Discovering Mahler: Writings On Mahler 1955-2005

Description:
'Discovering Mahler' is the fourth and final volume of Donald Mitchell's unique studies of Mahler and his music. This new publication fills the remaining gaps in the scrutiny of Mahler's works in the series, principally the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Symphonies, with the Ninth and Tenth. It begins with a substantial survey of Mahler's music, commissioned for the sixth edition of Grove's 'Dictionary of Music and Musicians' (1980), but here printed in full for the first time. A striking feature throughout this collection is the examination of the revelatory role of the performer; this is epitomized in transcripts of significant conversations about the Fifth and Seventh Symphonies with, respectively, Riccardo Chailly and Bernard Haitink. The concluding section consists of major lectures and celebratory essays, some here published for the first time in English. These form a fascinating and frequently moving personal testament to a lifetime, and specifically fifty working years, of discovering Mahler. Donald Mitchell's three previous studies of Mahler are among the enduring monuments of postwar Mahler literature. He was awarded the Gustav Mahler Medal of Honour of the International Gustav Mahler Society in Vienna in 1987, and was appointed CBE in 2002.

Review:
Handsomely presented with plentiful reproductions of concert programmes, manuscripts and photographs, this is a unique homage...an encyclopedia of fresh thinking which can only inspire more new ideas in the reader. BBC MUSIC (David Nice)What Donald Mitchell doesn't know about Mahler isn't worth knowing...Mitchell excels at coolly unpicking how Mahler assembled his vastly ambitious works from myriad sources and influences. A lifetime's work distilled. CLASSIC FM MAGAZINE (Philip Clark)Highly recommended. CHOICESo many richly rewarding essays...a milestone in the literature. WUNDERHORN (Newsletter of the Mahler Society of New York)An excellent, comprehensive volume. AMERICAN RECORD GUIDEA retrospective celebration of Donald Mitchell's astonishing contribution to Mahler scholarship over fifty years...His great scholarship never obscures his tremendous enthusiasm and sense of wonder and this remains as infectious now as it was several decades ago. MUSIC & LETTERS