Munching Crunching on Mahler's Symphony No 5
IV. Adagietto
Symphony No. 5 in C-sharp minor
I'm Gustav Mahler, and I'm about to explain the fourth movement of my Symphony No 5, the Adagietto. You'll listen to strings and a harp alone, rising out of silence on soft, held notes, and it's worth your time because so much tenderness fits in so little sound. Here on this site, my fellow composers also teach you to recognize our pieces as they begin, so once the last chord fades, see how you do .
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Shhh, the Strings Are Talking
Here's how I'd listen to my Adagietto, and you really don't need any training to do it. I wrote it for strings and harp only, so there are no woodwinds and no brass, and you can simply follow one warm, singing sound from start to finish. It begins from silence on soft, held notes in the strings, so give it a moment, because the music rises out of nothing instead of starting with a bang. It opens the third part of the symphony, and after a funeral march, a storm and a set of dances, I think of it as the moment when everyone finally sits down and breathes.Small Name, Big Feelings
Adagietto is the diminutive of adagio, which is a slow tempo, so the name simply means a little slow piece. My own marking at the top is Sehr langsam, which means very slowly, and I also asked for it to be played with the most heartfelt sentiment. I'd say the 'little' belongs to the modest forces, just strings and harp, and not to the feelings, which are anything but small. How slow is very slow is still a friendly argument, because the story goes that Willem Mengelberg and I took it in about seven minutes, while modern performances run anywhere from about 7 to 15.A Form That Wouldn't Fit in a Box
Choosing the form was an adventure in itself, and I was happy to save the rondo-sonata for the finale. Here I let the movement grow like one long song, moving from a quiet beginning to a warmer middle and then back to a hush. I'll take the sections one at a time, and I'd rather you follow the feeling than count the bars. Think of the whole thing as a single long breath that swells and then lets go, with no sharp edges to trip over.Section 1: Waking Up Very Slowly
I begin in F major, marked Sehr langsam, so the music moves at a pace that lets you hear every breath. It rises from silence on soft sustained notes in the strings, and the harp is part of the sound from the very first moment. Over that stillness the main melody arrives, long and singing, and you'll notice that nothing here is in a hurry to prove anything. The mood is tender and a little hesitant, like someone starting to say something that really matters.Section 2: The Heart Opens Up
Here the melody reaches higher and the strings lean into it, so the feeling grows from tender to openly passionate. I dedicated this movement to Alma, whom I married in 1902, and the story goes that it was a love letter in music, though that rests on her own account of a poem I left for her. Nobody can say for certain, so I'd suggest you decide for yourself whether it sounds like a declaration. Notice how the harp keeps its soft touch underneath while the strings do the confessing.Section 3: Back to the Hush
Toward the end the intensity eases, the melody settles, and the music returns to the calm where it began. It fades away softly, and I'd ask you not to rush on to the next thing, because the silence afterwards belongs to the piece. I liked the movement enough to conduct it on its own as a separate piece, which tells you how well it stands without the rest of the symphony. In the Rondo-Finale I bring material from the Adagietto back, so the quiet music you've just heard returns in a much brighter mood.Your Turn, Press Play
Now it's your turn to experience my Adagietto for yourself. Press play, sit back, and let the strings and the harp carry you for about 10 minutes. As you listen, keep in mind what we've talked about: the quiet start, the swelling melody and the soft return. I hope the journey moves you as much as it moved me when I wrote it.---
I hope you enjoyed learning about the Adagietto with me. If you did, I'd love to hear that it stayed with you a little after the last soft chord faded. Now that you know it begins from silence and is carried by strings and harp alone, you may find that it sounds different the next time you hear it. The story goes that I wrote it as a love letter to Alma, and whether or not that is true, I dedicated it to her. I think that is part of why it feels so personal, even to people who have never heard a note of my music before. There is still much more to discover in my Fifth Symphony. The funeral march, the storm, the Scherzo and the Rondo-Finale each have their own character, and the finale brings back some of the Adagietto's music in a brighter mood. Listening to the whole symphony, from the opening trumpet to the last bars, shows how all the movements belong together. If you'd like to keep exploring, please click on the links provided and carry on through the rest of the symphony. I'd be glad to have you along for the rest of the journey.