Search - Gustav Mahler, Adrian Leaper, Gran Canaria Philharmonic Orchestra :: Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 5

In 1878, Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) successfully finished his studies at the Vienna Conservatory. After his first compositions did not meet the foreseen success, he decided to become a conductor and as such conducted at various theatres such as Olmütz, Kassel, Prague, Budapest, and Hamburg. In 1897, he was nominated director of the Royal Opera of Vienna. The opera house being closed during the summer months, he took advantage of this interlude by composing. In the summer of 1901, the first three movements of his Fifth Symphony were completed, followed in 1902 by the two last ones. In autumn 1901, Mahler met Alma Schindler and offered her, in place of his declaration of love, the fourth movement of his Fifth Symphony (Visconti used this music for his film Death In Venice, based on a novel by Thomas Mann). Alma Schindler, being a composer herself, had no difficulty understanding its secret message. Their engagement took place in December 1901, and their marriage in the following summer.