Mahler and Freud were both interested in the dynamics of dreams. Mahler's Third Symphony and Freud's The Interpretation of Dreams both involve dream images. Freud had a "dream of the stately house" (not included in his book) which makes reference to a nationalist song written by August von Binzer in 1819. The beginning of this song largely corresponds to the beginning of Mahler's Third Symphony, such that the latter is viewed as an allusion to the former. The song was sung in 1878 upon the government's dissolution of an influential youth organization to which Freud belonged and of which Mahler was aware. The shared interest of Freud and Mahler in the youth culture of the 1870s is revealed in their references to this song.

Index Classifications: 1800s

Contributed by: David C. Birchler