A Listener's Guide to Mahler's Ninth Symphony

by Kelly Dean Hansen
College of Music, University of Colorado

FIRST MOVEMENT: Andante comodo
4/4 Meter. D Major

While the first movement of the Ninth is among the composer's longest in actual performance time, usually lasting about half an hour, the amount of actual thematic material is actually quite economic for him. Indeed, its 454 measures are nowhere near the most in a Mahlerian movement. The tempo is slow and leisurely, but not excessively so. It is the epic, long-breathed character of the movement that seems to prolong it. This becomes most noticeable in several episodes near the end. The structure is one of the composer's most innovative variations on the basic sonata form. The multi-section development, which is twice as long as the exposition, is typical of middle to late Mahler, as is the greatly varied reprise. But it is the exposition itself that exhibits ambiguities. The most likely "second subject" appears in the same tonal center as the first; only the mode is changed. After the appearance of the "second theme," a full statement of the first occurs, and only with the "closing material" (which uses material from both subjects as well as new themes), does the expected move away from the home key occur, to B-flat, in every way the movement's "secondary key." Commentators have tried to explain it as a double-variation or a rondo, but the best interpretation does seem to be a sonata form with an unusually structured exposition. A hallmark of the movement is its five rises to climaxes, none of which is brought to fulfillment.
The movement literally grows out of nothing, and very gradually. The first introductory measures present four ideas that will consistently recur over the movement's vast canvas: (1) a halting, syncopated repeated-note rhythm in the horn, (2) a four-note "motto" (the second and fourth are the same), with a rest after the second note, initially given by the harp, (3) another syncopated phrase from the horn, this one an arching figure, and (4) a distinctive tremolo in the violas. Out of this canvas the serene main theme in D Major emerges. With rests in almost every measure and consisting mainly of two- or three-note fragments, this tune retains the "hesitant" character of the introduction. Its second strain is more lyrical.
The second theme emerges in D minor, and features strange chromatic inflections, but it is quite similar to the "main" melody. In an unexpectedly brief time it leads to the first of the movement's five climaxes. At its peak, a highly distinctive trumpet figure leads back to the major mode and a full-bodied restatement of the main theme. This gradually subsides, taking a brief detour to B-flat major on the way, and comes to rest on a rather abrupt stopped horn note. B-flat is now established as the tonal center for the closing material. This introduces some new ideas, most notably a triumphant phrase ushering in the second climax. Speed and intensity increase dramatically, and the exposition that began with such uncertainty ends with a glorious fanfare.
This is, however, quickly brushed aside by the two motives that opened the movement, heralding the long development section. The repeated-note syncopation is blasted this time instead of stuttered, but the horn remains the instrument. The four-note "motto," however, is transferred from the harp to the thumping timpani. Strange bass clarinet figures are also present. This first section of the development, perhaps the darkest passage of the movement (following the brightest), consists largely of what Hefling calls a "pathetic" variation of the main theme. This disintegrates very gradually into low-string tremolos and a "marching" harp. The violins make several attempts to begin something, and only after much effort does the music rise from the ashes. When it does, what emerges is a very sweet new version of the principal theme in the home key of D that will increase in prominence. It almost has the character of a waltz (although still in 4/4 time), and is the material for the second section. As B-flat again returns, fanfares intrude unexpectedly and lead to yet another climax, the third. This one utilizes the syncopated passage (3) from the introduction and also much material, including the "triumphant" phrase, from the exposition's closing section. It is prolonged for a great while before an almost spectacular collapse where fulfillment was again expected.
The third part of the development is a variation of the second theme in dark B-flat minor (which, however, uses the same opening melodic notes as the D-minor version). Even this material, however, attempts a Mahlerian "breakthrough" (the fourth climax) as D major asserts itself, and this would have been an ideal moment for fulfillment, but as before, it is cut short, and the trombones play a very dark version of the formerly bright trumpet figure. As at the beginning of the development, the music disintegrates into low tremolos, and this time Mahler marks the music "Schattenhaft" ("Shadowy"). It takes even longer for the "sweet waltz" variation in D to arrive, and it provides the material for this fourth section, as it had for the second. As it had before, it rises quickly to another climax. This one, the fifth and last, is the most intense, taking place in B major, a "heavenly" key for Mahler. Somehow, however, the listener knows that it is not to be, and after the most promising rise, the disintegration is the most shattering. The opening repeated-note syncopations from the very beginning are blasted out "with greatest force" by trombones and tubas, entering at the biting interval of a tritone. This seals the movement's fate, and the final (fifth) section of the development is played "like a heavy funeral procession." This section, featuring very "pathetic" fanfares, has many features from the development's beginning: the sound of the tam-tam, for example, and especially the re-emergence of the "motto" in the timpani. At the end, this motto is heard on three low bells, which creates a wonderful effect just before the reprise of the exposition.
This recapitulation, as Hefling notes, seems much shorter than the exposition, when in fact it is not. The return of the main theme almost overlaps the bells of the funeral march, and what we hear is the full-bodied version of the theme. There are to be no more attempted climaxes, however. When the second theme arrives, again in D minor, it is interrupted by an extraordinary chamber-like episode played "suddenly significantly slower." The texture is thinned until the flute and horn emerge in a strange duet. After this passage, there is really nowhere else for the movement to go. The second theme material makes a last attempt, but it is more like a reminiscence of climaxes past. The horns play the "trumpet figure" two more times before the music settles into the brief coda. Two formerly ebullient elements--the "trumpet figure" and the "triumphant phrase" from the end of the exposition, are now played serenely and quietly by the horns. This leads to a heavenly, soaring flute solo. The last word is given to the "sweet waltz" version of the theme before the final piercing high D that ends this incredible movement, a journey in itself.

SECOND MOVEMENT: Im Tempo eines gemächlichen Ländlers. Etwas täppisch und sehr derb
3/4 Meter. C Major.

The formal complexity of the first movement does not appear in the other three. They are all rather artful but simple variations on a rondo type of design. The first movement also had rondo-like elements, which perhaps gives the symphony some sort of unity based on similar forms. The second movement is a combination of German Ländler and Viennese waltz. Mahler presents us here with two examples of each. The two waltzes are more tied together than are the two Ländler, but the sequence of the four over the course of the movement becomes rather unpredictable, lending the piece much of its interest, for the material itself is deliberately coarse and parodistic. Three of the four always enter in the same key: the first Ländler in C major (three times), the second waltz in E-flat (twice), and the second Ländler in F (also twice). The first waltz varies its key each time it appears (E, D, and B-flat respectively), and its appearance usually provides the element of surprise and variety. Mahler's means of bringing interest to comically banal basic material is unusually skilled here.
The structure is also articulated by three clearly differentiated tempo markings. The first Ländler, the principal material of the piece, is also taken at the most moderate tempo (designated "Tempo I"). The two waltzes are in the faster speed necessary for that dance ("Tempo II"), and the second Ländler, which functions somewhat as a "Trio" section, is the slowest ("Tempo III"). The opening Ländler, according to Hefling, stretches its meager material as thin as it possibly can. There are variations and new gestures, to be sure, but it is largely the orchestration that lends the interest (such as the horn decorations that emerge about halfway through). The initial gesture, a simple motion up the scale, is almost unduly emphasized, as is the more "melodic" idea that follows in the violins.
The arrival of the first waltz is perfectly timed for maximum surprise and maximum relief. It first appears in E major, which arrives abruptly and with no mediation. The new tempo is also very sudden. The music is as breathless as the Ländler was unhurried. Another unusual tonal shift to E-flat brings the second waltz, where the music becomes even more coarse, with low brass and strings introduce material reminiscent of organ grinder music. It is in this section that a descending, lamenting phrase first appears that will gain prominence as the movement progresses. Its more "chromatic" character contrasts with most of the movement's material. The opening gesture of the main Ländler intersperses itself unexpectedly as this second waltz progresses.
The arrival of the second Ländler ("Tempo III") is more prepared, and serves as a point of relaxation. Its appearance marks the "middle section" of the movement. It is far less grotesque and banal than what has gone before, and the slow tempo allows both the musicians and the listeners to breathe a little. Subsequent statements in new keys, however, become more varied and complex, until, unexpectedly, the first waltz interrupts. As before, its arrival is jarring, and although its key here, D major, is less abrupt, it enters even faster than before, which provides the ultimate contrast to the slow second Ländler. (The key of D here also marks the only tonal connection to the first movement.) It becomes increasingly wild, ultimately leading to the chromatic descent first heard in the second waltz. The slow Ländler in F returns a second and final time, but the waltz has taken away its more "serene" characteristics.
The "middle section" of the movement is terminated by the appearance of the first, moderate Ländler in the home key. Its appearance in the midst of the second waltz assured that it was not forgotten, but it too has changed significantly in its scoring and its effect, and its presentation is much shorter. The "chromatic descent" is now heard here. Again it leads into the waltz material, but the order of the waltzes is here reversed, and the arrival is less jarring. The second waltz is given a full presentation, mostly in its "home" key of E-flat, but beginning in C minor and with a significant and unexpected diversion to G-flat, where a new countermelody is added. This music is even more grotesque and wild than it was before and is given three statements in all. It is directly followed by two statements of Waltz 1, marked to appear even faster now, and in its third tonal center of B-flat.
In a role reversal, it is now the original Ländler in the original moderate tempo that arrives suddenly. Its final statement quickly takes on the role of a dissipation. It is no longer sturdy and rustic, but almost tentative in character, combined again with the "chromatic descent." Eventually, it moves to the minor mode for the first time, and stays there for a while. Over the course of this minor-key statement, the texture and orchestration thins, string and wind instruments speaking in an almost disheartened dialogue. The final statement of the ubiquitous opening ascent is masterfully scored for piccolo and contrabassoon, the highest and lowest voices of the orchestra, five octaves apart, emphasizing the sense of exaggeration the pervades the entire movement.

THIRD MOVEMENT: RONDO-BURLESKE--Allegro assai. Sehr trotzig
2/4 Meter (Cut time). A Minor.

An even simpler Rondo design characterizes the third movement, yet, as Hefling notes, the complexity lies in the harmonic language. This is the most advanced musical idiom in which Mahler ever composed, and this movement surely has much to do with his influence on twentieth-century composers such as Schoenberg. The piece is at once parodistic and nihilistic, both humorous and tragic. The movement has much in common with the second movement of the Fifth Symphony, with which it shares both key and many musical gestures. As with that movement, the negative energy and harsh tonal language are tempered by an episode toward the end that seems almost like an intrusion. Another movement of the Fifth, the finale, is recalled in the fugal episodes, where Mahler's contrapuntal skill is at its most advanced. The secondary section, which Adorno called a parody of Léhar, is the closest in character to the previous movement. The structure, where B is this secondary section, follows the pattern A-fugue-B-A'-fugue-B'-fugue-C (interrupting episode)-A''-Double Coda
The principal A-minor Rondo refrain as initially presented contains several melodic ideas that will serve as source material for the fugal sections. The opening gesture is an unmistakable signal for its return as the movement progresses. Unlike the principal Ländler of the second movement, the musical material gains more interest and potential as it continues, culminating in harshly punctuated march variant that makes up its second half. The first fugal section in D minor, the orchestration of which is as skilled as its counterpoint, develops motives from the primary refrain.
The "trivial" secondary section is initially presented in F Major. If Léhar is indeed recalled, it is through the lens of Mahlerian harmony, for although the musical idiom has elements of the banal, the advanced language continues, though the tinkling triangle lends the section a somewhat brighter quality. It is structured as a song in four verses. The second appearance of the primary refrain (A') enters loudly and in the very remote key of A-flat minor, whose daunting array of seven flats presents an additional challenge to the players in a movement that is already virtuosic. The principal key of A minor returns for the second part, the "march variant."
The second fugal section is again in D minor, but now the use of the primary theme from the main section is more pronounced, the trombones presenting it very loudly. Against this is a new descending countermelody in the clarinets that will gain much importance later on. This is followed by the second and final appearance of the "B" section, now in the home key of A (but more major than minor), and reduced to three verses. The glockenspiel now joins the triangle in lending brightness to the passage. It is immediately followed by the third and final fugal passage. This is by far the most advanced of the three. A new upward leap is added to the beginning of the descending countermelody and, most strikingly, the fugue moves in a "circular" pattern through the keys, avoiding the more traditional tonic/dominant answers of the other two. It also introduces a new turn figure that has great implications not just for the burleske, but also for the rest of the symphony.
Those implications are now realized in the huge D-major episode. Although the material for this episode was introduced in the preceding fugue, the whole section seems strangely out of place in the burleske. It is certainly calculated that this section is in the symphony's principal key. The passage is introduced by the descending countermelody to the fugue, played by the brass, but the texture quickly thins, dominated by shimmering string tremolos and glissandi. The new turn figure now becomes the principal material for the section, which begins in a calm and serene manner. It is played in various instruments and developed at length before rising to a full-hearted climax. Shortly thereafter, however, the episode wants to continue in this vein, but is interrupted by a surprisingly brash statement of the turn figure from the clarinets. The string tremolos try to restore order, but it is to no avail. The turn figure has lost its serenity and begins to hint at the harsh character of the rest of the movement. The tremolos return three more times and, before the last one, the opening motive of the main section asserts itself in the clarinet. The turn figure fights mightily to regain its calm character for one last passage. The main section material has the upper hand, however, and eventually leads to a sudden return to the faster tempo for its final full statement.
This last statement is particularly rough and wild, and includes elements from the secondary and fugal sections. It begins in D minor (following the D major of the long episode), but moves to the home key of A minor. The two-part coda is basically a continuation of this, ratcheting up the tempo twice, so that by the end of the movement, the music has reached a frenzy that is unusual even for Mahler. Of the four movements, only this one has an emphatic conclusion. It is, in fact, one of the most exciting finishes in Mahler's entire output, but at the same time, one of the most bizarre.

FOURTH MOVEMENT: Adagio. Sehr langsam und noch zurückhaltend
4/4 Meter. D-flat Major.

The finale of Mahler's Ninth is at once strange and glorious. No other movement in his oeuvre has nearly as large a discrepancy between number of measures (actual musical material) and time for performance. Not even in the final "Abschied" of Das Lied von der Erde is the motion as consciously slow. Ending a symphony with a slow movement was not new. (Tchaikovsky's Pathétique--a work sharing many structural similarities with the Ninth--was well known by then.) Mahler's own Third ended with a long slow movement, but that led to a resounding, full, triumphant conclusion. This movement is quite unique in its ending that literally "dies away." The finale of the Pathétique had done this, but Mahler takes the idea to extremes here. Judging from the amount of pages left in the score at this point, it is hard to believe that the piece lasts almost as long as the first movement, but indeed it does.
The key is worth noting, a half step below the symphony's principal key. It thus reverses exactly the direction of the Fifth Symphony (a work quite similar to the Ninth in many ways, but the path of which is very different), which moved up from C-sharp (same pitch as D-flat) to D. It is, like the previous two movements, a rondo structure, and quite a simple one. The music never strays far from the tonal center--indeed, the secondary theme usually appears in C-sharp minor, merely changing the mode, not the central key. The extreme musical connection to the long D-major episode of the preceding Burleske is also notable (and recalls similar connections in the Fifth Symphony).
The principal theme group is preceded by two bars of introduction that directly recall the "turn" figure from that episode, and that turn accompanies most of the principal theme itself. The melody is warm and soothing, but tinged with biting chromaticism. Its presentation in the strings alone recalls the Fifth's "Adagietto" movement. The second half of the first theme is stronger, characterized by a downward chromatic three-note descent. But before this second half, Mahler inserts a strange premonition of the secondary theme in the bassoons, the first wind instruments to intrude on the string texture.
The second theme itself is far more dark and ominous than the first. Scored thinly and still moving very slowly, it is droned out in minor from the lowest instruments of the orchestra. Its rising scale possibly recalls the Ländler from the second movement in a radical transformation.
A more developed variation of the first theme group follows with the return of the major mode, the horn now playing a major role, and it builds gradually to a small climax before being cut off by a sudden pianissimo. The turn figure from the Burleske has been obvious throughout, but now Mahler inserts an actual four-measure quote from that movement before the music winds down for the next statement of the secondary theme. It is also varied, introducing a distinctive "tick-tock" motive in the accompaniment (appropriately in the harp, doubled by clarinet).
As the "tick-tock" motive dies away, the first theme group enters again, but it is the more dramatic (and more chromatic) second half, which serves to lead to the climax of the movement. It is extremely intense, and marked by the first entrance of the trumpets in the movement. The orchestra suddenly cuts off, leaving the violins lamenting passionately on a repetition of the note C-flat. The energy of the climax continues as the principal theme's first half is now given its richest statement yet. Mahler directs the music to move even slower, but the theme is accompanied by the horn playing the turn figure in shorter note values in the instrument's most full-blooded vein). The texture remains rich and full for some time before suddenly becoming quiet. There is time for one more attempt at a breakthrough, the trumpet valiantly playing the turn figure, but it is short lived. The wind instruments exit for good, the English horn providing their last word. The texture begins to dissipate entirely, the string instruments fading away one by one until the cellos alone provide a long drawn-out line featuring the turn. Here is Mahler's first noting of the term "ersterbend" ("dying away").
But there is still some music left--one of Mahler's most incredible codas. It is only one page of score, but a page that typically takes about five minutes to play. Mahler marks it "Adagissimo," and scores it only for strings, using material from the secondary theme and the second half of the first. But he introduces a most amazing self-quotation from one of his "Kindertotenlieder," so subtle that commentators missed it for many years. The quotation is marked "with deepest feeling." There is no doubt that this coda, as Leonard Bernstein said, represents "death in music." Following the quotation, the strings slow the turn figure down to near motionlessness. Over the last measures, Mahler directs them to be played "utterly slowly." The final dying statement is given to the violas.

References:

Floros, Constantin. Gustav Mahler: The Symphonies, translated by Vernon Wicker. Portland: Amadeus Press, 1993, pp. 271-95.

Hefling, Stephen E. "The Ninth Symphony," in The Mahler Companion, edited by Donald Mitchell and Andrew Nicholson. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.

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