Kennedy's Mahler Biography

[Clov]

I recently purchased this Mahler biography by Michael Kennedy knowing that his R. Strauss biography is very well reviewed. The biography itself seems only to take up half the book, the second half being analysis of his music. This makes the bio roughly the size of the free "Song Symphonist" bio online unfortunately. Has anyone read this particular bio and what did you think of it?

[barry guerrero]

I haven't read the Kennedy but he's generally reliable. For a short read on Mahler, I like the Jonathan Carr one quite a bit (Mahler: A Life).

http://www.amazon.com/Mahler-A-Life-Jonathan-Carr/dp/1590205146/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345261672&sr=8-1&keywords=mahler+carr

[Clov]

I just purchased the Gartenberg Mahler Biography also. I have a thing for hardbacks, especially affordable hardbacks.

[barry guerrero]

Gartenberg is quite good. Some sticklers for details might say that it's a bit 'dated' now, but the tone of it is pretty much right-on.

[Clov]

Thanks for the info. I read your review of it on Amazon, the book's description says 400 pages roughly. The Carr bio hardback is going for $200 as of now on Amazon.

[barry guerrero]

I bought a used paperback version quite reasonably. Good luck.

Also, with 400 pages, I think you might be confusing Carr with Jens Malte Fischer. I don't think that the Carr is anything like 400 pages. I also don't think that I reviewed it (pretty sure of that). Just Fischer and Gartenberg, I believe

Barry

[Clov]

Yes, I was talking about the Gartenberg bio, I didn't clarify correctly. Sorry.

[Clov]

I've just finished the biographical section of the Kennedy Mahler bio, it was an interesting read. I did skip to the musical section on M8 before listening to the performance by the Aspen Music Festival on Sunday, which I enjoyed a great deal. As far as Michael Kennedy's section devoted to M8, it gave a good fundemental desciption of the work in its two parts, but Kennedy ended the chapter being fairly critical of the work.

[barry guerrero]

Yes, it's a funny thing: audiences love hearing the work in  live performances, but music know-it-all's remain critical of it. I suggest that you seek out Sir Donald Tovey's essay on Mahler 8, who points out that it's an incredibly well put-together work, obscured only by the amount of noise that it makes. Deryck Cooke's essay is quite helpful as well.

Cooke points out that in M8, the ecclesiastical text receives the march treatment, while the more secular text (Goethe) gets the chorale treatment. An interesting twist.

De la Grange, who makes no claim to being a great musician, loves M8 very much. So do I. M8 is, however, dependent on getting the 'logistics' right, as well as needing some decent singers. Still, its impact in concert can be quite 'indescribable'.

Barry

[Clov]

I finished  the Kennedy Mahler bio. The second and bigger half being on the music. I found his overview and slight critiques very insightful into the composer's music. Kennedy seems to particularly champion M6 and Das Lied. Kennedy also does a great job tying repeated and variant motifs and themes among the whole Mahler repetoire. I've finally received the Gartenberg Mahler bio but I'm next reading Arnold Schoenberg's Journey by Allen Shawn. I'll probably end up getting the Fischer Mahler bio also.

 

[barry guerrero]

re: "Arnold Schoenberg's Journey by Allen Shawn"

Can you shed any light on this book at this point. The only thing I've read pertaining to Schoenberg is "Style & Idea" - a book in which S. shares some of his thoughts on Mahler, among others (Brahms in particular).

[Clov]

I know that it was reviewed very well, has an excellent review by Robert Craft himself on the back of the book. Part of Craft review states, "...Whereas earlier writers have skimped on the biography, Shawn tells the story in full and in perceptive relation to his music..." The author starts in the forward saying, "I am not a scholar or a theorist." I haven't read it yet, but the author also says in the forward he's trying to keep analysis at a minimum but at the same time wouldn't have been able to write what he had without having read the in-depth scrutiny of other writers on the subject who he sites in suggested readings. The book is slightly over 300 pages. It also has a fair amount of musical examples and pictures throughout. You might want to check the Amazon reviews also.

On the subject of musical examples in books: I'd also recently purchased a Alban Berg bio by Karen Monson; there is not a single musical example in the whole book, that seems odd to me.

I remember reading parts of the essay collection 'Style and Idea' about fifteen years ago. All I recall now really is some compliments of Mahler by Schoenberg; one I took to heart was something to the effect of 'people like Mahler composing such music until God finally was made' or 'revealed' or something like that; Obviously I don't have a 'way with words' as Schoeberg did. I also recall him slyingly saying something about the originality of Gershwin that was in actuality an insult, perhaps it was in his criticism of OEDIPUS REX by Stravinsky. Also something insulting about Webern by saying Bach was wittingly using the dual meaning of the German word for 'Offering'.

[Clov]

Oh yeah!!!

I remember Schoenberg's essay 'Brahms the Progressive'. That's Schoenberg for you; He could literally argue anything he wanted and be convincing also simply because he was that freaking brilliant.

[barry guerrero]

Thank you very much. I don't think that Karen Monson was (is?) a musician. Instead, she's a bit of a 'groupie'. That said, however, I do think her book on Berg is a pretty interesting read. Hope you think so too.

[Clov]

Thank you very much. I don't think that Karen Monson was (is?) a musician. Instead, she's a bit of a 'groupie'. That said, however, I do think her book on Berg is a pretty interesting read. Hope you think so too.

Thank you too. Bet I'll love it too.