Mahler’s Sixth - The Tragic?

A-Level Music 

Dr. Preece

Mahler’s Sixth -

The Tragic?

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By Thomas Tian

Anyone going to a live performance of Mahler’s sixth symphony must already feel the scale of the piece before the first note is played, as (literally) hundreds of musicians fill the stage. The orchestra Mahler requires is huge. The eight horns might be the first to strike one’s attention, accompanied by four trumpets and three trombones to make up a massively inflated brass section. The woodwinds don’t fall short in comparison (quadruple flutes, clarinets, oboes and bassoons), just as the percussion with its two timpani, drums, triangle and xylophone. In response, the strings have to inflate their numbers as well. 

With such a gigantic, imposing arrangement, light-hearted, playful tones become almost impossible. The piece inadvertently becomes either gloriously victorious or devastatingly tragic. Pivoting between elevation and abyss thus composes the central theme of the symphony. 

Interpretation of the symphony can largely be broken down into three aspects: Written at the turn of the century, it’s not a far stretch to say Mahler reflected societal changes he observed in his environment. At the same time, the piece is a story of a symphonic hero on his way to self-realisation, captivating the audience on their highs and lows. At last, one could think about the autobiographical aspect of the piece, to what extent Mahler expressed events and feelings of his own life. 

The first movement fulfils the requirements of sonata form while challenging its boundaries. We start off with a long, dark, march-like first subject that can represent the urbanised society in the Industrial Age, with the short, sharp string strokes mimicking rigid production lines in factories. It also invokes the image of our hero going through the tedious routines of his life in a polluted city. Following a short transitional segment, the gorgeous, melodic second subject is introduced, as a fleeting thought, a memory maybe, of something lovely and romantic that momentarily drags our hero away from the dark dust that surrounds him. The subject is also called the “Alma-theme”, as it is rumoured to be inspired by Mahler’s wife Alma. Already Mahler is breaking the rules of Sonata form as he doesn’t feel the need to go to the parallel major key for the second subject, but opts for F major instead. 

The most prominent feature of the development section must be the lengthy, etheric cowbell-episode drawing the image of an unspoiled countryside landscape that became rarer and rarer as people left their villages for cities during the Industrial Revolution. Our hero finds refuge in such a landscape. It gives him time and space to reflect upon himself. He feels relaxed and comfortable, ready to embark on an adventure and finally achieve personal growth. All of that build up to the climax as the key seems to reach A major in the recapitulation of the first subject. But then, just as we thought we’d made it, A minor returns and robs our hero of his victory. This can be viewed as the first truly tragic moment in the symphony. 

One could now describe the piece tragic, or even “nihilistic”, as the meaning of the whole build-up - of every up and down - remains unclear when our hero is pushed back to their original state in the end anyway. That is, until we hear the triumphant second subject return for a final time and the coda that shines through with its optimism. The hero may have “wasted” his time and is not sure whether the journey actually meant something or if he’s learned anything at all, but still - life goes on. It’s a feeling we can all relate to, thinking we’ve achieved something or made some progress and then suffering a setback, as if we’re back to where we started. It can be deeply frustrating, tragic, even. But the coda reminds us that it’s not the end of the world, that life will still go on, that the journey is really what it’s all about. At the end of the first movement, our hero gazes towards the future that’s ahead of him, not with regret, but hope, that one day, he might succeed in his endeavour. 

The other movements continue the dramatic ups and downs of the first, cumulating to the final allegro energico with it’s hammerstrikes of fate. The outcome of the symphony is unclear until  the very end, when it finally collapses under its own weight and fades into silence. 

That can be hardly called a happy end, and looking at the entirety of the symphony, our hero never seems to reach a state of sustained satisfaction. The subtitle “tragic” therefore does appear appropriate. 

So was our entire journey for nothing, then? Was it all meaningless?

The symphony’s answer is an emphatic “No”. Mahler’s Sixth is all about the journey. It’s about battling against the blows of fate, struggling against the constraints of society, fighting against the odds, no matter the outcome. 

Mahler’s Sixth is tragic not because it ends in defeat, but because it portrays a deeply human struggle against forces beyond one’s control. The triumph lies in the perseverance, in the act of striving, even without the certainty of success. 

Mahler’s Sixth may be a tragic story, but never throughout its course a meaningless one.