7 Gustav Mahler 7

which in his case had effectively destroyed the religious
faith he had opposed to death as an imagined event. Das
Lied von der Erde—a six-movement “song-cycle symphony”
No. 8—views the evanescence of all things human, finding
sad consolation in the beauty of the Earth that endures
after the individual is no longer alive to see it.
In the four-movement No. 9, purely orchestral, the
confrontation with death becomes an anguished personal
one, evoking horror and bitterness in Mahler’s most
modern and prophetic movement, the Rondo-Burleske,
and culminating in a finale of heartbroken resignation.
Growing familiarity with the sketch of No. 10, however,
has suggested that he later broke through to a more positive
attitude. The five movements of this symphony deal with
the same conflict as the two preceding works, but the
resignation attained at the end of the finale is entirely
affirmative.

Claude Debussy

(b. Aug. 22, 1862, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France—d. March 25,
1918, Paris)

T

he works of French composer Claude Debussy
(Achille-Claude Debussy) have been a seminal
force in the music of the 20th century. Debussy developed
a highly original system of harmony and musical structure
that expressed in many respects the ideals to which the
impressionist and symbolist painters and writers of his
time aspired.

Early Period

Debussy showed a gift as a pianist by the age of nine. He
was encouraged by Madame Mauté de Fleurville, who was