Mahler in Popular Media

Saturday, November 26, 2022

Gustav Mahler famously tapped into the popular culture of his day to render waltzes, marches, dirges, and other tropes of daily musical life in his symphonies.

It may have seemed unlikely to him at the time, but it is clear that Mahler has, in turn, entered into the popular imagination of a time beyond his own, namely ours. Ironically one of the most persistent examples of this is Mahler’s presence in visual culture.

In this program we were joined by Jeremy Barham, Professor of Music at the University of Surrey and expert on Mahler and media, to discuss how the historical figure of Mahler and especially how moments of his music have gained a signature place in films and even commercials.

In this edition of The Mahler Hour presented some iconic examples of this
phenomenon and ask how such a transformation came about.

Join us as we explore the sometimes surprising ways Mahler has come to occupy his place in the sonic and visual tropes of the 20 th and 21 st century.

Hosted by Morten Slovik

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