Summary: Mahler never said that his 9th symphony was a response to the death of his daughter Maria, and never hinted at the programmatic aspects behind the symphony, but the piece has become indelibly associated with saying goodbye, to Maria, to the world, to life itself. With Maria's death, and the diagnosis of his own fatal illness, he became consumed with the idea of death, the afterlife, and the two poles of acceptance and rage. Part I this week takes a look at the monumental and heartbreaking first movement.
