Speaking as one who was a passionate Mahler devotee at 18 and still rates
him quite highly, but who belongs to that small group of Mahler admirers
who think that the 8th was a big mistake (perhaps the only one he made),
I found this article very interesting, but I can't agree with it at all.

After this many years of listening to Mahler, what I appreciate most in him
now is the diametrical opposite of the 8th -- namely, the meditations of
the 9th and 10th and das Lied von der Erde, as well as the fantastic songs
of Des Knaben Wunderhorn (the fish gaping open-mouthed at St.  Anthony's
sermon and then going back to their sordid lives as though they had not
heard him at all!), the Kindertotenlieder, and Ich bin der Welt abhanden
gekommen.  Not many 18-year-olds can appreciate music like this, and I
wouldn't go back to the mind-set I had then for anything in the world.

Let's give a cheer for Mahler for geezers!

Jon Johanning // [log in to unmask]