GUSTAV MAHLER'S "BLUMINE"
"Blumine" (Flowers) is the name given by Mahler to the original
second movement of what was to become his First Symphony. After only
three performances, the movement was discarded by Mahler and went
into oblivion for many decades. Mahler's final edited version of
the First Symphony, which is usually performed today, does not
include Blumine. Long considered "lost", the score was first
published in 1968.
BACKGROUND
In 1883, Mahler took up his conducting duties in the German city of
Kassel. The following year Mahler agreed to write incidental music
for "living pictures" depicting the story of "Der Trompeter von
Säckingen" (The Trumpeter of Säckingen). This story, first written
in the form of a poetic novel, had recently become popular in
an operatic version, which Mahler conducted during his stay in
Kassel. Mahler composed this incidental music in the space of a few
days in June 1884, and it was soon thereafter performed in several
German cities. What Mahler wrote has been lost, but it is thought
that the musical material for "Blumine" is derived from part
of the incidental music for Der Trompeter von Säckingen.
It was not long after that Mahler began work on his first symphony,
which was to draw on several of his previous works, including Das
Klagende Lied, "Der Trompeter", and the also recently
completed "Lieder eines Fahrenden Gesellen". Originally
called "Titan--A Tone Poem in Two Parts" or "Titan--A Tone
Poem in Symphonic Form", the work consisted of five movements of
which Blumine was the second. Following the première of the work
in Budapest in 1889, Mahler set about revising the work and after
considering the removal of Blumine, retained it for the version
of "Titan" performed in Hamburg in 1893. In 1894, this
version was performed for the last time in Weimar. In the final 1896
revision of the work, the name "Titan" was dropped and the
composition simply became the First Symphony. In this revision,
Mahler removed the "Blumine" movement once and for all.
Many reasons have been given for Mahler's decision to
remove "Blumine". These include:
The third reason listed is the most likely, since Mahler paid little
heed to critics and was not averse to continuous revisions of his own
works. It is also significant that as Mahler grew in stature as a
composer and conductor, he did not exercise his prerogative to
restore Blumine to later performances of the First Symphony, whether
conducted by himself or others.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
As can be expected when we consider the link with "Der Trompeter", a
solo trumpet carries the main melody of "Blumine". After a kind of
developmental middle section, the roughly 7 minute long piece
concludes with a return to the main theme. Mahler once referred to
the piece as a "moonlight serenade played by a trumpet over the
banks of the Rhein". It is indeed a lovely but simple melody;
perhaps Mahler was correct in considering it superfluous after the
paean to springtime we find in the first movement.
CITATIONS FROM BLUMINE IN OTHER MOVEMENTS OF THE FIRST SYMPHONY
There have been claims made that despite Blumine's removal, Mahler
retained subtle citations to the movement in other parts of the
symphony. This is true in one case, but still unclear to me in the
second case.
In bar 18 of the Scherzo (now the second movement) you will hear the
first six notes of the Blumine theme, played however with a different
tempo and rhythm. Indeed, this six-note motif plays an important
part in the Scherzo as a whole.
It has also been claimed that there is some sort of reference to or
reminiscence of Blumine in one of the lyrical episodes of the
Finale. I can't yet pick this out, and would be grateful for
guidance from anyone who might be able to clarify this claim.
RECORDINGS AND SOURCES
Many recordings of Blumine are now available. However, it is very
important to be aware that Blumine only really belongs to the 1889
Budapest version of "Der Titan" (this version is now lost), or the
1893 "Hamburg" version of the symphony. Watch out for recordings of
Mahler's final 1896 version, which erroneously drop Blumine into the
second spot. Some recordings offer Blumine as an add-on or extra
track at the end of the symphony. My version of Blumine is included
in a version of the 1893 edition of "Der Titan" recorded by Ole
Kristian Ruud and the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra. It is a 1998
release on the SIMAX classics label. Please be advised, however,
that parts of the liner notes of this recording are poorly written
and contain misleading statements over-emphasizing the importance of
Blumine to the symphony as a whole.
Sources of information include: 1) Henry-Louis de La Grange,
"Gustav Mahler" (appendix to vols. II and III listing Mahler's
works); 2) Alphons Silbermann, "Lübbes Mahler Lexikon", Gustav
Lübbe Verlag GmbH, 1986; and 3) Liner notes to the aforementioned
SIMAX CD.
Submitted to the "On-line Mahler Dictionary" in March, 2001.
Written by Michael Bosworth. Any errors are my responsibility alone.