Run Time: Approx. 75 Minutes

Mahler once remarked that a symphony should contain the universe. His monumental fifth symphony certainly achieves that lofty goal and offers a snapshot of the composer’s inner universe. Often characterized as a brooding, turbulent man, Mahler certainly reflects his own personality in his music, which consistently reaches the outermost edges of human feeling.

The composition of the Fifth Symphony, which took place between 1901 and 1902, was influenced by two contrasting events. First, Mahler fell seriously ill and nearly died, forcing him to confront his own mortality. Second, he entered a whirlwind courtship with Alma Schindler, whom he married after just four months. Although Mahler generally eschewed narrative arcs in his music, this symphony vividly illustrates the inner turmoil and emotional journey he likely experienced following such a dramatic brush with death.

The work unfolds in five movements, grouped into three parts. Part One, consisting of the first and second movements, begins with a Trauermarsch (Funeral March), announced by a solo trumpet that introduces one of the movement’s most significant themes. The motif, built upon a rhythmic pattern of three fast, repeated notes followed by a longer note (short-short-short-long), bears a striking resemblance to the famous theme from Beethoven’s fifth symphony. These repeated figures, reminiscent of a knock at the door, often evoke the sense of fate or the inevitability of death. The movement develops in this vein, until after another repetition of the trumpet’s opening call, it erupts in a great burst of protestation. But it quickly quells, seeming to resign itself to its fate.

The second movement unfolds in nearly the opposite manner. Clinging to the violent outburst of the first, it the orchestra ignites in a fit of fiery rage before giving way to tender moments of deep longing. However, the calm cannot last, and each time, it succumbs once again to frustration. Strikingly, after the tumult of the preceding movements, Mahler introduces the first moments of triumph and true joy near the end of Part One with a brass chorale. So different is this from anything heard so far that it seems to ask the first hint of a profound question: what is the human response to mortality?

The third movement, which occupies the entirety of Part Two, is the longest of the work. Marked Scherzo, it represents a dramatic shift in mood, offering an exuberant dance inspired by both Austrian peasant dances and the more refined Viennese waltzes Mahler would have conducted. The movement is also a profound expression of his Jewish heritage. Due to the rampant anti-Semitism of the era, Mahler had to convert to Catholicism to assume the position of director at the Vienna State Opera. Nevertheless, his Jewish roots found their way into his music, often in klezmer-inspired melodies, and, in the case of the fifth symphony, the use of the horn section to emulate the shofar. The shofar is an ancient rams-horn instrument used for Jewish rites and is most closely associated with Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, during which it is to be sounded 30 times per day. The sound of the horn, for many, is reminiscent of a human cry and is said to be symbolic of the soul’s desire to return to its creator.

The joyful dances begin to spin into a frenzy, becoming untamed and perhaps a bit dangerous until they are interrupted by wild calls passed around the horn section—the sounding of the shofar. As the section falls away, the calls continue in the solo horn, who plays a prominent role throughout the work. Though the call of the horn sounds a bit ominous, the movement on whole is an exuberant declaration of his desire to, in the face of death, turn towards the joy of life. This movement ultimately turns the tide of the entire symphony; everything that follows is colored by a new profound determination to live.

The fourth movement offers a respite from the grand drama of the previous three. It is also one of Mahler’s most well-known and beloved works and is often performed as a standalone piece. It was written as a declaration of love to Alma, whom he married during the work’s composition. Here, all but the strings and harp take rest.

The fifth and final movement begins with a triumphant solo horn, setting the stage for a conclusion bursting with energy. It culminates in a powerful reiteration of the moment of triumph from the second movement, perhaps offering an answer to the question it posed earlier: Yes, indeed, the response to death is an unwavering embrace of life.

The triptych Mahler lays out leaves no doubt that in the face of his brush with death he was deeply shaken but determined to combat the sorrow of mortality with an unrestrained zest for life. While he would go on to experience further tragedy and continue to grapple with these grand existential questions, the Fifth Symphony stands as a triumphant ode to the human spirit.