Mahler: A Biography

Carr, a British foreign correspondent whose only previous book was on Germany, would be the first to acknowledge that his study of Mahler is modest, especially compared with the works of those he aptly describes as colossi of Mahler scholarship--Henry-Louis de la Grange and Donald Mitchell. His is a pleasantly written and winning but essentially small-scale account of the extraordinary composer-conductor (1860-1911) whose influence was profound (on the atonalists, among others) and whose posthumous audience grew to huge proportions. Carr examines the legends surrounding Mahler, particularly those instigated by his long-lived widow, Alma, and his conclusions are usually level-headed and backed by documentary evidence. He finds in Mahler not only a visionary artist but also a canny careerist and businessman, not just a consummate craftsman but one who, throughout his creative life, felt hampered by, of all things, an inadequate musical education. For readers who require a swiftly readable account of a remarkably full and tormented life and a sensible placing of the music in the context of that life, this could be just the answer. Illustrations. (Jan.)