Mahler Symphony No. 1 - 1st Movement - Listening Guide

Very restrained throughout, D major. The first movement is in modified sonata form, with a substantially slow introduction. The introduction begins eerily with a seven-octave drone in the strings on A, with the upper octaves being played on harmonics in the violins. A descending two-note motif is then presented by the woodwinds, and eventually establishes itself into the following repeated pattern:

This opening, in its minimalist nature and repeated descending motif, alludes to the first movement of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony no. 9 in D minor. This theme is then interrupted by a fanfare-like material first presented in the clarinets, and later by offstage trumpets, indicated in the score as “In sehr weiter Entfernung aufgestellt” (At a very far distance). A slow melody is also played by the horns, and the descending two-note motif is sped up in the clarinet, imitating the sound of a cuckoo. This opening is very true to Mahler’s style, putting the emphasis on the winds, and not more traditionally on the strings.

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A listening guide of Symphony No. 1 - 1st Movement with Lew Smoley.