Ravinia 2023 Issue 3

Above: Alma and Gustav Mahler visited Basel, Switzerland, in 1903 for Gustav to conduct his Second Symphony on June 15 at the 39th Music Festival of the General German Music Society. Taken on the Rheinsprung overlooking the river Rhine, this is one of the first known photos of the Mahlers together, just over a year after they were married. Right: Alma had two children with Gustav, Maria Anna (“Putzi,” on the left, born 1902) and Anna Justine (“Gucki,” on the right, born 1904). Maria, sadly, died of either scarlet fever or diphtheria in 1907, about a year after this photo was taken. “ I have been firmly taken by the arm and led away from myself. ” countries would ultimately lead to the collapse of the empire shortly after the start of the war. The denizens of Vienna, it used to be said, were “danc- ing on the rim of the volcano.” As one observer put it, the situation in most European capitals at that time was serious, but not hopeless; in Vienna, it was hopeless, but not serious. The chasm that separated the lower class from the upper class was enormous, and vast portions of the Viennese population lived in appall- ing squalor even as the emerging mer- chant middle class was settling into its impressive apartments along the newly constructed Ringstrasse that replaced the city’s old medieval walls. These recently prosperous citizens increasingly turned their attention to artistic and intellectual pursuits, with the result that Vienna was unmatched as an incubator of exciting new developments in the realms of design, graphic arts, architecture, literature, theater, and music. The plethora of creativity in Vienna at that time can perhaps diminish somewhat the pejo- rative notion of Alma as a predatory seductress on the prowl for famous men. In the social circles she moved through, it would have been difficult for Alma not to encounter creative geniuses; and as she was known for her wit, intellect, and musical talent, in addition to being regarded as the most beautiful woman in Vienna, it was inevitable that many of them would become attracted to her on their own. One of the first was artist Gustav Klimt. In her diary entry for Feb- ruary 9, 1898, Alma wrote, “If only I were a somebody—a real person, noted for and capable of great things. But I’m a nobody, an indifferent young lady who, on demand, runs her fingers prettily up and down the piano keys and, on demand, gives arrogant replies to arrogant ques- tions … just like millions of others. Nothing pleases me more than to be told that I’m exceptional. Klimt, for instance, said: ‘You’re a rare, unusual kind of girl, but why do you do this, that, and the other just like every- one else?’ … I want to do something really remarkable. Would like to compose a really good opera—some- thing no woman has ever achieved. In a word, I want to be a somebody. But it’s impossible—and why? I don’t lack talent, but my attitude is too frivolous for my objectives, for artistic achieve- ment. Please God, give me some great mission, give me something great to do! Make me happy!” Although she and Klimt did be- come infatuated with each other—she is said to have been the inspiration for his paintings of Pallas Athena and Judith (also known as Salome)—their affair apparently never progressed beyond passionate kisses on two occasions. But her relationship with her composition teacher Alexander von Zemlinsky would be much more physical, despite his own unfortu- nate appearance. On February 26, 1900, she recorded, “This evening at Spitzer’s. I went with the greatest disinclination—and had a wonder- ful time. Spoke almost all evening with Alexander von Zemlinsky, the 28-year-old composer of ‘Es war einmal.’ He is dreadfully ugly, almost chinless—yet I found him quite enthralling.” After the two of them engaged in viciously dishing about some singer, Zemlinsky said to her, “If we can think of someone with whom neither of us has a bone to pick, we’ll down a glass of punch in their honor.” As Alma records, “After a while we did indeed think of somebody: Gustav Mahler. We drained our glasses. I told him how greatly I venerated [Mahler] and how I longed to meet him.” Alma seems to have vacillated be- tween physical passion and revulsion for Zemlinsky but ultimately dumped him in November 1901 after she made the acquaintance of Mahler, who, at least in Alma’s account, told a friend, “I didn’t care for her at first. I thought she was just a doll. But then I realized that she’s also very perceptive. Maybe my first impression was because one doesn’t normally expect such a good-looking girl to take anything seriously.” She certainly took Mahler serious- ly, and barely three months later they were married, by which time she was already pregnant. They had musical commonalities; both worshipped the music of Richard Wagner, whose operas had been the vehicles of some of Mahler’s greatest conduct- ing triumphs, and Alma reportedly was able to play a piano reduction of the complete Tristan und Isolde from memory. Unfortunately, Alma also emulated Wagner’s infamous anti-Semitism, which is particularly ironic considering that two of her three husbands—Mahler and later Franz Werfel—were Jews. RAVINIA MAGAZINE • JULY 17 – JULY 30, 2023 18