{"id":774,"date":"2009-02-22T22:21:36","date_gmt":"2009-02-22T22:21:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/2009\/02\/22\/tempo-in-the-5th-symphonys-scherzo-what-gustav-mahler-tells-me\/"},"modified":"2010-08-13T17:25:45","modified_gmt":"2010-08-13T16:25:45","slug":"tempo-in-the-5th-symphonys-scherzo-what-gustav-mahler-tells-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/2009\/02\/22\/tempo-in-the-5th-symphonys-scherzo-what-gustav-mahler-tells-me\/","title":{"rendered":"Tempo in the 5th Symphony’s Scherzo- What Gustav Mahler Tells Me"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe Scherzo is a damnable movement. It will have a long history of suffering! Conductors will take it too fast for fifty years, and audiences\u2014Oh heavens\u2014what sort of faces will they pull at this chaos\u2026..\u201d <\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

(Gustav Mahler, speaking of his 5th<\/sup> Symphony before the 1904 premiere. )<\/p>\n

This quote of Mahler\u2019s often appears in program notes- usually citied as a manifestation of his insecurity and megalomania, and also as a measure of the Herculean difficulty of the piece. But what of the specific musical concern he cites- that conductors will take the Scherzo \u201ctoo fast for fifty years?\u201d<\/p>\n

Interestingly, for all that one hardly ever reads a review of a performance of the 5th<\/sup> that doesn\u2019t include a timing for the Adagietto (\u201cthe maestro brought the Adagietto in at a worthy 8\u2019 20\u2019\u2019\u2026\u201d or \u201cthe maestro wallowed his way to a lugubrious 10\u2019 5\u2019\u2019\u2026\u201d are typical of the writing on that movement), I\u2019ve hardly ever seen a conductor taken to task for taking the Scherzo too fast. I think this is mostly because we have a very vague idea of what Mahler meant by \u201ctoo fast” when he wrote about this movement.<\/p>\n

In fact, I\u2019d say 90% of the performances of the Scherzo take the opening tempo in a comfortable \u201ctempo di valse,\u201d and that\u00a0it does sound great at that tempo.\u00a0A small minority, including Bernstein and Barshai, take it a bit slower, and in three instead of one. However, I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever heard a single performance that went any faster<\/em><\/strong> than the 90% of conductors who treat the movement as a waltz.<\/p>\n

So, was Mahler needlessly worried? Was he envisioning some sort of crazed, keystone-cops whirling dervish prestissimo that not even 100 years of other conductors were stupid enough to try?<\/p>\n

Well- although many commentators refer to the Scherzo as a waltz, Mahler certainly doesn\u2019t indicate Tempo di Valse or anything of the sort. Kraftig (\u201cstrongly\u201d or \u201cvigorously\u201d). Nicht zu schnell (\u201cnot too fast\u201d), and then just five bars in the movement- Nicht eilen (\u201cunhurried\u201d). The next tempo marking at bar 60? Nicht eilen, again! How about the next one? Bar 108- Nicht eilen, again!!! It\u2019s not until 120 bars into the piece that Mahler tells us to get a move on \u201cWider flessender\u201d or \u201cagain more flowing.\u201d<\/p>\n

In fact, it seems clear to me (and Donald Mitchell and Henry Louis de la Grange<\/a> both seem to agree) that this opening section is not a waltz, but a Landler<\/em><\/strong>. The Landler, being a country dance, is slower than the waltz, and is felt in \u201cthree,\u201d not \u201cone.\u201d If it is a Landler, and 90 % of my colleagues are conducting it as a waltz, then I think Mahler\u2019s 50 year prediction was wildly optimistic- it’s 105 years since the premiere, and conductors are still taking it too fast.<\/p>\n

Of course, the Scherzo does include a wildly seductive and sophisticated waltz- first heard as a slow waltz at fig. 6. This music eventually forms the basis of the wildly Dionysian climax of the entire movement. It’s a deconstruction of fin de siecle Vienna even more decadent than Ravel’s in La Valse. But that is all to come when the movement begins….<\/p>\n

Surprisingly, one reason I think 90% of conductors take the opening in a waltz tempo is that it feels and sounds more elegant and natural than the slower version<\/em><\/strong>. In three, the music can sound frustratingly controlled, even awkward. You could easily make a case that the waltz tempo sounds and feels more pleasing and comfortable to the vast majority of musicians and listeners.<\/p>\n

So is there ever a time when we intentionally adopt a performance approach that is not the most pleasing and ingratiating? Donald Mitchell * and and Constantin Floros may have also uncovered a key piece of evidence in understanding Mahler\u2019s intentions with regard to tempo in the Scherzo. It turns out that both Richard Specht, who published the first study of Mahler in 1905, and Bruno Walter ** called attention to the influence of Goethe\u2019s poem, \u201cAn Schwager Kronos\u201d (\u201cTo Brother Time, Coachman\u201d) on this movement. Walter went so far as to state that the entire Scherzo grew out of\u00a0Goethe’s poem.<\/p>\n

Take the opening stanza of the poem-<\/p>\n

\u201cHurry on, Time, at a rattling trot!<\/p>\n

The road runs downhill,<\/p>\n

Your dawdling makes things swim before my eyes\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The writer describes not the \u201churrying on\u201d of time, but its \u201crattling trot.\u201d It’s clear that things are very “nicht eilen,” to the annoyance of the narrator. If the opening of the Scherzo refers to the opening of the poem (something we can never know with certainty), it\u2019s not supposed to sound breezy, natural, elegant and flowing. It\u2019s supposed to test our patience\u2014\u201cyour dawdling makes things swim before my eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anyway, whether your persuaded by the poem or by the stylistic evidence of the type of dance we\u2019re dealing with, I think the lesson is you can\u2019t always go by what sounds or feels \u201cbest\u201d because music isn\u2019t always supposed to please and make us comfortable. Especially in the context of this symphony- the unease and impatience depicted in the opening of the poem seem a more logical fit with the torments and destruction of Part I, and a simple, carefree waltz.<\/p>\n

What else does the poem tell us about this movement? Well, I can\u2019t help but be reminded of the Alphorn calls at figure 10 when I read this stanza-<\/p>\n

\u201cHigh, wide and glorious the prospect of life rings us round.<\/p>\n

The eternal spirit soars from peak to peak,<\/strong><\/p>\n

Full of intimations of eternal life.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And then there is that sexy slow waltz- if our narrator has been trying to drive Brother Time on his way, this seems a welcome diversion\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cA shadowy doorway beckons you aside<\/p>\n

Across the threshold of the girl\u2019s house,<\/p>\n

And her eyes promise refreshment….Take comfort! For me too, lass, that sparkling draught<\/p>\n

That fresh and healthy look\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The sensuality of Goethe\u2019s imagery matches so well with the decadence of the waltz theme, and the flirty, coquettish \u201csch\u00fcchtern\u201d oboe solo.<\/p>\n

An then, there\u2019s the answer to why the whole movement has, at it\u2019s heart, a horn solo, when the poet implores Brother Time, as they descend, \u201cblind and reeling through the dark gates of Hell\u201d-<\/p>\n

\u201cBlow your horn, brother, clatter on at a noisy trot.<\/p>\n

Let Orcus know we are coming,<\/p>\n

so that mine host will be there at the door to welcome us.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

* Mitchell\u2019s excellent essay on Mahler 5 is not exactly an easy read, but it is well worth the effort. However, there is one baffling and humongous error. On page 296 of the Mahler Companion in which the essay appears he says of the coda of the 2nd<\/sup> movement– \u201cThe only constant rhythmic feature is the unvaried triplet figuration of the divided first violins, a conflation of fourths, for which Mahler indicates artificial harmonics\u2026.\u201d There are no fourths here- the 1sts have only 2 pitches, a natural and c-natural. The diamond shaped notes a fourth above the written pitch indicate to the player where they should lightly place their fourth fingers to achieve the artificial harmonic, which sounds 2 octaves above the written pitch. I don\u2019t want to pick a fight with one of my favorite writers on one of my favorite composers, but I know some of my friends have been reading the Mitchell in preparation for this concert, and his mistake, a basic one but easy enough for a non-performer to make, completely confuses the question of what the harmony is in this passage. It is a diadic harmony- just these two notes, a and c. The sparseness of this harmony is key to the spooky mood of the coda, but there is a larger reason for keeping the harmony diadic. \u00a0Both the violin triplets and all the wind and harp interjections are limited to these two pitches, while the melodic material attempts to resolve the conflict between f and e which has gone on throughout the movement. It\u2019s only with the tuba\u2019s last note that e is established as the final point of stability in forming the tonic triad.<\/p>\n

**\u00a0 Interestingly, Bruno Walter\u2019s recording of the Scherzo is one of the fastest and\u00a0strangest on record. His basic tempo is on the fast side of a waltz tempo, but far worse, he stays in his Hauptempo for the slow waltz at fig. 6 and the parallel places. When writers call attention to his 7\u2019 Adagietto, they seem to forget that his Scherzo was 2 minutes faster than any of Mahler\u2019s performances of it. Walter\u2019s performances of Mahler are often wonderful and are important to know, but where there is a divergence between Mahler\u2019s text and Walter\u2019s performance, I think it\u2019s easy to know what must be regarded as the authority.<\/p>\n

Finally- A note about the Landler tempo. If one goes even one notch too slow in this opening, the music simple collapses. Waltz tempo is safe but possibly wrong- the margin for error in finding the right landler tempo is tiny.<\/p>\n

An Schwager Kronos
\n<\/strong> <\/span><\/strong>\u201cTo Brother Time the Coachman\u201d
\n<\/strong>–by Goethe
\ntranslation by Norma Deane and Celia Larner
\n<\/em> <\/span><\/em> \u201cHurry on, Time, at a rattling trot!
\nThe road runs downhill,
\nYour dawdling makes things swim before my eyes.
\nOn at a brisk pace, over stick and stone,
\nStumbling headlong into life!
\nNow once more toiling uphill, out of breath\u2014
\nUp then, no slacking, upward striving and hoping \u2026\u2026.
\nHigh, wide and glorious the prospect of life rings us round.
\nThe eternal spirit soars from peak to peak,
\nFull of intimations of eternal life.
\nA shadowy doorway beckons you aside
\nAcross the threshold of the girl\u2019s house,
\nAnd her eyes promise refreshment.
\nTake comfort! For me too, lass, that sparkling draught
\nThat fresh and healthy look.
\nDown then, faster down!
\nSee, the sun sinks. Before it sets,
\nbefore the marsh-mist envelopes me in my old age, with toothless gnashing jaws and tottering limbs
\nSnatch me, drunk with the sun\u2019s last ray,
\na sea of fire boiling up before my eyes,
\nblind and reeling through the dark gates of Hell.
\nBlow your horn, brother, clatter on at a noisy trot.
\nLet Orcus know we are coming,
\nso that mine host will be there at the door to welcome us.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n