Gustav Mahler, a brilliant mind of symphonic music, was a native of Vysočina.
When you say the name Gustav Mahler, most people probably think of “German” or “Jewish”. However, did you know that there’s also a strong Bohemian connection?
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Who was Gustav Mahler
Mahler was an Austro-Bohemian late Romantic composer of Jewish heritage and Bohemian nationality, one of the leading conductors of his generation. He is considered to be one of the most important symphonic composers.
Childhood and studies
Gustav Mahler was born on July 7, 1860 in Kaliště (then Bohemia, Austrian Empire, now Czech Republic) into an Austrian-Jewish family. Shortly after his birth, his parents decided to move the family into the larger town of Jihlava, then a center of a German-speaking enclave.
Mahler’s musical talent was showing from a young age, he played piano and took inspiration from Jewish music, as there was a considerable Jewish community surrounding him.
After finishing his studies in Vienna, he embarked on a journey which would ultimately lead him to become a renown composer and conductor.
Musical career and Czech influence
Engagements in Leipzig and Budapest helped spread the word of Mahler’s talent. After his parents died and 39-year-old Gustav gave up his inheritance to take care of his younger siblings (he was the oldest of 14, 6 of whom survived infancy), he took residency in Hamburg and conducted also in the operas in London, Moscow, Berlin and other. In 1897, he was offered a position of the General Music Director of the Vienna State Opera and Philharmonic with the condition to convert and become a Roman-Catholic. Mahler decided to take this step as he did not feel a strong connection to the Orthodox Jewish belief.
Although Gustav Mahler was raised in a German-speaking environment, he was very perceptive to the Bohemian elements in his life. As a child, he spent his free time roaming around his neighborhood in Jihlava, traveled to visit family in Ledeč nad Sázavou and his ties to the Czech-speaking environment became stronger in his adulthood and professional life. He became a strong promoter of work by Czech composers such as Bedřich Smetana, Leoš Janáček or Oskar Nedbal. By his own admission, however, Mahler did not speak Czech and required German translations of the Czech works he was going to conduct.
Legacy of Gustav Mahler in the Czech Republic
Although ethnically Austrian and Jewish, Czech people honor Mahler not only as a Bohemian native but also appreciate his ties to the Czech-speaking environment and music. There are more than a few memorials of his legacy.
His first home in Kaliště has been made into a small museum with the exposition “Mahler and Bohemia” and the Museum of Vysočina as a permanent exposition called “Young Gustav Mahler and Jihlava”.
The year 2000 and the celebration of the 140th anniversary of Mahlers birthplace in Kaliště gave the origin of the idea of a music festival in honor of the composer. And so, since 2002, the festival Hudba tisíců (Music of Thousands) has been featuring the music of Mahler as well as other composers.
Other cities commemorate Mahler’s shorter or longer stays as well.
