Mahler Symphony No 4 for Soprano Solo and Orchestra Breitkopf Full score (paperback)

Mahler Symphony No 4 for Soprano Solo and Orchestra Breitkopf Full score (paperback)

Final 1911 version.
Duration c. 55 minutes

Of all his symphonies, Mahler paid particular attention to the Fourth, his favourite and most troubled work. 'Das himmlische Leben' (The Heavenly Life), a humoresque for soprano and piano composed in 1892, which he had already intended to use in the final movement of his Third Symphony under the title 'Was mir das Kind erzählt' (What the Child Tells Me), ultimately became the germinal idea and the final movement of the Fourth.

Even after its publication in 1901, Mahler continued to refine the instrumentation. His maxim 'not without my retouches' led to a whole series of corrected reprints. It is probably no coincidence that it was precisely the Fourth Symphony that Mahler performed in two of his last concerts in New York in February 1911. He used this opportunity to revise the score and parts.

The performance material, with his 'retouches,' served as the primary source for the new edition. Furthermore, for the first time, corrections and annotations that Mahler made in connection with performances of the Fourth Symphony in scores by conductors such as Mengelberg and Wickenhauser were also included.

Also available:

Sheet Music:

Full score: Breitkopf (Hardback), Dover 

Study score: Dover, Eulenberg, Universal

Books:

The Cambridge Companion to Mahler, Studies in Musical Genesis, Structure & Interpretation: Mahler's Fourth Symphony (Paperback)