(a)
Nostalgia and, specifically, the
alienation
(Verfremdung) quality of
nostalgia that provides his music with the characteristic tragic tone; in that he is opposed to Richard Strauss. A comparative examination of the relationship of Mahler and Strauss, the two most influential representatives of
musical modernism
at the turn-of-the century, was considered necessary in order to gain greater insight into the nature of
nostalgia in
Mahler
s music. A passage from the first movement of the
Fourth Symphony is presented as an example of the role of the
alienation
feature of
nostalgia in music.
(b) The second major factor that stamps
Mahler
s music is the mode of
open listening
. The result of this influence is a type of
musical pluralism
in his compositions that de-composes the pre-existing musical language. The terms
open listening
and
musical pluralism
are investigated, as well as the relationship of
low
and
high
music and their function in Mahler
s music. The second movement of the
Ninth Symphony is examined as a typical example of a gigantic
collage or, rather, a pot-pourri of Lδndler and waltzes. It appears as a paradigmatic manifestation of
musical pluralism
.