In Fall 2020, an article by Professor Leah Batstone will be published in the Journal of the Royal Musical Association. The article, based on Prof. Batstone’s primary research on Gustav Mahler, examines the composer’s characterization of his first four symphonies as a “perfectly self-contained tetralogy” looking to philosophical inspirations for the grouping. If you would like to read more about her article or more about the organization, please find the abstract and organization history below .
Abstract:
This article examines Mahler’s Fourth Symphony and its role in what he called his ‘perfectly self-contained tetralogy’. Previous explanations for this phrase include shared folksong quotations or ideological content, but the dramas of ancient Dionysian festivals present a better model: three serious tragedies and a comic satyr play, a performance grouping also called ‘tetralogies’. Following Mahler’s first three symphonies, his ‘Trilogie der Leidenschaft’, the Fourth Symphony, originally titled ‘Humoreske’ is compared to a light-hearted satyr play, featuring abrupt juxtapositions between moods and the setting of the comic folk song ‘Das himmlische Leben’. Praise for the redemptive effects of this ancient tragicomic juxtaposition plays an important role in Friedrich Nietzsche’s The Birth of Tragedy, which Mahler would have known from his time as a student in Vienna. This new reading not only provides a better explanation for Mahler’s comment, but illustrates Nietzsche’s influence on the composer’s sense of drama.
History:
The Royal Musical Association, founded in 1874 and operating from the United Kingdom, is the second oldest society of its kind in the world. The Journal of the Royal Musical Association was established in 1986 (replacing the Association’s Proceedings) and is now one of the major international refereed journals in its field. Its editorial policy is to publish outstanding articles in fields ranging from historical and critical musicology to theory and analysis, ethnomusicology, and popular music studies. The journal works to disseminate knowledge across the discipline and communicate specialist perspectives to a broad readership, while maintaining the highest scholarly standards.
Research articles published in the journal have undergone rigorous double-blind peer-review after initial screening by the Editor for quality and fit with the journal’s objectives. The journal only publishes two issues a year.
