A new performing edition of Mahler's final symphony

2025 (appx. 75")

3, picc.-3 (3rd doubling cor-anglais)-3, Eb sop.clar., 3 bsns (3rd doubling contra-bsn)-contra-bsn, 4-4-2-1-1, hp., timp, perc (3 players), strings

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Mahler’s final symphony

Gustav Mahler composed his tenth and final symphony in the summer of 1910, the time of the year in which he would always compose. It was written in Toblach, in the Italian Dolomites. This was the last period of composing he would have before he died in May 1911, aged only 50. He would only create a draft version, in several different stages of completion. It is in five movements and follows a quasi-symmetrical structure: Adagio – Scherzo – Allegro Moderato (Purgatorio) – Scherzo – Adagio.

These were very difficult times for Mahler. He discovered that his wife, Alma, was having an affair with the architect, Walter Gropius. He even visited Sigmund Freud in August 1910, midway through the creation of the symphony, to talk about his personal anxieties and marital problems. Mahler travelled to Leiden in The Netherlands, and he would spend roughly four hours with Freud. He had planned three further meetings, but these were cancelled. We do not know why, but can presume that a mix of probable factors applied: distance of travel, intense schedule leading up to the premiere of the eighth symphony, which Mahler conducted in Munich (12th September, 1910), and poorer health.

Mahler’s state of mind will absolutely have affected the creation of this symphony, partly evident from Mahler’s many personal comments written within his score. But while these are impassioned, they are also essential to our understanding of the work as they were clearly purposeful. When Mahler created two versions of the final part of the ‘Finale’, (his initial thoughts edning in the key of Bb major, and the revision ending in F sharp major), he writes the exact same comments: his pet name for Alma, “Almschi”, and “für dich leben! für dich sterben![“to live for you! to die for you!”]. We also know the lengths he went to in order to woo back Alma’s heart in Munich that September.

Furthermore, there are clear associations with the literary work of Dante Alighieri, his La Divina Commedia. At the centre-point of the five-movement symphony lies a short movement entitled Purgatorio. Additionally, comments written on the folio that contains the fourth and final movements allude to Dante. Mahler was clearly considering his own purgatory and where he might finally rest.

The tenth symphony is arguably Mahler’s most advanced work in terms of rhythm and harmony, as he pushed boundaries clearly and greatly. It looks forward to the music of generations yet to come and is one of his most startling creations. If we don’t know the tenth symphony, then we cannot fully understand Mahler, his musical, philosophical and personal intentions, in which symbolism and personal catharsis combine to create music of the most profound impact. © Paul Max Edlin 2025