Christopher Webber wrote:

>Can any Mahlerians vouch for the truth of this story?

It is said that Mahler never watched a funeral procession that didn't
transfix him.  I haven't heard this particular story, but there is a well
known anecdote about Mahler hearing a commotion outside his hotel window in
NYC, and looking out to observe the funeral procession for a city fireman
stop in front of his hotel, pause, and then strike once on a muffled drum
before proceeding.

This single stroke of the muffled bass drum and the emotion it stirred
in Mahler are believed to have been recaptured at the end of the fourth
movement of the 10th Symphony.

As far as "Abide with Me" in the Ninth Symphony, there is some vague
similarity between the first four notes of the hymn and the first four of
the unfolding of the opening theme in the final adagio of the symphony
(which bars I will be glad to e-mail to anyone who wants to make a
comparison), but I believe it's a stretch.

John Dalmas
[log in to unmask]