You may be wondering why you can see trees everywhere… These symbolise forests and nature as a retreat and energy centre – and those were the source of inspiration for Mahler’s musical works. For this reason, he built his own houses surrounded by nature at each of his summer residences, where he would go to compose – you can find pictures of them hanging on a tree trunk in front of you: in Steinbach am Attersee, Maiernigg am Wörthersee and Toblach in Southern Tyrol. Nature, lakes and forests were his home and refuge. He was in his element when surrounded only by flowers and birds, isolated yet happy, alone with himself and his music, which he drew from withhin himself. Mahler once said that the lake had its own language and spoke to him: “If I can listen to it, then the compositions simply flow from my head.”

He also tried to incorporate this feeling into his symphonies. He wanted to “make the whole universe resonate and ring. Not just human voices, but make  planets and suns revolve”. At least that’s what Mahler said concerning his Symphony No. 8, a large-scale work also known as the “Symphony of a Thousand”, because a total of 858 singers and 171 orchestra members performed its premiere in 1910. Mahler’s symphonies were unprecedented in the truest sense of the word, yet as revolutionary as his music might have seemed, he never abandoned the compositional style of the 19th century, but simply pushed it beyond its outermost limits.

What he did change, however, were certain customs of operation within the structure of the opera. Mahler put a stop to the 19th century habit of dealing with arrogant singers and pleasure-seeking audiences. Inspired by Wagner’s Bayreuth Festival, Mahler made it his job to convey the flair of a festival performance in the day-to-day operation of an opera house, and to educate his audience: from now on, late-comers were only admitted during the intermission, the auditorium was darkened and the orchestra lights dimmed, in order to focus the attention on the stage, and celebrity culture was also stopped in favour of the music – all performers had to serve the artistic vision. The oeuvre took centre stage, “from now on, the music must no longer be a distraction, but the focus”.

Gustav Mahler was therefore one of the most important directors of the Viennese Opera – probably the most prolific ever. He really wanted the job, and not only did he strategically use all his connections to secure it, but even converted from Judaism to Catholicism. He began his conducting career at the age of 20. After a couple of years in the provinces, which he spent working in Prague, Budapest – where he was able to prove himself as an Opera Director – he came via Hamburg to Vienna where he reached the pinnacle of his career as director of the Court Opera. In Vienna, he also gained recognition as a concert conductor, leading the Vienna Philharmonic Subscription Concerts from 1898 onward. Unfortunately however, he never developed a good relationship with the orchestra and was honourably discharged from his position after three years.

The loss of his job at the Court Opera brought with itself a multitude of intrigues, that started to surround him: resistance to his pioneering opera reforms and the not entirely unjustified criticism that he was rarely in Vienna. Afterwards, Mahler wanted nothing more to do with the opera; he went to America and only worked as an orchestral conductor.