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Mahler Symphony No. 7 - 3rd Movement - Listening Guide
Mahler Foundation
English - March 18, 2021 17:00 - 26 minutes - 18.5 MB - ★★★★★ - 6 ratingsMusic Commentary Music Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
There is an undercurrent of night about the spooky third movement; while “Scherzo” means “joke”, this movement is remarkably spooky and even grim. If the first ‘Nachtmusik’ possessed a friendly mood disguised in grotesqueries, this movement is a demon sneering at the listener. This movement is a most morbid and sarcastic mockery of the Viennese waltz.
The movement begins with a strange gesture: a pianissimo dialogue between timpani and pizzicato basses and cellos with sardonic interjections from the winds. After some buildup, the orchestra sets off on a threatening waltz, complete with unearthly woodwind shrieks and ghostly shimmerings from the basses, with a recurring “lamenting” theme in the woodwinds.
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A listening guide of Symphony No. 7 - 3rd Movement with Lew Smoley.