Symphony No. 7 (Mahler)

The Symphony No. 7 in E minor is a piece of orchestral music by Gustav Mahler. The composer wrote the symphony in 1904 and 1905. It is sometimes called the Song of the Night, but Mahler did not use this name.David Hurwitz, The Mahler Symphonies: An Owner's Manual (includes 1 CD), Amadeus Press (2004),   

The symphony was first played on 19 September 1908 in Prague. It was played by the Czech Philharmonic and conducted by Mahler.

 Instrumentation 
The symphony was written for a large orchestra with some unusual instruments such as the tenorhorn, cowbell, guitar, and mandolin. The orchestra has the following:See "Tenor horn", Grove Music Online

Woodwinds
piccolo
flutes (4th doubling 2nd piccolo in movement 1)}}
3 oboes
cor anglais
E clarinet
3 B and A clarinets
bass clarinet
3 bassoons
contrabassoon

Brass
tenorhorn (used only in movement 1)
4 horns
3 trumpets
3 trombones
tuba

Percussion
4 timpani
bass drum

cymbals
triangle

tam-tam

glockenspiel (keyboard and mallet) 

Strings

2 harps

1st violins
2nd violins
violas
cellos
double basses

 Form 

The work is in five parts, also called movements. They are:"Gustav Mahler (Works)", in New Grove, Macmillan, 1980 
 References 

Further reading
Agawu, Kofi (1996). "The narrative impulse in the second Nachtmusik from Mahler's Seventh Symphony." In Craig Ayrey and Mark Everist, eds., Analytical Strategies and Musical Interpretation: Essays on Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Music. (Cambridge University Press), pp. 226–241. 
Hefling, Stephen E. (2007). "'Ihm in die Lieder zu blicken': Mahler's Seventh Symphony sketchbook." In Stephen E. Hefling, ed., Mahler Studies (Cambridge University Press), pp. 169–216.
Hurwitz, David. (2004) "The Mahler Symphonies, An Owner's Manual."
Mitchell, Donald (April 1, 1963). "Mahler's Enigmatic Seventh Symphony". The Listener, vol. 49, no. 1776, p. 649. 
 , Chapter 7, 'Enigma and Twilight', pp. 233–262.
Whettam, Graham (December 30, 1965). "Mahler's seventh symphony." The Listener, p. 1088. 
Williamson, John R. (1982). "Deceptive cadences in the last movement of Mahler's 'Seventh Symphony'." Soundings, no. 9, pp. 87–96.
Zychowicz, James L. (December 2004). "Mahler's Seventh Symphony Revisited." Naturlaut, vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 2–6.

External links

 Tony Duggan, " The Mahler Symphonies: A synoptic survey by Tony Duggan. Symphony No.7 ".  MusicWeb International
 Lee Denham, "Mahler’s Symphony No. 7 – a comparative survey".  MusicWeb International, 15 December 2022

Category:Symphonies by Gustav Mahler
Category:Compositions in E minor
Category:1900s compositions