Mahler Fifth Symphony Analysis

357 Words2 Pages
Mahler composed his Fifth Symphony in 1901 and 1902 and conducted the first performance in Cologne on October 18, 1904. Of all Mahler’s symphonies, this is the one most rooted in Viennese tradition. He stylistically swings every rhythm in the Viennese style, which is decidedly different from the German tradition. It is his first purely orchestral work since the First Symphony written in 1888 and his first orchestral work to dispense with both the human voice and programmatic elements. Mahler’s Fifth Symphony famously includes a love-poem and declaration of adoration for his wife Alma Schindler. The couple met on November 7, 1901 and after only three weeks the composer proposed marriage. They were married in less than four months.

The central