What is it About Mahler?

1 day, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm

What is it about Mahler’s music that attracts such deep devotion amongst his fans? Mahler’s rich and inspiring music has moved the emotions of millions of admirers, and doesn’t have to be difficult to explore. This music course opens up the life and music of Mahler: a composer who formed a bridge between the lush Romanticism of the 19th century and the innovation of the twentieth.

Course Outline

Session 1

What do we think of when we think of Mahler?
Mahler’s Place in Music History
Social and Historical Background: Europe in 1860
The Musical Landscape in Mahler’s Time
Mahler’s musical style
Ruckert Lieder

Session 2

The Early Years: Bohemia and Vienna
Mahler’s family
Conducting work: Leipzig, Budapest, Hamburg and Vienna
Songs of a Wayfarer
Mahler's First Symphony
Symphony No. 2, “Resurrection”
Anna von Mildenburg
Symphonies Nos. 3 and 4

Session 3

More about Mahler in Vienna
Marriage: Alma Schindler
Symphony No. 5: The beautiful Adagio
Symphonies Nos. 6 and 7
Kindertotenlieder

Session 4

Symphony No. 8, Symphony of a Thousand
Mahler in the United States
Das Lied von der Erde
Symphony No. 9
Mahler and Freud
Mahler’s final years
The incomplete Symphony No. 10

Comments

“Susan used a wide range of resources and had carried out great research to teach us about Mahler but still acknowledged when she didn’t know something. What is obvious that Susan’s knowledge and skills are wide ranging and well developed but she shares them generously and makes classical music, history etc. very accessible. Thank you for a lovely day”

“A very well researched course of a very complex subject and excellently presented in a relaxed manner”

“Excellent/informative. Well prepared, researched and delivered, as usual. Well done, thank you!”

“I think it was a very interesting and informative day. It must have been hard for the lecturer to fit all of her information into such a tight schedule, but she managed it well. I especially liked the electronic aids – both visual and audio.”

“I enjoyed the course very much. I liked the way that we not only learned about Mahler and his music, but also in relation with other things happening at the same time. The choice of slides etc. was well done too. Attending this course makes me want to attend other similar courses”

About Susan Deas

Susan Deas is a professional musician, lecturer and teacher. She has been teaching music appreciation courses for more than twenty years, through Sydney University’s Centre for Continuing Education, WEA Sydney and at other venues. Her training includes a Bachelor of Music with a major in Performance (Piano) and Musicology, a Master of Music Studies (Studio Pedagogy), a Bachelor of Arts (Communications), and an A.Mus.A in Musicianship. Susan teaches piano and music theory to adults and children, and plays piano and organ at various venues around Sydney. Susan is an Accredited Member of the Music Teachers’ Association of NSW.

More about Susan’s qualifications

Read what people have said about Susan’s other courses

Susan’s other music courses