RENOWNED for the semi-autobiographical symphonies, into which he poured out his soul, the name Gustav Mahler has attracted a fierce almost cult-like following amongst ardent classical musical enthusiasts, none more so than author John Searight who spent the best part of decade researching and writing an biography on the troubled composer.
A Chord is Struck
“Mahler struck a chord with me from a very young age,” recalled Searight, author of a book on the classical maestro, entitled ‘To Live for you! To Die for you! The Life of Gustav Mahler’.
“I remember when I was a 16-year-old student, I visited my local record shop and the owner pointed me in the direction of a vinyl copy of Mahler’s Third Symphony, composed by Leonard Bernstein.
“The record owner’s recommendation was enough for me, and after splashing out two weeks worth of pocket money on the album, I took it home, put the needle on the record and that was it, I was hooked for life on the sound of Mahler,” said Searight when talking about the day he joined the ranks of perhaps the most enthusiastic following of any composer.
Composing the Story
Many moons later, Searight decided to sit down and compose the story of Mahler’s life in words.
Interestingly, the initial spark that sent Searight on a ten year trip around Europe to research his book, was a portrait of Mahler that the author had painted previously, and one that now adorns the book’s cover.
Searight explained, “Mahler hated having his picture taken, and as such, there are not a lot of photographs of him in existence. The portrait was composed from the few I could get my hands on. Subsequently when I showed the finished picture to friends they commented that it was rather good and I should do something with it. So I decided to take my interest in Mahler a step further and write a book, the cover of which would be the picture.”
A Labour of Love
John Searight was educated at King’s School, Canterbury, Kent, and after 25 five years in the teaching profession, he moved to South Wales 20 years ago.
To research the book, Searight travelled to many European countries, to gain invaluable first hand information from numerous sources.
Along the way the author met many eminent people in the world of music, including the former Director of the Welsh National Opera and the Edinburgh International Festival, Sir Brian McMaster.
In between traveling and writing, Searight did a little bit of supply teaching to supplement his income, as he continued with what he regarded as a labour of love.
“In my experience, a lot of books about Mahler tend to be either quite lightweight with not enough detail for the Mahler enthusiast, or too highbrow and quite foreboding to your everyday classical music buff,” explained Searight.
“My intention was to write a book that would sit in the middle-ground and appeal more to the music lover, rather than the specialist. Yet at the same time I wanted to write a book that casts some fresh ideas about the man and his music.”
Mahler - The Musical Mystic
Mahler devotees see in his music a mystical description of nature, and a search for the divine.
Living a life that was often overshadowed by personal tragedies, Mahler’s music is often said to be obsessed with the meaning of life, and contains for some, a transcendent, spiritual quality.
There are also those who believe that Mahler, who frequently felt thwarted in his ambitions due to his background, and once famously said, “I am thrice homeless - as a native of Bohemia in Austria, as an Austrian among Germans and as a Jew throughout the world; everywhere an intruder, never welcomed,” was little more than a dark and brooding character preoccupied with death.
Searight challenges this view of the composer in his book, believing there is little evidence in either Mahler’s music or his ambitious career as a superlative conductor to warrant such a reputation, and explained, “Mahler is sometimes depicted as something of a musical colossus with one foot placed firmly in the romanticism of the nineteenth century and the other tentatively trying to find a footing in the twentieth.
“He, more than anyone else, was responsible for sowing the seeds of twentieth century music.
“In the book I question the popular myth that Mahler was a death-obsessed depressive. He may have had an unhappy childhood and suffered tragedies in his adult life, but to dwell just on these is to distort the true picture.
“Apart from being a genius as a composer, he was a fitness fanatic and married one of the most alluring women in Vienna. He was also the most outstanding conductor and opera administrator of his day.
“I think one should bear in mind all aspects of Mahler’s life when striving to paint an accurate picture of him,” said Searight.
2010 marked the 150th anniversary of Mahler’s birth, 2011 marks the centenary of Mahler’s death, and his music has never been so popular. In fact the timing of Searight’s book couldn’t be better.
A fact with which the author agreed, “These day Mahler always pulls a full house wherever his music is performed. Dare I say it, even more so than Beethoven.
“It took me longer than I expected to finish this book, from writing everything in long-hand, before typing it up and making amendments, but it has definitely been worth it, and I hope the reader will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.”
Sources
- John Searight, in Interview.
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