Mahler and The Beatles

[perotin]

Never heard that until recently:

Paul McCartney wrote “I have always adored Mahler, and Mahler was a major influence on the music of The Beatles. John and me used to sit and do the Kindertotenlieder and Wunderhorn for hours, we’d take turns singing and playing the piano. We thought Mahler was great.”


Quote from The Times: What Songs The Beatles Sang article by William Mann:

But harmonic interest is typical of their quicker songs, too, and one gets the impression that they think simultaneously of harmony and melody, so firmly are the major tonic sevenths and ninths built into their tunes, and the flat submediant key switches, so natural is the Aeolian cadence at the end of Not A Second Time (the chord progression which ends Mahler's Song of the Earth).

Article about that cadence:
LINK

[Penny]

Hello Audentity

Yes I'd read that Paul McCartney quote somewhere too, maybe as much as a couple of years ago, but wasn't sure it wasn't some kind of joke or hoax!  Nice if it's true though, and just goes to show how massively influential the great Gustav was.

For what it may be worth, the late great Deryck Cooke wrote an interesting article about the Lennon-McCartney songs which is in his posthumously-published book, "Vindications", which includes a short analysis of their song, "Yesterday". 

A couple of months ago I visited the Beatles' houses in Liverpool and was absolutely astonished at what a tiny house Paul McCartney was brought up in.  Amazing to think of such a great talent coming from so small a space.