‘Farewells’ and new beginnings in the Ninth Symphony

As noted in the previous chapter, Mahler was reported to have had a superstitious fear of completing a ninth symphony, believing that since Beethoven and Bruckner number nine had been the furthest that a symphonic composer could progress. Mahler attempted to avoid this fate when he composed Das Lied von der Erde, his actual ‘ninth’. Such arguments are supported by the fact that Mahler had been diagnosed with a serious heart problem in 1907 which made him aware of the limited time remaining to him. He also had had to cope with the death of his daughter Maria that year, and it is therefore not surprising that Mahler approached his Ninth in a particular frame of mind, denying himself from the start music of a celebratory nature. However, in view of the advanced stage of the sketches for the Tenth symphony, it is inappropriate to call the Ninth Mahler's final ‘farewell’ to the world, as did many reviewers of the posthumous first performance. If anything, the Ninth, together with Das Lied von der Erde and the sketches for the Tenth, could be seen as a ‘farewell’ trilogy, particularly since all three works mark a clear break with the preceding Eighth Symphony and embody Mahler's late style.