FREE EVENT – The entire symposium is free and open to the public. There is no registration required EXCEPT YOU MUST REGISTER FOR LUNCH BY 8 AM Monday, May 12 if you would like a boxed lunch provided by the Academy. You are also welcome to bring your own lunch.

Jeremy Barham speaking at the MahlerFest 37 Symposium

10:00 AM | Kalanit-Liat Chalstrom – Mahler’s Judaism: Understanding Mahler’s Music Through a Jewish Lens
Heralded as one of the early 20th century’s last Wagnerian visionaries, Gustav Mahler’s music has been widely polarizing since the premiere of his first symphony in 1889. Much of the early criticism surrounding Mahler and his music dealt with Mahler’s identity as a Jewish individual. In this interactive presentation, we will take a chronological look at Mahler’s biography with a special emphasis on Mahler’s critical reception as it relates to his Jewish identity before his death in 1911, during the “Mahler Revival” of the 1960s, and through today.

11:10 AM | Marilyn McCoy – Plotting a New Pathway to an Unknown Peak: Hiking the Andante moderato of Mahler’s Sixth Symphony
For Gustav Mahler, hiking in dramatic mountain landscapes was both a passion and counterbalance for his high-strung temperament. Whenever life got rough, Mahler always headed to the hills as soon as he could. Thus, when he was struggling to compose his Sixth Symphony in the summers of 1903-04, he made at least two “lightning trips”—his nickname— to the Dolomites near Toblach, Austria (in Italy today). Walking briskly in the cool mountain air restored his soul, and reignited his creative impulses.

There are many “mountaintop moments” in Mahler’s works, but I argue that the Andante moderato of the Sixth is more like a complete mountain walk through changing sights, heights, and natural phenomena. Offering a glowing alternate universe to the darkness of the other three movements, the gentle walking atmosphere of the Andante leads the listener along a path with twisting harmonic turns, sounding vistas with real cowbells, unexpected orchestral thunderstorms, and one last challenging climb and breakthrough to the sublime peak of the work.

12:15 PM | Lunch – Register by 8 AM on Monday, May 12 for a boxed lunch provided by the Academy. You are also welcome to bring your own lunch.

1:15 PM | Leah Claiborne – William Grant Still’s Dismal Swamp: Origins and Background
Imagine the humid air, the dense, shadowy embrace of the Great Dismal Swamp. William Grant Still, through his evocative tone poem, invites us into this historically charged landscape. We’ll journey into the heart of ‘Dismal Swamp,’ tracing the threads of Verna Arvey’s poetic inspiration and the profound historical echoes that resonate within its depths. We’ll listen as Still paints a sonic portrait, capturing the swamp’s duality—its haunting beauty and the somber weight of its past as a sanctuary for those seeking freedom. We’ll explore how his music acts as a visceral narrative, translating literary imagery into a tangible, almost physical experience. This presentation is an invitation to feel the swamp’s presence, to understand how Still transforms the written word and the natural world into a powerful, enduring musical story—a story that speaks of resilience, history, and the enduring connection between art and place.

2:00 PM | Ryan Hugh Ross – The Music of Diaspora – in Four Perspectives
 This illustrated lecture provides an introduction to the ‘Lost Generation’ of composers, artists, musicians and performers who were exiled and suppressed by the Fascist Nazi regime between 1933-1945. This is conveyed through the life stories of four composers – Julius Burger [Bürger] (1897-1995), Walter Bricht (1904-1970), Walter Arlen (1920-2023), and Viktor Ullmann (1898-1944). Each perspective offers a glimpse at the effects of Nazi institutionalized bigotry, the ensuing diaspora and industrialized barbarism on the lives of these artists and the wider effect these ruptures had on early 20th century Western culture.

Other talks and educational programs will be presented throughout the season. Ryan Hugh Ross will introduce the 2001 film “Estranged Passengers – In Search of Viktor Ullmann” at a showing at 11AM on Thursday, May 15 at the Academy Mapleton Hill.  And Dave Maass will present a talk as part of “Opening Night: Death Goes on Strike” – Death Strikes: Behind the Panels. Jeremy Barham will offer insights during the Guided Hike.

Academy Mapleton Hill – our new host for the Symposium in 2025!

Thank you to our geneours host for this event: