Chapter V of Roman's dissertation presents an examination of Mahler's songs in symphonies from the point of view of their constituent poetical as well as musical-echnical elements. As in the genre of the song itself, Mahler also sought for new means of expression in the symphony. Still in the tradition of Beethoven, he expands "the grand design of symphonic music" by the incorporation of a hitherto unexplored resource: the song. The result of his search for an ultimate "symbiosis of symphonic and vocal music" can be described as follows: (1) Mahler's music--even in his apparently purely instrumental symphonies--has to be viewed in connection with his interest in literature. (2) The new possibilities created by Mahler's expansion of the genre are reflected in the works of the following generation.

Works: Mahler: Symphony No. 1, Symphony No. 2, Symphony No. 3, Symphony No. 4, Das Lied von der Erde.

Index Classifications: 1800s, 1900s

Contributed by: Andreas Giger