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Wilhelm Zinne (1858-1934).

Carl Wilhelm Zinne.

Admirer of Anton Bruckner (1824-1896) and enthusiastoc cyclist. Corresponded with Anton Bruckner (1824-1896).

Wilhelm Zinne hearded Mahler for the first time at 1892 Concert Hamburg 15-04-1892.

The communication of Mahler with Zinne deal with the purchase of a bicycle and the cycle trips they took together. Bicycles had been manufactured in Germany since 1881. A bicycle was called Velociped at the time.

In a letter to Hermann Behn (1857-1927) of 05-02-1895, Gustav Mahler describes him as ‘critic of my Frankfurt period’.

Mahler lived in 1895-1895 House Gustav Mahler Hamburg – Oberstrasse No. 87 at the time: Bicycle purchase and first driving lessons from Wilhelm Zinne.

Two possible bicycle types (1895 Model England):

  1. A ‘Pyramidal’ Nr. 41153. Made by H. Reeck GmbH, Hohe Bleichen No. 40 Hths. P. 36, Shop: Admiralitatsstrasse Ni. 81 or
  2. A Seidel & Naumann (Dresden).

Bicycle owned by the Gustav Mahler Vereinigung Hamburg (1895 Model England).

Mahler had his bicycle forwarded to Steinbach am Attersee, where he was holidaying, and cycled through the Salzkammergut in the summer of Year 1896Natalie Bauer-Lechner (1858-1921) mentioned several trips to Untersach and an outing from Salzburg to Berchtesgaden. He also visited Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) in Ischl on his bicycle (07-1896, Year 1896).

Mahler addressed him initially as ‘Dear Herr Zinne’ and finally as ‘Dear Friend’.

An essay by Zinne, published in 1925, gives a concise description of Mahler as an operatic conductor in Hamburg. He calls Mahler ‘a hothead and an honest, pure artist of genius’.

Zinne made his correspondence available to Alma Mahler, but almost certainly after the letters were published in 1924 (second impression 1925), because Alma Mahler wrote to Zinne from Breitenstein on 16-07-1926: ‘the cards are delightful in their cheerful, harmless tone, which Mahler adopted with few correspondents and very rarely. They will be included in a later edition of Mahler’s letters, i.e. in the next’.  It was not to be.

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