The Symphony No. 3 in D minor by Gustav Mahler was written between 1893 and 1896. It is his longest piece, with a typical performance lasting around ninety to one hundred minutes. D minor is a minor scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B-flat, C, and D (natural minor scale). ... “Mahler” redirects here. ...

Structure

In its final form, the work has six movements:

1. Kräftig entschieden (Strong and decisive)
2. Tempo di Menuetto (In the tempo of a minuet)
3. Comodo (Scherzando) (Comfortably, like a scherzo)
4. Sehr langsam--Misterioso (Very slowly, mysteriously)
5. Lustig im Tempo und keck im Ausdruck (Cheerful in tempo and bold in expression)
6. Langsam--Ruhevoll--Empfunden (Slowly, tranquil, deeply felt)

The first movement alone, with a normal duration of a little more than thirty minutes, sometimes forty, forms the first part of the symphony. The second part consists of the other five movements and has a duration of about sixty to seventy minutes. A minuet, sometimes spelled menuet, is a social dance of French origin for two persons, usually in 3/4 time. ... In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for time) is the speed or pace of a given piece. ... A scherzo (plural scherzi) is a name given to a piece of music or a movement from a larger piece such as a symphony. ...

As with each of his first four symphonies, Mahler originally provided a programme of sorts to explain the narrative of the piece. In the third symphony this took the form of titles for each movement: Program music is music intended to musically represent, or accompany, an extra-musical theme, constrasting with absolute music. ...

1. "Pan Awakes, Summer Marches In"
2. "What the Flowers on the Meadow Tell Me"
3. "What the Animals in the Forest Tell Me"
4. "What Man Tells Me"
5. "What the Angels Tell Me"
6. "What God Tells Me"

All these titles were dropped before publication in 1898.

There was originally a seventh movement, "What the Child Tells Me", but this was eventually dropped, becoming instead the last movement of the Symphony No. 4. The Symphony No. ...

The symphony, though atypical due to the extensive number of movements and their marked differences in character and construction, is a unique work. The opening movement, grotesque in its conception (much like the symphony itself), roughly takes the shape of sonata form, insofar as there is an alternating presentation of two theme groups; however, the themes are varied and developed with each presentation, and the typical harmonic logic of the sonata form movement--particularly the tonic statement of second theme group material in the recapitulation--is replaced here by something new. The slow opening can seem to evoke the primordial sleep of nature, slowly gathering itself into a rousing orchestral march. A solo tenor trombone passage states a bold melody that is developed and transformed in its recurrences. Innovation is present everywhere in this movement, including its apparent length. At the apparent conclusion of the development, several solo snare drums "in a high gallery" play a rhythmic passage lasting about thirty seconds and the opening passage by eight horns is repeated almost exactly.

The third movement quotes extensively from Mahler's early song "Ablösung im Sommer"(Relief in Summer). The fourth is a setting of Friedrich Nietzsche's "Midnight Song" from Also sprach Zarathustra, while the fifth, "Es sungen drei Engel", is one of Mahler's Des Knaben Wunderhorn songs. Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (October 15, 1844 – August 25, 1900) (IPA: ) was a nineteenth-century German philosopher. ... The cover for the first part of the first edition. ... Des Knaben Wunderhorn (The boys magic horn) is a song cycle for voice and orchestra by Gustav Mahler. ...

It is in the finale, however, that Mahler reveals his true genius for stirring the soul. The construction of it is masterful, and the interplay of a developing chromatic harmony and sonorous string melody, developed and re-orchestrated with perfect grace and poise builds to a conclusion that, though seemingly overblown when heard in isolation, is, in the wider context of the symphony, both musically justified and emotionally overwhelming. The symphony ends with repeated D major chords and timpani statements before one final long chord.

Natalie Bauer-Lechner

Mahler was well acquainted with Natalie Bauer-Lechner, a viola player, during the time period when he composed this third symphony. The structure and content was not revealed by Mahler to the public but he informed Bauer-Lechner about it. She kept a private journal on what he stated about this third symphony. Mahler said, "You couldn't imagine how this will sound!" Natalie Bauer-Lechner (1858--1921) was a viola-player who is best known to musicology for having been a close and devoted friend of Gustav Mahler in the period between the break-up of her marriage in 1890 and the start of his to Alma Schindler in 1902. ...

Instrumentation

As usual of Mahler, the piece is written for large orchestral forces consisting of the following: For the song titled Orchestra, see The Servant (band). ...

Woodwinds

4 Flutes (Fl. 3, 4 doubling Piccolos 1, 2) (4 Piccolos are used in place of 4 Flutes in the first and fifth movements.)

4 Oboes (Ob. 4 doubling English horn)

3 Clarinets in B-flat, A (Cl. 3 doubling Bass Clarinet) (Cl. 1 doubled where possible)

2 E-flat clarinets (E-flat Cl. 2 doubling B-flat Cl. 4) (reinforced in fifth movement where possible)

4 Bassoons (Bsn. 4 doubling Contrabassoon)

Brass

8 Horns in F

4 Trumpets in F, B-flat (2 or more high parts may be reinforced with E-flat Trumpets.)

4 Trombones

Tuba

Percussion

Timpani (2 players)

Bass Drum

Snare Drum

Cymbals

Tambourine

Tam-tam

Triangle

Rute or "Switch"

2 Glockenspiels (sounding an octave higher than notated)

Voices

Alto solo in fourth and fifth movements

Women's Choir in fifth movement

"In the distance"

Post horn in B-flat (sometimes substituted by a Flugelhorn)

Several Snare Drums

"In a high gallery"

Four to six Tuned Bells (or Tubular Bells)

Boys' Choir (used in fifth movement)

Strings

2 harps

"Very large complements of all strings": A woodwind instrument is a musical instrument in which sound is produced by blowing through a mouthpiece against an edge or by a vibrating reed, and in which the pitch is varied by opening or closing holes in the body of the instrument. ... ♠ This article is about the family of musical instruments. ... This article is about the instrument in the flute family. ... The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. ... Cor anglais The cor anglais or English horn is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. ... Two soprano clarinets: a B♭ clarinet (left, with capped mouthpiece) and an A clarinet (right, with no mouthpiece). ... The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. ... E♭ clarinet with Oehler system keywork. ... The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers and occasionally even higher. ... The contrabassoon, also contrafagotto or double bassoon, is a larger version of the bassoon sounding an octave lower. ... Image of a trumpet, foreground, a piccolo trumpet behind, and a flugelhorn in background. ... The horn is a brass instrument consisting of tubing wrapped into a coiled form. ... Trumpeter redirects here. ... The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. ... For other uses, see Tuba (disambiguation). ... Percussion instruments are played by being struck, shaken, rubbed or scraped. ... A timpanist in the United States Air Forces in Europe Band. ... A bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. ... The snare drum or side drum is a tubular drum made of wood or metal with skins, or heads, stretched over the top and bottom openings, and with a set of snares (cords) stretched across the bottom head. ... It is also possible that you want to know about the Cymbalum instrument. ... “Buben” redirects here. ... A tam tam is also a kind of Gong A tam is also kind of Jamaican hat, probably from the Irish tam-o-shanter. ... An old-fashioned triangle, with wand (beater) Angelika Kauffmann: LAllegra, 1779 The triangle is an idiophone type of musical instrument in the percussion family. ... The Rute (also spelt Ruthe, from the German for rod or switch) is a cylindrical bunch of pieces of cane or twigs, bound at one end, like a small besom without a handle. ... Most orchestral glockenspiels are mounted in a case. ... This article is about the voice-type. ... In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer (solo is an Italian word literally meaning alone). ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The Post horn (also posthorn or post-horn) is a valveless brass instrument used to signal the arrival or departure of a mounted courier or mail coach. ... A standard 3-valved Bb flugelhorn. ... Tubular bells (also known as chimes) are musical instruments in the percussion family. ... A string instrument (or stringed instrument) is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. ... For other uses, see Harp (disambiguation). ...

Violins I, II

Violas

Violoncellos

Double basses (Some with low C extensions)

Note: the 2 Glockenspiel parts may be played by two percussionists on one instrument. Today's mallet technique allows the part to be performed by one played holding two mallets in each hand. The violin is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. ... The viola (French, alto; German Bratsche) is a bowed string instrument. ... Alternate meaning: Cello web browser A cropped image to show the relative size of a cello to a human (Uncropped Version) The cello (also violoncello or cello) is a stringed instrument and part of the violin family. ... Side and front views of a modern double bass with a French bow. ...

Text

Fourth Movement

Text from Friedrich Nietzsche's Also sprach Zarathustra: the "Midnight Song" Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (October 15, 1844 – August 25, 1900) (IPA: ) was a nineteenth-century German philosopher. ... The cover for the first part of the first edition. ...

Fifth Movement

Text from Des Knaben Wunderhorn Des Knaben Wunderhorn (The Young Boys Magic Horn) is a collection of German folk poems collected by Achim von Arnim and Clemens von Brentano and published in the 1800s. ...

Performance

The piece is performed in concert less frequently than Mahler's other symphonies, due in part to its great length and the huge ensemble required. When it is performed, a short interval is sometimes taken between the first movement (which alone lasts around half an hour) and the rest of the piece. Despite this, it is a popular work and has been recorded by most major orchestras and conductors. One notable recording was made in quadraphonic stereo by the Utah Symphony under Maurice Abravanel in the acoustically-remarkable Salt Lake Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, Utah. 4 channels quadraphonic label Quadraphonic sound uses four channels in which speakers are positioned at all four corners of the listening space, reproducing signals that are independent of each other. ... Maurice Abravanel, (January 6, 1903 – September 22, 1993), was a Greek-born Swiss conductor. ... The Salt Lake Tabernacle, also known as the Mormon Tabernacle, is located in Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah along with the Salt Lake Assembly Hall and Salt Lake Temple. ... Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ...

The final movement was used as background music in one episode of the 1984 television series, "Call to Glory" and on an episode of the BBC's 'Coast' programme, during a description of the history of HMS Tamerair. It also served as background music (in full length) during the "Allegory" segment of the Athens 2004 Summer Olympics opening ceremony cultural show. Call to Glory is an American television series which aired from 1984 to 1985. ... For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... This article is about the capital of Greece. ... The ceremony for the lighting of the flame is arranged as a pagan pageant, with priestesses dancing. ... The Opening Ceremony of the 2004 Summer Olympics was held on August 13, 2004 at the Olympic Stadium in Maroussi, Greece, a suburb of Athens. ...

The second movement of this work was arranged by Benjamin Britten for a smaller orchestra, a version published by Boosey & Hawkes in 1950. In music, an arrangement refers either to a rewriting of a piece of existing music with additional new material or to a fleshing-out of a compositional sketch, such as a lead sheet. ... Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH (November 22, 1913 Lowestoft, Suffolk - December 4, 1976 Aldeburgh, Suffolk) was a British composer, conductor, and pianist. ... Boosey & Hawkes is a British music publisher, the largest classical music publisher in the world. ...

Premieres

• Premiere of second, third and sixth movements only: 1897, Berlin, conducted by Felix Weingartner.
• Premiere of the complete symphony: June 9, 1902, Krefeld, conducted by the composer.
• American premiere: May 9, 1914 at the Cincinnati May Festival conducted by Ernst Kunwald
• New York Philharmonic premiere: February 28, 1922, New York City, conducted by Willem Mengelberg.
• English premiere (BBC broadcast): November 29, 1947, BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Adrian Boult.
• Recording premiere: F. Charles Adler, Hilde Rössl-Majdan (contralto), choirs, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, 1951.
• English concert premiere: February 28, 1961, St Pancras town hall, conducted by Bryan Fairfax.

This article is about the capital of Germany. ... Felix Weingartner, Edler von Münzberg (June 2, 1863 – May 7, 1942) was a conductor, composer and pianist. ... June 9 is the 160th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (161st in leap years), with 205 days remaining. ... Year 1902 (MCMII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday [1] of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Krefeld is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. ... is the 129th day of the year (130th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Cincinnati, Ohio viewed from the SW, across the Ohio River from Kentucky. ... Ernst Kunwald was an Austrian conductor. ... The New York Philharmonic is the oldest active symphony orchestra in the United States, organized during 1842. ... February 28 is the 59th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... Willem Mengelberg (Utrecht, Netherlands on March 28, 1871 – Zuort, Switzerland on March 21, 1951) was a Dutch conductor. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... is the 333rd day of the year (334th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The BBC Symphony Orchestra is the principal orchestra of the British Broadcasting Corporation and one of the leading orchestras in Britain. ... Sir Adrian Cedric Boult CH (April 8, 1889 – February 22, 1983) was an English conductor. ... Frederick Charles Adler (usually known as F. Charles Adler) was an English-German conductor. ... Categories: Musical group stubs | Austrian orchestras ... February 28 is the 59th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Things called Saint Pancras or St Pancras include: The saint after whom the others are directly or indirectly named: Saint Pancras. ...

Media

Trombone solo from the Symphony No. 3, first movement

Arranged for trombone and organ

Image File history File links Gustav_Mahler_-_Trombone_Solo_from_3rd_Symphony,_1st_movement. ...

External Links

• Extensive history and analysis by renowned Mahler scholar Henry Louis de La Grange