The News Letter of Adam Fischer & Haydn Orchestra Fan Club
'Barátom' means 'My Friend' in Hungarian

August 1, 1996 - No. 12

Mahler and the Austro-Hungarian Tradition - From the Concert Program

As we reported in the last issue, Mr. Fischer and the Haydn Orchestra had played Mahler Symphony No. 4 in London. Adam Fischer himself wrote a very interesting article about Mahler for the concert program. This is the article.

Viennese and Budapest musicians share many traditions. One being that both have habitually disregarded or actually boycotted Mahler's instructions on how his music should be played. Until the 1970's they frequently ignored markings like "Schalltrichter auf" (bells up) or "Horner stehen auf" (horns stand) and even now they obey such directives only with reluctance.

In view of the current heyday of authentic performance practice this may seem odd. One might expect that Mahler's (admittedly sometimes unusual) instructions would be followed to the letter. This is however not the case. Largely unnoticed by critics, audiences and perhaps even by some conductors, orchestral musicians blithely simplify Mahler's fingerings, bowings etc. This is standard practice among players throughout the world, but in Vienna and Budapest (tow cities, that mistreated him as opera director in similar ways) there are still trace of deep emotional antipathy to Mahler. In 1970, when I was a student in Vienna, I asked the principal horn player of the Vienna Philharmonic if he really observed the marking "Schalltrichter auf". "Of course not. This isn't a circus, for heaven's sake." he protested indignantly. Fifty years earlier my father, as he would often tell me, still knew musicians in Budapest who had played the first performance of Mahler's First Symphony. Decades later there were still many of them alive and they still possessed an immutable aversion to Mahler the man as well as to his music. "Herr Malheur (his nickname in Budapest) was a dilettante."

Whether with or without emotion, Mahler is not performed the way he wanted it. Violins in the Fourth Symphony don't use the fingerings in bar 3, cellos don't observe the bowing in bar 21 etc. Why is this? Well, in some cases it may be possible to obtain the same effects with different means. Mahler not trusting anybody, does not always prescribe the optimal solution. What he asks sometimes seem awkward, because his aim was mainly to avoid a deviant realization. In such instances one can still accept that the musicians may play in another way. The result is all that matters. But there are instructions, e.g. the bowings in the accompaniment in the scherzo of the First Symphony (bar 41ff) , which indicate a radically different conception of music. These bowings sounds utterly unlike the traditional ones, yet, as far as I know, hardly anybody plays them.

I believe that, at least in the case of Vienna and Budapest, the traditional refusal to perform Mahler as Mahler wanted also has a psychological explanation. Mahler does tend to have an arrogant way of expressing himself. Instead of stating what he wants, he dictates exactly how the musician has to play. Creative players feel patronized and offended. I have experienced this reaction myself. Mahler tells also the conductor how to beat time (in minims, in crotchets etc.). I found myself becoming irritated, just like the musicians. A conductor's technique is something individual. The composer should say if he wants an accelerando or ritardando etc, but it is up to me to decide whether to beat 2 or 4 in a bar. Irritation is a natural first reaction and I understand many musicians' frustration. How else should a timpanist feel, if before he has played an important solo, he is confronted by the ominous instruction "gut stimmen!" ("tune up well" - Fifth Symphony)?

Musicians have to overcome this frustration. Mahler is (nearly) always right. The timpani's solo is in fact frequently out of tune, the orchestra often will drag if the conductor hasn't changed his beat in time. This is a bitter fact. But it is still worse to play Mahler with inner reservation, far worse than not faithfully observing every instruction. Some musicians play his music "to rule" (like in work-to-rule). I have seen violinists play down-bows as Mahler instructed, but without lifting the bow from the string. Instead of three wild accents as Mahler meant, you get an elegant and dignified bow-vibrato. This is the worst thing that can happen to Mahler.

And what about the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra's Mahler? we attempt to follow the composer's instructions as far as we can. If, for example, the acoustics or a different musical training makes the desired effect impossible, we try to find a different way of realizing Mahler's intention but such cases must remain absolute exceptions. Each of Mahler's instructions needs to be studied intently: what is he after and why does he want it realized in this way? If a musician wishes to change something he must have a good reason. "They know not what they do" is no excuse.

I don't want to exaggerate the importance of this issue in the performing Mahler as he intended as though adopting his fingerings and bowings alone would somehow do the trick. In the overwhelming challenge of playing these symphonies this is a relatively marginal concern. But I am condemning the attitude of not taking his remarks totally seriously. As a musician you have to first examine thoroughly what the composer asks for and then make his will your conviction. Once you have reached this level of understandings the work, individual solutions can come into play. Mahler's music should be performed with the same "authenticity" as Haydn's. The message of the performance today must be what the composer meant to say. No one expressed more precisely than Mahler himself what authenticity is about when he said, "We need to keep the flame alive, not worship the ashes" ("Wir sollen die Flamme bewahren, nicht die Asche anbeten").

© Adam Fischer, 1996

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German, Hungarian Mini Lesson.

This time the word for gratitude and apology.

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Editorial Note

The season of the Summer Music Festival has come. Internationale Haydntage '95 will be held soon in September. Some of the Fan Club member may attend this event. It is difficult for us to have a general assembly since members are spread all over the world, however, this festival may be a good chance. How about going to Eder, the restaurant in Eisenstadt after the concert. With this issue, we enclosed the membership card for Fan Club direct members. If you find the person who has the card, he/she is the member of us. Please make it useful to find a new friend. If you are an indirect member or Interment member, please let us know your name and mailing address. We will send it as soon as possible.

Next issue will be the report of Haydntage '96.

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