The Marriage: The Mahlers in New York

by Joseph Horowitz

Gustav and Alma Mahler in New York City in 1907: He had been invited to lead he Metropolitan opera; his glamorous wife accompanied him into the new world.
Nineteen years his junior, Alma was Gustav's constant companion, occasional soulmate, sometimes his muse, always his caretaker: a woman otherwise restless and unfulfilled. Her husband's life was intensely interior, sporadically alert to others' needs & desires. His energy & her idealism were aroused by new surroundings, but fitfully, he remained a chronic outsider.

Joseph Horowitz's novel is the first account of the Mahlers' tumultuous New York sojourn written by an author steeped in the vibrant musical life of fin-de-siècle Manhattan: a world music capital teeming with fabled personalities.

Genres: Music, Historical Fiction

225 pages, Paperback

Published April 29, 2023

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.