Die Mahlers in New York

by Joseph Horowitz

»Gustav Mahler war für Amerika nicht bestimmt. Fernab seines gewohnten Ambientes wirft Mahlers holprige New Yorker Karriere – an der Metropolitan Opera und bei den New Yorker Philharmonikern (1907–1911) – ein überdeutliches Schlaglicht auf seine Eigenheiten. Über den Menschen Mahler lernt man in Manhattan Dinge, die in Wien oder Budapest nicht so leicht zu beobachten waren. Das ist meine erste Prämisse.« Joseph Horowitz – Musikkritiker, Autor und Forscher – beleuchtet in seinem nun in deutscher Übersetzung vorliegenden Roman Gustav Mahlers Seitenspiel in den USA. Im Licht eines anderen Kontinents und vor dem Hintergrund eines oft unterschätzen Musiklebens im New York der Jahrhundertwende erscheint die Person und die Kunst Gustav Mahlers ungleich schärfer konturiert. Mit kenntnisreichem Einfühlungsvermögen, musikalischer Hellhörigkeit und psychologischer Schärfe gelingt Joseph Horowitz eine ganz neue Art, Erkenntnisse über den weltberühmten Komponisten zu erlangen.

Genres: Music, Historical Fiction

310 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 1, 2024

About the author

Joseph Horowitz is an American cultural historian whose seven books mainly deal with the institutional history of classical music in the United States. As a producer of concerts, he has played a pioneering role in promoting thematic programming and new concert formats.

Reviews

[Jerry Edward Stephens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joseph Horowitz is a superb music historian and music critic. What he knows about Gustav Mahler, and his wife Alma, is demonstrated in this account of the composer's five-year in New York City. The marriage of Gustav and Alma was a greatly troubled one from its beginning. Gustav was a moody man; Alma had a noted flirtatious side. Alma did in fact began an affair with the artist, Walter Gropius, several years before Gustav's death in 1911. Alma would marry Gropius in 1915. To say that the Mahler's marriage was troubled would be a serious understatement. Horowitz builds a strong story on the facts of the Mahler's marriage and his musical tenure with major New York City performance organizations. He supplements this story with a world of supplemental notes, letters, and resources to enhance the story. The result is a serious examination of this part of Gustav Mahler's life. It would, furthermore, be possible to tell any prospective reader that this may be far about the life of Gustav Mahler than most classical music fans of him really want to know. The story is a dense one, often falling into a recitation of minor family events. But, this remains a major story by a superbly knowledgeable music historian.

[Ettore Federico · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not to be missed for any mahlerian who is interest to go beyond the usual historical information about the relationship between Gustav and Alma. But also very significant to understand more about Mahler and his activities in New York, both as a composer and as a conductor.

[Lillian · Rating 1 out of 5]

Review to follow.

[Liz C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Freighted with so much factual material that it scarcely reads as a novel, but fascinating to get an American viewpoint on the Mahlers' time in New York.