# List of compositions by Gustav Mahler

The musical compositions of Gustav Mahler (1860–1911) are almost exclusively in the genres of song and symphony. In his juvenile years he attempted to write opera and instrumental works; all that survives musically from those times is a single movement from a piano quartet from around 1876–78. From 1880 onwards Mahler was a professional conductor whose composing activities had to be fitted around concert and theatrical engagements. Nevertheless, over the next 30 years he produced nine complete symphonies and sketches for a tenth, several orchestral song cycles and many other songs with piano or orchestral accompaniment. Mahler's symphonies are generally on an expansive scale, requiring large forces in performance, and are among the longest in the concert repertoire.
Mahler scholar Deryck Cooke divides Mahler's compositions into separate creative phases, preceded by a "juvenile" period up to 1880. The earliest surviving whole work is Das klagende Lied (The Song of Lament), a cantata for soloists, chorus and orchestra which was completed in 1880 just before Mahler took up his first conducting post. In Cooke's chronology Mahler's first period as a mature composer extends over 20 years, to 1900, and includes his first four symphonies, his first song cycle Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen ("Songs of a Wayfarer") and numerous other songs. The period includes Mahler's Wunderhorn phase, after his discovery in 1887 of the German folk-poems collected by Achim von Arnim and Clemens Brentano under the title Des Knaben Wunderhorn ("The Young Lad's Magic Horn"). Music critic Neville Cardus writes that this anthology nourished the composer's "pantheistic feelings about life and the world ... in which an all-embracing love [makes] all creatures kin." Mahler set 24 of these poems to music; three were absorbed into his Second, Third and Fourth symphonies; nine were used to create Volumes II and III of Lieder und Gesänge ("Songs and Airs"), and the remaining 12 were grouped to form Mahler's own Wunderhorn song cycle.
Cooke dates Mahler's "middle period" as between 1901 and 1907, covering the trio of instrumental symphonies (Fifth, Sixth and Seventh), the massive Eighth Symphony, and the settings of poems by Friedrich Rückert including the Kindertotenlieder cycle and the Rückert-Lieder. The final period covers the last works: the symphonic Das Lied von der Erde ("The Song of the Earth") and the Ninth and Tenth Symphonies. None of these late works were performed during Mahler's lifetime. The unfinished Tenth Symphony was rendered by Deryck Cooke into a "performing version" which was first performed in London in 1964.

## Summary of surviving works
### Early works

* 1876: Piano Quartet in A minor
* 1878–80: Das klagende Lied
* 1880: Three Lieder: "Im Lenz"; "Winterlied"; "Maitanz im Grünen"
* 1880–83: Lieder und Gesänge Vol. I (five songs)
* 1885–86: Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (four songs)
* 1884: Der Trompeter von Säckingen (lost, except for movement Blumine that was included in early versions of Symphony No. 1, see below)

### Wunderhorn period

* 1887–88: Die Drei Pintos adaptation
* 1887–90: Lieder und Gesänge Vol. II (four songs)
* 1887–90: Lieder und Gesänge Vol. III (five songs)
* 1884–88: Symphony No. 1 in D
* 1888–94: Symphony No. 2
* 1892: "Das himmlische Leben" (Wunderhorn setting later used in Symphony No. 4)
* 1892–1901: Des Knaben Wunderhorn (12 songs)
* 1894–96: Symphony No. 3
* 1899–1901: Symphony No. 4

### Middle period

* 1901–04: Rückert-Lieder (five songs)
* 1901–04: Kindertotenlieder (five songs)
* 1901–02: Symphony No. 5
* 1903–04: Symphony No. 6 in A minor
* 1904–05: Symphony No. 7
* 1906–07: Symphony No. 8 in E-flat

### Late works

* 1908–09: Das Lied von der Erde
* 1909–10: Symphony No. 9
* 1910: Symphony No. 10 in F sharp (unfinished; continuous draft score)

## List of works

| Type | Date of composition | German title (original title) | English title | Scoring | Premiere performance | Notes |
| Stage | 1875–1878 | Herzog Ernst von Schwaben | Ernst, Duke of Swabia | for voices and orchestra | not performed | music and libretto (by Josef Steiner) lost |
| Stage | 1878–1880 | Die Argonauten | | for voices and orchestra | not performed | music and libretto (by Mahler and Steiner) lost |
| Stage | 1879–1883 | Rübezahl | | for voices and orchestra | not performed | music lost, but some may have been incorporated into early songs and/or parts of Das Klagende Lied; libretto (by Mahler) held privately |
| Stage | 1884 | Der Trompeter von Säckingen | The Trumpeter of Säckingen | for orchestra | Kassel, 23 June 1884 | incidental music to play by Josef Viktor von Scheffel; most music lost; first number became the "Blumine" andante in the original version of Symphony No. 1 |
| Stage | 1886–1887 | Die drei Pintos | The Three Pintos | for voices and orchestra | Leipzig, 20 January 1888 | completion of opera by Carl Maria von Weber; Mahler arranged Weber's sketches and other music from Weber's minor works, and composed a small amount himself |
| Chamber music | 1875–1876 | Sonate | Sonata | for violin and piano | Iglau, 31 July 1876 & 12 September 1876, with Mahler at the piano | lost |
| Chamber music | 1876 | Klavierquartett a-Moll | Piano Quartet in A minor (first movement) | for violin, viola, cello and piano | possibly performed at Vienna Conservatory 10 July 1876 | first verified public performance: New York, 12 February 1964 |
| Chamber music | 1876–1878 | Klavierquartett g-Moll | Piano Quartet in G minor (scherzo fragments) | for violin, viola, cello and piano | Frankfurt/M (Radio) 10 March 1932 and New York, 12 February 1964 | approximately 36 bars of music |
| Chamber music | 1875–1878 | Klavierquintett | Piano Quintet | for 2 violins, viola, cello and piano | performed at the Vienna Conservatory, 11 July 1878, Mahler at the piano | lost |
| Piano | 1877 | Suite | Suite | for piano | performed at the Vienna Conservatory on an unknown date | lost; apparently the piece was awarded a prize by the Conservatory |
| Orchestral | 1877 | | [Student Symphony] | for orchestra | not performed | lost; rehearsed at the Conservatory under Joseph Hellmesberger, and rejected |
| Orchestral / choral | 1878–1880 | Das klagende Lied, Kantate WaldmärchenDer SpielmannHochzeitstück | The Song of Lament, Cantata | for soprano, alto, tenor, chorus and orchestra | Vienna, 17 February 1901 (movements II and III) Brno Radio, 8 November 1934 (original version) | words by Mahler; unsuccessful Beethoven Prize entry, 1881 |
| Orchestral | 1882–1883 | | Symphony in A minor | for orchestra | not performed | lost; possibly a more developed version of the "Student Symphony" rejected by Hellmesberger |
| Orchestral | 1888 | Blumine | Blumine | for orchestra | Budapest, 20 November 1889 (as part of Symphony No. 1) | originally planned for use as movement II of Symphony No. 1, dropped in 1893 |
| Orchestral | 1884–1888 | 1. Sinfonie D-Dur | Symphony No. 1 in D major | for orchestra | Budapest, 20 November 1889 (five-movement version) | originally 5 movements, later 4; originally a symphonic poem, given title "Titan" at second performance, title later discarded; in revisions 1893–96 "Blumine" andante withdrawn |
| Orchestral | 1888 | Todtenfeier [sic] | Todtenfeier (Funeral Rites) | for orchestra | Berlin, 16 March 1896 | symphonic poem; later reworked as movement I of Symphony No. 2 |
| Orchestral / choral | 1888–1894 | 2. Sinfonie c-Moll "Auferstehungssinfonie" | Symphony No. 2 in C minor "Resurrection" | for soprano, alto, mixed chorus, organ and orchestra | Berlin, 4 March 1895 (movements I, II and III); Berlin, 13 December 1895 (complete) | 5 movements; movement I: 1888 symphonic poem Todtenfeier; movement IV: "Urlicht" from Des Knaben Wunderhorn collection; movement V: text by Mahler and Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock |
| Orchestral / choral | 1893–1896 | 3. Sinfonie d-Moll | Symphony No. 3 in D minor | for alto, women's chorus, boys' chorus and orchestra | Krefeld, 9 June 1902 | 6 movements; movement IV: "O Mensch! Gib acht!" from Also sprach Zarathustra (Friedrich Nietzsche); movement V: "Es sungen drei Engel" from Des Knaben Wunderhorn collection |
| Orchestral / vocal | 1899–1900 | 4. Sinfonie G-Dur | Symphony No. 4 in G major | for soprano and orchestra | Munich, 25 November 1901 | 4 movements; revised 1901–10; movement IV: "Das himmlische Leben" from Des Knaben Wunderhorn collection, originally intended for Symphony No. 3, composed in 1892 |
| Orchestral | 1901–1902 | 5. Sinfonie cis-Moll | Symphony No. 5 in C-sharp minor | for orchestra | Cologne, 18 October 1904 | 5 movements; repeatedly revised up to Mahler's death |
| Orchestral | 1903–1904 | 6. Sinfonie a-Moll | Symphony No. 6 in A minor | for orchestra | Essen, 27 May 1906 | 4 movements; revised 1906 and repeatedly thereafter |
| Orchestral | 1904–1905 | 7. Sinfonie e-Moll | Symphony No. 7 in E minor | for orchestra | Prague, 19 September 1908 | 5 movements; revised repeatedly from 1905; known as Lied der Nacht ("Song of the Night"), though not named by Mahler |
| Orchestral / choral | 1906–1907 | 8. Sinfonie Es-Dur 1. Teil: Hymnus „Veni, creator spiritus“ 2. Teil: Schlußszene von Goethes „Faust II“ | Symphony No. 8 in E-flat major Part I: Hymn "Veni creator spiritus" Part II: Closing Scene from Goethe's Faust | for 3 sopranos, 2 altos, tenor, baritone, bass, 2 mixed choruses, boys' choir, organ and orchestra | Munich, 12 & 13 September 1910 | known also as "Sinfonie der Tausend" ("Symphony of a Thousand"), though not named as by Mahler; divided in two "Teile" (parts, sections) instead of the more conventional movements |
| Orchestral / vocal | 1908–1909 | Das Lied von der Erde | The Song of the Earth | for alto or baritone, tenor and orchestra | Munich, 20 November 1911 | song cycle; words from ancient Chinese poems in translation by Hans Bethge |
| Orchestral | 1909–1910 | 9. Sinfonie D-Dur | Symphony No. 9 in D major | for orchestra | Vienna, 26 June 1912 | 4 movements |
| Orchestral | 1910 | 10. Sinfonie Fis-Dur | Symphony No. 10 in F-sharp major | for orchestra | Vienna, 12 October 1924 (movements I and III); complete performing version (Deryck Cooke) London, 13 August 1964 | incomplete; Mahler drafted five movements but scored only the first and third; Apart from Cooke's, five other performing versions had been recorded up to 2010; Frans Bouwman has created a critical and annotated publication of all the surviving manuscript pages of the 10th Symphony |
| Vocal | 1876–1879 | | [Two Song Fragments] | | Copenhagen, 10 February 1985 | song settings; one fragment identified as a setting of "Weder Glück noch Stern" (Heinrich Heine, 1830) and the other "Im wunderschönen Monat Mai" (Heinrich Heine) |
| Vocal | 1880 | Drei Lieder für Tenorstimme und Klavier "Im Lenz""Winterlied""Maitanz im Grünen" | 3 Songs | for tenor and piano | Brno, 30 September 1934 (radio broadcast) | words by Mahler; from a projected set of five songs |
| Vocal | 1880–1883 | Frühlingsmorgen | Spring Morning | for voice and piano | Budapest, 13 November 1889 | words by Richard Leander; published in Lieder und Gesänge, Volume I |
| Vocal | 1880–1883 | Erinnerung | Memory | for voice and piano | Budapest, 13 November 1889 | words by Richard Leander; published in Lieder und Gesänge, Volume I |
| Vocal | 1880–1883 | Hans und Grethe | Hans and Grethe | for voice and piano | Prague, 18 April 1886 | words by Mahler; a reworking of "Maitanz im Grünen" (from Drei Lieder, 1880); published in Lieder und Gesänge, Volume I |
| Vocal | 1880–1883 | Serenade aus Don Juan | Serenade from Don Juan | for voice and piano | Leipzig, 28 October 1887 | words by Tirso de Molina; published in Lieder und Gesänge, Volume I |
| Vocal | 1880–1883 | Phantasie aus Don Juan | Imagination | for voice and piano | Leipzig, 28 October 1887 | words by Tirso de Molina; published in Lieder und Gesänge, Volume I |
| Vocal | 1883–1885 | Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen Wenn mein Schatz Hochzeit machtGing heut Morgen übers FeldIch hab'ein glühend MesserDie zwei blauen Augen von meinem Schatz | Songs of a Wayfarer, Song cycle When My Sweetheart Is MarriedI Went This Morning over the FieldI Have a Gleaming KnifeThe Two Blue Eyes of My Beloved | for voice and piano or orchestra | Berlin, 16 March 1896 (with orchestra) | setting of four poems by Mahler; originally with piano accompaniment, orchestral setting added between 1891 and 1895; a performance with piano accompaniment may have preceded Berlin 1896 |
| Vocal | 1887–1890 | Um schlimme Kinder artig zu machen | How to Make Naughty Children Behave | for voice and piano | Munich 1899–1900 season | poem from Des Knaben Wunderhorn; published in Lieder und Gesänge, Volume II |
| Vocal | 1887–1890 | Ich ging mit Lust durch einem grünen Wald | I Walked with Joy through a Green Forest | for voice and piano | Stuttgart, 13 December 1907 | poem from Des Knaben Wunderhorn; published in Lieder und Gesänge, Volume II |
| Vocal | 1887–1890 | Aus! Aus! | Out! Out! | for voice and piano | Hamburg, 29 April 1892 | poem from Des Knaben Wunderhorn; published in Lieder und Gesänge, Volume II |
| Vocal | 1887–1890 | Starke Einbildungskraft | Strong Imagination | for voice and piano | Stuttgart, 13 December 1907 | poem from Des Knaben Wunderhorn; published in Lieder und Gesänge, Volume II |
| Vocal | 1887–1890 | Zu Strassburg auf der Schanz | On the Ramparts at Strasbourg | for voice and piano | Helsinki, November 1906 | poem from Des Knaben Wunderhorn; published in Lieder und Gesänge, Volume III |
| Vocal | 1887–1890 | Ablösung im Sommer | The Summer Changing of the Guard | for voice and piano | Vienna, 29 January 1905 | poem from Des Knaben Wunderhorn; published in Lieder und Gesänge, Volume III; an orchestral adaptation of the song is used as movement III of Symphony No. 3 |
| Vocal | 1887–1890 | Scheiden und Meiden | Parting Is Painful | for voice and piano | Budapest, 13 November 1889 | poem from Des Knaben Wunderhorn; published in Lieder und Gesänge, Volume III |
| Vocal | 1887–1890 | Nicht wiedersehen! | Never to Meet Again! | for voice and piano | Hamburg, 29 April 1892 | poem from Des Knaben Wunderhorn; published in Lieder und Gesänge, Volume III |
| Vocal | 1887–1890 | Selbstgefühl | Self-esteem | for voice and piano | Vienna, 15 February 1900 | poem from Des Knaben Wunderhorn; published in Lieder und Gesänge, Volume III |
| Vocal | 1892 | Urlicht | Primeval Light | for voice and piano or orchestra | Berlin, 13 December 1895 (as part of Symphony No. 2) | poem from Des Knaben Wunderhorn; re-orchestrated July 1893 for use as movement IV of Symphony No. 2 |
| Vocal | 1892 | Das himmlische Leben | The Heavenly Life | for voice and orchestra | Hamburg, 27 October 1893 (with orchestra) | poem from Des Knaben Wunderhorn; used as movement IV of Symphony No. 4; original poem entitled "Der Himmel hängtvoll Geigen" |
| Vocal | 1892 | Der Schildwache Nachtlied | The Sentinel's Nightsong | for voice and piano or orchestra | Berlin, 12 December 1892 (with orchestra) | poem from Des Knaben Wunderhorn |
| Vocal | 1892 | Verlor'ne Müh | Labour Lost | for voice and piano or orchestra | Berlin, 12 December 1892 (with orchestra) | poem from Des Knaben Wunderhorn |
| Vocal | 1892 | Trost im Unglück | Solace in Misfortune | for voice and piano or orchestra | Hamburg, 27 October 1893 (with orchestra) | poem from Des Knaben Wunderhorn |
| Vocal | 1892 | Wer hat dies Liedlein erdacht? | Who Thought Up This Song? | for voice and piano or orchestra | Hamburg, 27 October 1893 (with orchestra) | poem from Des Knaben Wunderhorn |
| Vocal | 1892–1893 | Das irdische Leben | The Earthly Life | for voice and piano or orchestra | Vienna, 14 January 1900 (with orchestra) | poem from Des Knaben Wunderhorn |
| Vocal | 1893 | Des Antonius von Padua Fischpredigt | St. Anthony of Padua's Sermon to the Fish | for voice and piano or orchestra | Vienna, 29 January 1905 (with orchestra) | poem from Des Knaben Wunderhorn; an orchestral adaptation of the song is used as movement III of Symphony No. 2 |
| Vocal | 1893 | Rheinlegendchen | The Little Rhine Legend | for voice and piano or orchestra | Hamburg, 27 October 1893 (with orchestra) | poem from Des Knaben Wunderhorn |
| Vocal | 1895 | Es sungen drei Engel | Three Angels Sang a Sweet Air | for voice and piano or orchestra | Krefeld, 9 June 1902 (as part of Symphony No. 3) | poem from Des Knaben Wunderhorn; composed for use in Symphony No. 3; piano version published in 1899 |
| Vocal | 1896 | Lob des hohen Verstandes | Praise of Lofty Intellect | for voice and piano | Vienna, 18 January 1906 | poem from Des Knaben Wunderhorn |
| Vocal | 1898 | Lied des Verfolgten im Turm | Song of the Persecuted in the Tower | for voice and piano or orchestra | Vienna, 29 January 1905 (with orchestra) | poem from Des Knaben Wunderhorn |
| Vocal | 1898 | Wo die schönen Trompeten blasen | Where the Fair Trumpets Sound | for voice and piano or orchestra | Vienna, 14 January 1900 (with orchestra) | poem from Des Knaben Wunderhorn |
| Vocal | 1899 | Revelge | Reveille | for voice and piano or orchestra | Vienna, 29 January 1905 | poem from Des Knaben Wunderhorn; later published with the five Rückert songs as Sieben Lieder aus letzter Zeit (Seven Last Songs) |
| Vocal | 1901 | Der Tamboursg'sell | The Drummer Boy | for voice and piano or orchestra | Vienna, 29 January 1905 | poem from Des Knaben Wunderhorn; later published with the five Rückert songs as Sieben Lieder aus letzter Zeit (Seven Last Songs) |
| Vocal | 1901 | Blicke mir nicht in die Lieder | Do Not Look at My Songs! | for voice and piano or orchestra | Vienna, 29 January 1905 | poem by Friedrich Rückert |
| Vocal | 1901 | Ich atmet' einen linden Duft | I Breathed a Gentle Fragrance | for voice and piano or orchestra | Vienna, 29 January 1905 | poem by Friedrich Rückert |
| Vocal | 1901 | Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen | I Am Lost to the World | for voice and piano or orchestra | Vienna, 29 January 1905 | poem by Friedrich Rückert |
| Vocal | 1901 | Um Mitternacht | At Midnight | for voice and piano or orchestra | Vienna, 29 January 1905 | poem by Friedrich Rückert |
| Vocal | 1902 | Liebst du um Schönheit | If You Love for Beauty | for voice and piano or orchestra | Vienna, 8 February 1907 | poem by Friedrich Rückert; Mahler neglected to orchestrate this song; an orchestral version was prepared later by a Leipzig musician, Max Puttmann |
| Vocal | 1901–1904 1901 1901 1901 1904 1904 | Kindertotenlieder Nun will die Sonn' so hell aufgeh'nNun seh' ich wohl, warum so dunkle FlammenWenn dein MütterleinOft denk' ich, sie sind nur ausgegangenIn diesem Wetter, in diesem Braus | Songs on the Death of Children Now the Sun Wants to Rise as BrightlyNow I See Well, Why with Such Dark FlamesWhen Your MotherI Often Think: They Have Only Just Gone OutIn This Weather, in This Windy Storm | for voice and orchestra | Vienna, 29 January 1905 | poems by Friedrich Rückert |

## Dresden archive

The possibility of previously unknown early Mahler works emerged when, in 1938, the Dutch conductor Willem Mengelberg revealed the existence of an archive of manuscripts in Dresden, in the hands of Marion von Weber, with whom Mahler had been romantically involved in the 1880s. Mengelberg claimed that these manuscripts included drafts of four early symphonies, which he and the German composer Max von Schillings had played through on the piano. Mahler historian Donald Mitchell writes: "Though one may perhaps be a shade sceptical about the existence of four symphonies, each of them completely carried through, the strong possibility remains that some important manuscripts, either early symphonies or parts of early symphonies, were to be found in Dresden." The archive was almost certainly destroyed in the bombing of Dresden in February 1945.

## Arrangements and editions

In his capacity as a conductor Mahler was responsible for many rescorings of works by, among others, J.S. Bach, Beethoven and Schumann. He also prepared string orchestra versions of Beethoven's String Quartet No. 11 and Schubert's Death and the Maiden Quartet, and a four-hand piano arrangement of Bruckner's Third Symphony.

## Notable recordings

Many artists recorded works of Mahler. Some boxes are available with all symphonies:
* Leonard Bernstein recorded all symphonies with New York Philharmonic during the 60's; then recorded a new cycle of symphonies from 70's with 3 different orchestras
* Riccardo Chailly recorded all symphonies with Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
* Bernard Haitink recorded all symphonies with Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
* Valery Gergiev recorded all symphonies with London Symphony Orchestra
* Rafael Kubelík recorded all symphonies with Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
* Lorin Maazel recorded all symphonies with Philharmonia Orchestra
* Klaus Tennstedt recorded all symphonies with London Philharmonic Orchestra
* Georg Solti recorded all symphonies with Chicago Symphony Orchestra
* Gary Bertini recorded all symphonies with the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne (or the Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra)
* Yevgeny Svetlanov recorded all symphonies with the Symphony Orchestra of the Russian Federation (formerly the USSR Symphony Orchestra)
* Maurice Abravanel recorded all symphonies with the Utah Symphony Orchestra
* Michael Tilson-Thomas (or MTT) recorded all symphonies with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra