John Smyth wrote:

>Satoshi writes on Mahler:
>
>>Even faced with his own imminent death and a faltering faith in a
>>resurrection in the Beyond he still had to clasp at straws and believe
>>in the Eternal in the form of an eternally self-perpetuating Nature
>>Mysticism..
>
>If Mahler were grasping at straws and struggling against death, shouldn't
>the Death theme and the Life theme *both* increase in intensity?

More importantly, when he was writing the Ninth Symphony, Mahler was NOT
"faced with his own imminent death".  He was not in that position until
about February 1911 by which time all of his music had been composed.

Tony Duggan, England.
Mahler survey now containing Tenth Symphony:
http://www.musicweb.force9.co.uk/music/Mahler/