as they are, rather than just after the first movement. In fact, that relationship makes the change of order in the 6th look more suspect. Just as the Scherzo of the 2nd Symphony is closely thematically linked with the Finale, the Scherzo of the 6th is most closely linked with the 1st movement. In the end, Mahler decided the links in the 2nd Symphony made the most sense if those two movements were close to each other. Surely the same is true in the 6th?<\/p>\n

Most rationales I\u2019ve heard for why Mahler switched to Andante-Scherzo have to do with perception and accessibility- that somehow the original order makes for an overly monotonous or depressing first part of the symphony, that the listener needs the variety of the Andante after the first movement. To me, this rationale borders on pandering to the worst instincts of the audience- it\u2019s the same reason people start cutting great works by Schubert, Bruckner and Rachmaninoff. When someone says the Schubert E-flat Piano Trio is too long I want to kill them (!)- don\u2019t they think he knew how long it was and knew what he was asking of his audience? The length is part of the meaning. Likewise Rachmaninoff in his 2nd Symphony- surely the scale is part of the point, so why cut it? It\u2019s not that one can\u2019t find reasons that people think Mahler was right to change from S-A to A-S, it\u2019s that I think the answers presented so far are pretty superficial.<\/p>\n

Still- who am I to doubt Mahler\u2019s final word? This brings me back to the well-travelled ground of intrinsic versus extrinsic aspects of score study. Yes, almost all the historical evidence gathered at this moment <\/em><\/strong>would seem to point to A-S, but what if tomorrow we found a letter from Mahler to Kahnt written in 1911 saying that he wanted to revert to his original plan? Would we be surprised? I\u2019m as much an Alma skeptic as the next guy, but she did tell Mengelberg that Mahler\u2019s final wish was S-A, and Mengelberg knew the Mahler\u2019s well enough to have a sense of when Alma could and couldn\u2019t be trusted. He was the closest thing Mahler had to a peer among conductors, and was completely dedicated to Mahler\u2019s music. Surely he wouldn\u2019t have written to Alma and asked if he didn\u2019t have doubts about A-S? Maybe he did tell her he had changed his mind one more time? We may yet find that he did.<\/p>\n

Intrinsically<\/strong><\/em> there are a whole lot of signs that S-A is the true shape of the symphony. The key relationships between the first mvt and the Scherzo, and the Andante and Finale ought to be like a big neon sign saying “S-A!” The whole symphony is based on the idea of the collapse from A major to A minor. The most dramatic example in the whole work is the collapse from the triumphant ending of the 1st mvt in A major to the violent and desolate opening of the 2nd mvt in A minor. It seems like his whole original concept of the symphony hinged on that moment- on the failed triumph of the first movement. He then reinforces the conflict between the two movements by making them from the same stuff- the Scherzo is almost like a second development of the 1st mvt. The \u201caltvaterisch\u201d trio section of the Scherzo is essentially the opening theme of the first movement turned upside down, with the repeated low A\u2019s flipped up to the top of the orchestra. The motivic connections between the first movement and Scherzo really only make sense if the two movements are paired.<\/p>\n

Still, normally I would probably ignore my instincts and go with Mahler\u2019s stated wishes (Andante-Scherzo) on the theory that it is my shortcoming in not being able YET to understand why he made the change,\u00a0but for one other thing-<\/strong><\/em> we know that he was not his usual self when he made the changes, and was under tremendous pressure to make them. Bruno Walter, who never got nor performed the 6th, told Mahler he thought having the Scherzo next to the first movement was too much. Of course it was too much!!! I think that\u2019s kind of the point of the music. In this instance,\u00a0I think Mahler lost his nerve<\/strong>–<\/em> he was human. Barely human, in many ways superhuman from a musical perspective, but human nonetheless. He knew he\u2019d just composed the end of the symphonic tradition that Haydn invented and Beethoven perfected. That\u2019s quite a burden to carry. Did he lose his nerve? Did he conclude the original movement order was too technically challenging or physically draining for the orchestra or too demanding for the audience? All I know is that, it\u2019s just about the only change in the Mahler symphonies that doesn\u2019t seem to make musical sense. It makes a mess of the tonal relationships and the motivic relationships. Right now, knowing what I know and having read what I could find, I\u2019m sure he would have gone back to S-A as performing standards improved. That is why I conduct it in the original order- Scherzo\/Andante.\u201d<\/p>\n