jan 1, 1888 - Symphony No. 1 in D Major

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Symphony No. 1 in D major by Gustav Mahler was mainly composed between late 1887 and March 1888, though it incorporates music Mahler had composed for previous works.

From Symphonic Poem to First Symphony
1. Brahms wrote Symphony No. 1, etc.; Berlioz, Liszt, and others named their symphonic
works. Mahler went back and forth with the concepts involved with each as he approached the symphony.
2. His first symphony began life as a symphonic poem.
a. Entitled “The Titan,” it consisted of two parts and five movements; Mahler provided a program for it.
b. After two performances, Mahler dropped the second movement and simply called the work “Symphony in D Major.”
c. Thus, this work began life as a Lisztian conception but, when finished, resembled a Brahmsian symphony.
D. Maximalizing the Symphony
1. Mahler wrote “Like a sound from nature” at the beginning of Symphony No. 1.
2. Songs provide material in the first three movements.
3. The final movement moves from Hell to Paradise, much like the Beethovenian trajectory of the Fifth Symphony

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