Gustav Mahler und Wien: „Leider bleibe ich ein eingefleischter Wiener", and: Mahler's Concerts, and: Mahler Handbuch, and: „Verehrter Herr College!" Briefe an Komponisten, Dirigenten, Intendanten (review)

Mahler's dual anniversary years, with the sesquicentennial of his birth in 2010 and the centenary of his death in 2011, offer an excellent opportunity to commemorate the composer's lasting influence and enduring popularity. Celebrations take various forms, and several recent publications reveal aspects of Mahler research in an edition of letters, a comprehensive guide to his works, a reference on Mahler's conducting activities, and a catalogue of an international exhibit held in Vienna.

Among these publications, the release of another collection of letters suggests the need for a uniform edition of these important documents. The venerable Mahlerian Franz Willnauer's edition Verehrter Herr College! collects published letters from Mahler to other musicians to convey his relationships with fellow composers and conductors, along with artistic directors (Intendanten) and others. Through this focus, Willnauer demonstrates the active role Mahler had in the musical culture of his time.

Willnauer's introduction is useful for its discussion of the challenges of editing Mahler's correspondence with regard to dating letters without explicitly inscribed dates or letters that have become detached from their envelopes (see pp. 15-16). Of further significance is his exploration of Mahler's handwriting (pp. 16-18), familiarity with which is necessary in establishing the texts of the letters.

As to the specific contents of this volume, Willnauer has arranged the volume in three parts, the first containing letters from 1880 through1896, the years before Mahler led the Vienna Hofoper; the second, from 1897 to 1907, his time in Vienna; and the third from 1908 to 1911, from his resignation from the Hofoper until his death. Those early years divide easily according to the various places where Mahler worked, a logical organization that makes it possible to follow his career. This arrangement also gives prominence to the Vienna years, a time when Mahler not only led the prestigious Hofoper in conducting the repertoire of the company in venerable productions, but supported new productions as well; more than that, Mahler was responsible for premieres of new works. The influence Mahler had is impressive, and through these letters it is possible to gain a firsthand sense of how he worked.

The latter perspective emerges in Willnauer's commentary, which occurs both at the beginnings of the various sections of this volume, as well as between individual letters. In addition, each letter is annotated in the style of Herta Blaukopf's edition of Mahler's Briefe (Vienna: Zsolnay, 1982; rev. ed, Vienna: Zsolnay, 1996), to which Willnauer also refers at various points in this book. Those familiar with Mahler's letters may find that some of the ones to various conductors are absent, such as the one to Willem Mengelberg from August 1906 in which he announced the completion of the Eighth Symphony and described it as setting planets and suns whirling, or the letter to Bruno Walter from summer 1909 in which Mahler announced the completion of his Ninth Symphony. Nevertheless, Willnauer has created a convincing portrait of Mahler's professional relationships.

Mahler's letters are just one aspect of research, and the Mahler Handbuch of Bernd Sponheuer and Wolfram Steinbeck provides an overview of the composer's life and works in a single concise volume. The Mahler Handbuch consists of four main sections: life, aesthetic and compositional aspects, works, and interpretation and reception. The prefatory material includes a detailed time table (Zeittafel) of Mahler...