Symposium

Das Lied von der Erde

Saturday January 13, 2007, 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM
ATLAS Building, Room 100, CU Campus

As always, the free symposium is aimed at a wide audience, from those new to Mahler and his music to those with many years of experience. Our speakers welcome the diversity in our audience each year and are eager to engage in discussion after their presentations. This is an excellent and stimulating way to immerse yourself in Mahler's world and to get to know the works heard during the festival. Don't miss it!

MAHLERFEST XX Symposium Schedule

9:00 AM

Robert Olson (Founder and Artistic Director of Colorado MahlerFest) discusses this year's program from a conductor's perspective.

10:00 AM

Eveline Nikkels (Dutch Mahler Society) "(Musical) Signposts on the Path to Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde." Prof. Nikkels traces musical and literary antecedents leading up to The Song of the Earth. In addition to Mahler's earlier works, she considers compositions of Franz Schubert. Prof. Nikkels is among the foremost Mahler authorities, and her delightful lectures have been enjoyed at two previous MahlerFest symposia. We will have for sale the newly published volume of lectures from the Das Lied von der Erde Symposium held in The Hague, Netherlands, in 2002. Die liebe Erde allüberall . . . was edited by Eveline Nikkels and Robert Becqué, and this valuable collection of papers is not readily available yet in the US. Also available for purchase during MahlerFest XX is a facsimile edition of Mahler's manuscript for "Der Abschied," a fascinating volume published under the guidance of Dr. Nikkels.

11:00 AM

Filmmaker Jason Starr (Cultural Media Collaborative, New York City) will discuss and show excerpts from his current project, a documentary on Mahler's Second Symphony. Mr. Starr's documentary What the Universe Tells Me: Unvraveling the Mysteries of Mahler's Third Symphony was a memorable highlight at MahlerFest during the year of the film's release; many audience members were moved to tears. (Copies of this 2004 DVD will be available for sale during MahlerFest XX.)

12:00 PM

A catered deli lunch ($9) and dinner ($11) will be available for board members, Symposium participants, and attendees in the Aspen Room at the University Memorial Center (UMC) - details in the Fall Ticket Brochure.

1:00 PM

Stephen E. Hefling (Case Western Reserve University) Keynote Lecture: "Das Lied von der Erde: The Most Mahleresque of His Works." Professor Hefling is a leading international authority on Mahler. His book Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde (Cambridge Music Handbooks) is the best critical introduction to the piece, and he has also written the essay on Das Lied for The Mahler Companion, ed. Donald Mitchell and Andrew Nicholson (pbk. Oxford, 2002). Hefling discovered Mahler's manuscript for the piano-voice version of Das Lied and edited that score for the critical edition published under the auspices of the International Gustav Mahler Society in Vienna.

2:00 PM

Marilyn McCoy (Boston, Massachusetts) "Floating, Striving, and Something In-Between: Some Varieties of Time in Das Lied von der Erde." Professor McCoy has long been one of MahlerFest's most popular speakers. She has spent many years investigating Mahler's innovative approach to time and rhythm, and her talk considers this important aspect of Das Lied. In addition, she once again presents pre-concert lectures before the orchestral concerts on Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon. McCoy is expert at engaging listeners of every kind, from those who are new to the music to seasoned Mahler enthusiasts.

3:00 PM

Steven Bruns (University of Colorado-Boulder). " 'Les Adieux': Haydn, Mahler, and George Crumb's Lorca Cycle." George Crumb is among those 20th-century composers who have been profoundly influenced by Mahler. This presentation focuses on two works in particular, the Lorca settings from 1969, Night of the Four Moons, and 1970, Ancient Voices of Children. Both works are post-modern responses to Das Lied, especially the final movement, "Der Abschied" ("The Farewell"). Crumb's compositions are also connected to Haydn's celebrated "Farewell" Symphony, and Mahler's Tenth Symphony. Included is a rare, videotaped studio performance of Crumb's finale conducted by Arthur Weisberg and featuring Jan DeGaetani, the artist for whom the work was composed.

4:00 PM

Chris Mohr (Denver composer) will give a brief presentation on the official naming of Colorado's Mount Mahler, which was finalized in 2006.