Chapter 3 - Music in Iglau, 1860–1875

Summary

Mahler’s youth in Iglau exposed him to a rich variety of music, much of it originating outside the symphonic and operatic traditions that eventually would occupy him professionally and creatively. The enclave’s provincial location and ethnic diversity gave rise to a singular mixture of folk music traditions. The garrison’s military bands made varied contributions to the city’s everyday sounds and musical life. And as a bastion of German liberalism, Iglau sustained many social, sacred, and municipal organizations that promoted the cultivation and performance of music. This chapter examines these repertories (fiddle music, folk song, rustic dances; military band repertoire, including dances, tunes from operettas, and original works for the ensemble; and music for choral societies and community bands), along with the institutions and performance circumstances that supported them, illuminating sources from which Mahler appropriated materials vitally important to his idiosyncratic compositional voice.