Rating: 
Summary: Recommended as an introduction
Review: Having some time to kill at the Illini Union Bookstore one dark December day, I found myself browsing through Carr's biography of Mahler. On flipping through the pages, my eyes lit on a wonderful photograph, worth a thousand words or even pages, one I'd never seen before. It showed Mahler's parents, and what I already knew intuitively rushed over me like a wave. I was struck by the apparent energy and volatility of the father, and by the spirituality and speaking suffering of the mother (though she looked like a pig). As we all know, these left a permanent mark on young Gustav. Indeed, no man was ever truer to the impressions of his childhood, or flew straighter throughout his whole life like an arrow to its goal. Even the salmon struggling up rapids to spawn and die in their native pools could take a lesson from Mahler in early imprinting.This is an excellent book for those seeking a manageable and balanced short introduction to Mahler's life and work, and I recommend it highly. Why then only four stars? Well, the competition is stiff. For one thing, there's the huge and scholarly biography by Henri-Louis de la Grange in four volumes at last count, and even this gets only four stars according to some assessments. But the main reason is that the ultimate biography of Mahler is the Works themselves, and they are off the scale.
Rating:
Summary: Recommended as an introduction
Review: Having some time to kill at the Illini Union Bookstore one dark December day, I found myself browsing through Carr's biography of Mahler. On flipping through the pages, my eyes lit on a wonderful photograph, worth a thousand words or even pages, one I'd never seen before. It showed Mahler's parents, and what I already knew intuitively rushed over me like a wave. I was struck by the apparent energy and volatility of the father, and by the spirituality and speaking suffering of the mother (though she looked like a pig). As we all know, these left a permanent mark on young Gustav. Indeed, no man was ever truer to the impressions of his childhood, or flew straighter throughout his whole life like an arrow to its goal. Even the salmon struggling up rapids to spawn and die in their native pools could take a lesson from Mahler in early imprinting. This is an excellent book for those seeking a manageable and balanced short introduction to Mahler's life and work, and I recommend it highly. Why then only four stars? Well, the competition is stiff. For one thing, there's the huge and scholarly biography by Henri-Louis de la Grange in four volumes at last count, and even this gets only four stars according to some assessments. But the main reason is that the ultimate biography of Mahler is the Works themselves, and they are off the scale.
Rating:
Summary: I vote for Jonathan Carr! When does Kirkus have to pay up!
Review: I agree with the reader reviewer who stated that Carr's presentation was balanced and portrayed Mahler "warts and all" - therefore, also putting a human and sympathetic face on this titan for me (not much sympathy for Alma though!). I found the book facinating and as a new "Mahlerian", an excellent guide and entry point for his work. Bravo Jonathan Carr!
Rating: 
Summary: Objective account of Mahler's life
Review: I strongly disagree with the Kirkus review that the author is a die-hard Mahlerian who can't write objectively. The author is not ashamed to write about Mahler's character flaws. Most of the book is about Mahler's biography, but there are two chapters which discuss Mahler's symphonies and the "Das Lied von der Erde" song cycle. The musical discussion is great except for the very sketchy treatment of Symphony #9. The biographical details of Mahler's life were interesting, and here the author pulls in data from many sources, not just the diary of Alma. He argues in this book that the Mahler symphonies are not reflections of Mahler's personal struggles (for example, Symphony #6, the "Tragic" symphony was written during a happy period.), but the character of Mahler's music reflects his thoughts and personality (the rapid mood changes present in his music and personality.) Altogether a good read.
Rating:
Summary: Objective account of Mahler's life
Review: I strongly disagree with the Kirkus review that the author is a die-hard Mahlerian who can't write objectively. The author is not ashamed to write about Mahler's character flaws. Most of the book is about Mahler's biography, but there are two chapters which discuss Mahler's symphonies and the "Das Lied von der Erde" song cycle. The musical discussion is great except for the very sketchy treatment of Symphony #9. The biographical details of Mahler's life were interesting, and here the author pulls in data from many sources, not just the diary of Alma. He argues in this book that the Mahler symphonies are not reflections of Mahler's personal struggles (for example, Symphony #6, the "Tragic" symphony was written during a happy period.), but the character of Mahler's music reflects his thoughts and personality (the rapid mood changes present in his music and personality.) Altogether a good read.
Rating:
Summary: Remembering the Titan
Review: In the `Recommendations' chapter at the end of this biography, Jonathan Carr admits that more than 2500 books and essays have been published about the life and music of Gustav Mahler. "Keeping abreast of Mahler literature and recordings is no job for the faint-hearted (or impecunious)," the author states, and it can be conjectured, with so much available research, what need have we for yet another history of the composer? Yet Carr, a devoted fan for some forty years, has a deep-seated desire to shake up and disrupt the ever-expanding mythology surrounding Mahler, to counteract the long-held assumptions about the composer's life, creative output and reputation. Drawing upon unpublished letters, diaries, scores and other material unavailable in English, Carr focuses his scholarly scalpel upon the last decade of Mahler's life, contesting the perception of the man as a sickly, impotent tyrant, superstitious of death and therein obsessed; an account given by Mahler's widow, Alma, whom Carr - between the lines, and sometimes outright - sketches as a foolish young woman, alternately consumed with contempt, respect and jealousy for her husband, who distorted the record in order to protect her ego and enhance her own role in Mahler's tumultuous career. This autobiography, despite its sometime lurid, gossipy tone, does an effective job of re-examining the composer's lifework, and the legacy he imposed upon the 20th century.
Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) is today firmly situated among the pantheon of the Romantic Era, but during his time the composer was a figure of mixed admiration, ridicule and indifference, especially in regard to his own music, which polarized opinion then, as now. Audiences applauded his normal conducting for its passion and control, but struggled to comprehend the symphonies that, with their grandeur and attention-demanding length, often left listeners feeling elated or exhausted, with little compromise between the two. Constantly tinkering with the rules, Mahler fused profundity and banality, classical technique and rustic folk-strains, seriousness and parody - sometimes at abrupt transition - and his tonal writing predicted and inspired the revolutionary dissonant triumvirate of Shonberg, Weber and Alban Berg. Moreover, Mahler was a philosopher, and in his compositions ever approached the contrast of life, in all its seasons of happiness and despair: "Why do we live? For what do we struggle?" Heady stuff, all in all, and rather dense for the 19th century: Leonard Bernstein once suggested that Mahler could only be truly appreciated by a more experienced audience, one whom, having endured the cataclysmic clash of two World Wars, could then find the pain and rage, the gentle whisper and the thunderous retort, as apt testament to the storms of modern existence.
Jonathan Carr disputes the popular notion that Mahler was unappreciated, displaying much evidence to the contrary. Celebrated as a conductor, Mahler was in constant demand for the last twelve years of his life, in Europe and abroad: his renditions of Wagner were often hailed as sublime, and by all accounts he left his family with a substantial amount of money. And even though his symphonies were largely the target of critical scorn and/or misrepresentation, Carr notes that more than 200 performances were staged during Mahler's lifetime; and the influence he would have upon the next generation, ranging from Stravinsky to Vaughn Williams, is incalculable.
To reach the heights, however, Mahler had to fight tooth, nail and claw, and occasionally fail. A target of anti-Semitism, Mahler renounced his Jewish faith and was baptized in a cunning maneuver to gain the Vienna Opera's top director post. His battles with his orchestras are the stuff of legend: Mahler had a short fuse and could not abide anything less than the absolute best: his reputation preceded him as a fiery perfectionist, quick to replace unsuitable players, given to pubic tongue-lashings of the errant. Carr recounts all of this, following the composer from his humble origins, through the upward crawl to fame and fortune, to the summit of his creative powers and, conversely, his greatest sufferings. For the biographer has a gimlet eye toward the figure of Alma Schindler, Mahler's wife and unlikely muse, and though Carr tries to attain unbiased accounting, his partiality is keen and occasionally transparent. It is obvious the two were not really suited for each other - besides the twenty-year difference between them, Alma admitted to Mahler that she did not like his music, while he in turn forbade her from composing, claiming there could only be one artist in the family. After his death, Alma compiled her letters and diaries and wrote a `definitive' account of her husband, doctoring passages that were not flattering to her, and making many mistakes on particulars. Carr goes to great lengths to show the inconsistencies and flat-out falsities that exist in her portrayal.
Certain lurid elements, such as Alma's affair while Mahler was dying of heart disease and his tortured response, are made prominent in the text: and although this in-depth examination of their relationship is interesting, it ultimately reads a bit superficial. Carr attempts to show how the events of this decade influenced Mahler's late-period symphonies, but therein, the music suffers: the later symphonies are given sketchy and arbitrary coverage. Carr expends nearly twenty pages on the subject of Das Lied Der Erde and barely a page and a half on the eighth symphony, so-called 'Symphony of a Thousand', which Carr simply dismisses, claiming Mahler utilized the wrong part of Goethe's *Faust* and thus crippled the dramatic tension of his work (!!). The Seventh and Ninth are similarly neglected, while symphonies 1-5 are adequately covered and, such as the case of the Third, given a good deal of attention.
This book serves its purpose as an introduction to Gustav Mahler, titan of the Romantic Era. However, the uneven coverage of his work and the faint tabloid aura permeating the later passages force me to dock a star. A good start - for a deeper examination, I recommend *The Mahler Companion*.
Rating: 
Summary: Carr's "Mahler" cooked up
Review: It's hard to believe that a book this thick and on such a compelling subject could be so disappointing. It begins ambitiously, and soon peaks with a single insightful paragraph drawing a parallel between the music of Berlioz and Mahler, but then gets down to the real business: lambasting poor old Alma, yet again. This exposition proves to be British in the worse sense--gossipy, slight, and tedious. Granted there's a ton of detail proving Alma wrote down the wrong date and time for the dinner party with Gustav, but do we really care? Carr moves in the direction of redeeming his effort with a compassionate and accurate account of Mahler's time in America, his final illness and death. That is 64 pages out of 254. May Amazon offer those in excerpt at 75% off!
Rating:
Summary: This is the one to read if you can read just one.
Review: Jonathan Carr has done a great service to Mahler fans by debunking some of the romantic myths that have distorted our view of this genius. This warts-and-all biography makes Mahler seem all the greater by making him seem more real and human. The unsentimental look at Alma is also a breath of fresh air. Bravo!
Rating:
Summary: A breath of fresh air!
Review: Jonathan Carr's excellent new biography of Gustav Mahler brings a breath of fresh air to Mahler criticism. I have read just about everything written in English that I could find about Mahler, including the massive de La Grange volumes, Alma's memoirs, and Bruno Walter's reminiscences. Never, however, has Mahler, the Man, been portrayed so well as in Mr. Carr's book. I was also gratified to see Mr. Carr debunk the pernicious myths concerning Mahler's abrupt resignation from the Vienna State Opera (I always thought there was more to it than what other biographers reported), and correct the misinformation about what really happened in New York. What Mr. Carr says makes sense on both accounts. The book is well documented; the writing style is lively and highly literate; even the recommendations at the end of the book are well done. I usually turn instant curmudgeon when someone recommends buying a complete set of any CD collection, especially for a composer whose music is interpreted so controversially as Mahler's. However, Mr. Carr's "short cut" recommendation to purchase the complete set by Solti or Kubelik is an excellent one. (I would recommend Solti and the Chicago Symphony.) In short, Mr. Carr should be highly commended for producing this excellent biography. I look forward to further books by this excellent writer.
Rating:
Summary: A breath of fresh air!
Review: Jonathan Carr's excellent new biography of Gustav Mahler brings a breath of fresh air to Mahler criticism. I have read just about everything written in English that I could find about Mahler, including the massive de La Grange volumes, Alma's memoirs, and Bruno Walter's reminiscences. Never, however, has Mahler, the Man, been portrayed so well as in Mr. Carr's book. I was also gratified to see Mr. Carr debunk the pernicious myths concerning Mahler's abrupt resignation from the Vienna State Opera (I always thought there was more to it than what other biographers reported), and correct the misinformation about what really happened in New York. What Mr. Carr says makes sense on both accounts. The book is well documented; the writing style is lively and highly literate; even the recommendations at the end of the book are well done. I usually turn instant curmudgeon when someone recommends buying a complete set of any CD collection, especially for a composer whose music is interpreted so controversially as Mahler's. However, Mr. Carr's "short cut" recommendation to purchase the complete set by Solti or Kubelik is an excellent one. (I would recommend Solti and the Chicago Symphony.) In short, Mr. Carr should be highly commended for producing this excellent biography. I look forward to further books by this excellent writer.
|
