Mahler's Seventh Symphony

Gustav Mahler's Seventh Symphony stands out as one of the most provocative symphonic statements of the early twentieth century. Throughout its performance history, it has often been heard as "existing in the shadow" of the Sixth Symphony or as "too reminiscent" of Richard Wagner's opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. Anna Stoll Knecht's Mahler's Seventh Symphony offers a new interpretation of the Seventh based on a detailed study of Mahler's compositional materials and a close reading of the finished work. With a focus on sketches previously considered as "discarded," Stoll Knecht exposes unexpected connections between the Seventh and both the Sixth and Meistersinger, confirming that Mahler's compositional project was firmly grounded in a dialogue with works from the past. This referential aspect acts as an important interpretive key to the work, enabling the first thorough analysis of the sketches and drafts for the Seventh, and shedding light on its complex compositional history. Considering each movement of the symphony through a double perspective, genetic and analytic, Stoll Knecht demonstrates how sketch studies and analytical approaches can interact with each other. Mahler's Seventh Symphony exposes new facets of Mahler's musical humor and leads us to rethink much-debated issues concerning the composer's cultural identity, revealing the Seventh's pivotal role within his output.

Anna Stoll Knecht is a Supernumerary Fellow of Jesus College, University of Oxford. Engaged in research on Gustav Mahler's interpretation of Richard Wagner, she has been the recipient of several grants, including a British Academy postdoctoral fellowship and a Fulbright fellowship.

Introduction

Chapter 1: Premiere and Reception
Premiere
Reception
The "problems" of the Seventh
Chapter 2: Structure, Interpretation and Genesis
Structure
Main interpretive leads
Genesis
Chapter 3: Compositional History
Autobiographical and biographical evidence
Musical evidence
Chapter 4: Rondo-Finale
Form and content
Interpretive views
Chapter 5: Genesis of the Rondo-Finale
The Vienna sketchbook and the Moldenhauer sketches
The Paris sketchbook leaves and the Moldenhauer sketches
Other sketches and drafts for the Finale
Chapter 6: Nachtmusiken
The first Nachtmusik
The second Nachtmusik
Chapter 7: Scherzo
Dancing death
Structure
Sketches and drafts
Walpurgis night
Chapter 8: First Movement
Beginning of the Seventh
Form and content
Sketches and drafts
(Auto)biography, genesis and interpretation
Chapter 9: Die Meistersinger in the Seventh Symphony
The Meistersinger references in the Finale
Quartal harmony in the Seventh and Meistersinger
Preliminary sketches in the Vienna sketchbook
E minor to C major: from Night to Day
Mahler and Beckmesser
Conclusion
What the genesis tells us
"Problems" of the Seventh
From tragedy to comedy
Beginnings and ends

Appendices:
A: Manuscripts and editions of the Seventh Symphony
B: Mahler discography
M: Motivic tables
F: Formal tables
CSk: Correspondences between the sketches
MSk: Motivic table for the sketches
Synopsis of Richard Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg

Bibliography