Instrument of Life and Death: The Symbolic Role of the Solo Trumpet in the First and Third Movements of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 5 in C Sharp Minor

Melvin, William Parker, Jr

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Description

Title

Instrument of Life and Death: The Symbolic Role of the Solo Trumpet in the First and Third Movements of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 5 in C Sharp Minor

Author(s)

Melvin, William Parker, Jr

Issue Date

1997

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Michael Ewald

Department of Study

Music

Discipline

Music

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

D.M.A.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

Fine Arts

Language

eng

Abstract

"The trumpet is also a vital soloistic and motivic instrument in the very folk-like, dance-oriented third movement of the Fifth Symphony, the ""Scherzo."" The ""Scherzo,"" however, is not purely a celebratory folk dance. As reflected in literature and philosophy from the same period as its composition, the ""Scherzo"" seems to have been an effort to combat hopelessness, suffering, and fear of death. As in the ""Trauermarsch,"" the solo trumpet participates actively in the symbolic juxtaposition of opposing life and death elements. This study therefore demonstrates that in both the first and third movements of the Fifth Symphony, the solo trumpet plays an integral role in Mahler's musical struggle with the duality of life and death."

Graduation Semester

1997

Type of Resource

text

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