List of compositions by Gustav Mahler

The musical compositions of Gustav Mahler (1860–1911) are almost exclusively in the genres of song and symphony. In his juvenile years he attempted to write opera and instrumental works; all that survives musically from those times is a single movement from a piano quartet from around 1876–78. From 1880 onwards Mahler was a professional conductor whose composing activities had to be fitted around concert and theatrical engagements.Cooke, p. 8 Nevertheless, over the next 30 years he produced nine complete symphonies and sketches for a tenth, several orchestral song cycles and many other songs with piano or orchestral accompaniment. Mahler's symphonies are generally on an expansive scale, requiring large forces in performance, and are among the longest in the concert repertoire.

Mahler scholar Deryck Cooke divides Mahler's compositions into separate creative phases, preceded by a "juvenile" period up to 1880. The earliest surviving whole work is Das klagende Lied (The Song of Lament), a cantata for soloists, chorus and orchestra which was completed in 1880 just before Mahler took up his first conducting post. In Cooke's chronology Mahler's first period as a mature composer extends over 20 years, to 1900, and includes his first four symphonies, his first song cycle Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen ("Songs of a Wayfarer") and numerous other songs. The period includes Mahler's Wunderhorn phase, after his discovery in 1887 of the German folk-poems collected by Achim von Arnim and Clemens Brentano under the title Des Knaben Wunderhorn ("The Young Lad's Magic Horn"). Music critic Neville Cardus writes that this anthology nourished the composer's "pantheistic feelings about life and the world ... in which an all-embracing love [makes] all creatures kin."Cardus, p. 55 Mahler set 24 of these poems to music; three were absorbed into his Second, Third and Fourth symphonies; nine were used to create Volumes II and III of Lieder und Gesänge ("Songs and Airs"), and the remaining 12 were grouped to form Mahler's own Wunderhorn song cycle.Sadie, pp. 515–18

Cooke dates Mahler's "middle period" as between 1901 and 1907, covering the trio of instrumental symphonies (Fifth, Sixth and Seventh), the massive Eighth Symphony, and the settings of poems by Friedrich Rückert including the Kindertotenlieder cycle and the Rückert-Lieder.Sadie, pp. 518–23 The final period covers the last works: the symphonic Das Lied von der Erde ("The Song of the Earth") and the Ninth and Tenth Symphonies. None of these late works were performed during Mahler's lifetime. The unfinished Tenth Symphony was rendered by Deryck Cooke into a "performing version" which was first performed in London in 1964.Cooke, pp. 103–21

Summary of surviving works

Early works 1876: Piano Quartet in A minor 1878–80: Das klagende Lied 1880: Three Lieder: "Im Lenz"; "Winterlied"; "Maitanz im Grünen" 1880–83: Lieder und Gesänge Vol. I (five songs) 1885–86: Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (four songs) 1884: Der Trompeter von Säckingen (lost, except for movement Blumine that was included in early versions of Symphony No. 1)

Wunderhorn period 1887–88: Die Drei Pintos adaptation 1887–90: Lieder und Gesänge Vol. II (four songs) 1887–90: Lieder und Gesänge Vol. III (five songs) 1884–88: Symphony No. 1 in D 1888–94: Symphony No. 2 1892: "Das himmlische Leben" (Wunderhorn setting later used in Symphony No. 4) 1892–1901: Des Knaben Wunderhorn (12 songs) 1894–96: Symphony No. 3 1899–1901: Symphony No. 4

Middle period 1901–04: Rückert-Lieder (five songs) 1901–04: Kindertotenlieder (five songs) 1901–02: Symphony No. 5 1903–04: Symphony No. 6 in A minor 1904–05: Symphony No. 7 1906–07: Symphony No. 8 in E

Late works 1908–09: Das Lied von der Erde 1909–10: Symphony No. 9 1910: Symphony No. 10 in F (unfinished; continuous draft score)

List of works TypeDate ofcompositionGerman title (original title)English titleScoringPremiere performanceNotesReferences Stage 1875–1878 Herzog Ernst von Schwaben Ernst, Duke of Swabia for voices and orchestra not performed music and libretto (by Josef Steiner) lostCarr, p. 240Sadie, p. 505 Stage 1878–1880 Die Argonauten for voices and orchestra not performed music and libretto (by Mahler and Steiner) lost Stage 1879–1883 Rübezahl for voices and orchestra not performed music lost, but some may have been incorporated into early songs and/or parts of Das Klagende Lied; libretto (by Mahler) held privately Stage 1884 Der Trompeter von Säckingen The Trumpeter of Säckingen for orchestra Kassel, 23 June 1884 incidental music to play by Josef Viktor von Scheffel; most music lost; first number became the "Blumine" andante in the original version of Symphony No. 1Carr, p. 241Cooke, p. 34 Stage 1886–1887 Die drei Pintos The Three Pintos for voices and orchestra Leipzig, 20 January 1888 completion of opera by Carl Maria von Weber; Mahler arranged Weber's sketches and other music from Weber's minor works, and composed a small amount himself Chamber music 1875–1876 Sonate Sonata for violin and piano Iglau, 31 July 1876 & 12 September 1876, with Mahler at the piano lostMitchell Vol.I, pp. 116–117 Chamber music 1876 Klavierquartett a-Moll Piano Quartet in A minor (first movement) for violin, viola, cello and piano possibly performed at Vienna Conservatory 10 July 1876 first verified public performance: New York, 12 February 1964 Chamber music 1876–1878 Klavierquartett g-Moll Piano Quartet in G minor (scherzo fragments) for violin, viola, cello and piano Frankfurt/M (Radio) 10 March 1932 and New York, 12 February 1964 approximately 36 bars of musicCooke, pp. 21–26 Chamber music 1875–1878 Klavierquintett Piano Quintet for 2 violins, viola, cello and piano performed at the Vienna Conservatory, 11 July 1878, Mahler at the piano lost Piano 1877 Suite Suite for piano performed at the Vienna Conservatory on an unknown date lost; apparently the piece was awarded a prize by the ConservatoryCarr, p. 21 Orchestral 1877 [Student Symphony] for orchestra not performed lost; rehearsed at the Conservatory under Joseph Hellmesberger, and rejected Orchestral / choral 1878–1880 Das klagende Lied, Kantate The Song of Lament, Cantata for soprano, alto, tenor, chorus and orchestra Vienna, 17 February 1901 (movements II and III) Brno Radio, 8 November 1934 (original version) words by Mahler; unsuccessful Beethoven Prize entry, 1881 Orchestral 1882–1883 Symphony in A minor for orchestra not performed lost; possibly a more developed version of the "Student Symphony" rejected by HellmesbergerMitchell, Vol. I p. 117 and pp. 131–34 Orchestral 1888 Blumine Blumine for orchestra Budapest, 20 November 1889 (as part of Symphony No. 1) originally planned for use as movement II of Symphony No. 1, dropped in 1893 Orchestral 1884–1888 1. Sinfonie D-Dur Symphony No. 1 in D major for orchestra Budapest, 20 November 1889 (five-movement version) originally 5 movements, later 4; originally a symphonic poem, given title "Titan" at second performance, title later discarded; in revisions 1893–96 "Blumine" andante withdrawnCarr, p. 238Cooke, pp. 33–35 Orchestral 1888 Todtenfeier [sic] Todtenfeier (Funeral Rites) for orchestra Berlin, 16 March 1896 symphonic poem; later reworked as movement I of Symphony No. 2Mitchell Vol. II, pp. 165–167; 269 Orchestral / choral 1888–1894 2. Sinfonie c-Moll "Auferstehungssinfonie" Symphony No. 2 in C minor "Resurrection" for soprano, alto, mixed chorus, organ and orchestra Berlin, 4 March 1895 (movements I, II and III); Berlin, 13 December 1895 (complete) 5 movements; movement I: 1888 symphonic poem Todtenfeier; movement IV: "Urlicht" from Des Knaben Wunderhorn collection; movement V: text by Mahler and Friedrich Gottlieb KlopstockCooke, pp. 52–58 Orchestral / choral 1893–1896 3. Sinfonie d-Moll Symphony No. 3 in D minor for alto, women's chorus, boys' chorus and orchestra Krefeld, 9 June 1902 6 movements; movement IV: "O Mensch! Gib acht!" from Also sprach Zarathustra (Friedrich Nietzsche); movement V: "Es sungen drei Engel" from Des Knaben Wunderhorn collectionCooke, pp. 60–65 Orchestral / vocal 1899–1900 4. Sinfonie G-Dur Symphony No. 4 in G major for soprano and orchestra Munich, 25 November 1901 4 movements; revised 1901–10; movement IV: "Das himmlische Leben" from Des Knaben Wunderhorn collection, originally intended for Symphony No. 3, composed in 1892Cooke, pp. 66–69 Orchestral 1901–1902 5. Sinfonie cis-Moll Symphony No. 5 in C minor for orchestra Cologne, 18 October 1904 5 movements; repeatedly revised up to Mahler's deathCooke, pp. 80–83 Orchestral 1903–1904 6. Sinfonie a-Moll Symphony No. 6 in A minor for orchestra Essen, 27 May 1906 4 movements; revised 1906 and repeatedly thereafterCooke, pp. 83–87 Orchestral 1904–1905 7. Sinfonie e-Moll Symphony No. 7 in E minor for orchestra Prague, 19 September 1908 5 movements; revised repeatedly from 1905; known as Lied der Nacht ("Song of the Night"), though not named by MahlerCooke, pp. 88–91 Orchestral / choral 1906–1907 8. Sinfonie Es-Dur 1. Teil: Hymnus „Veni, creator spiritus“ 2. Teil: Schlußszene von Goethes „Faust II“ Symphony No. 8 in E major Part I: Hymn "Veni creator spiritus"