Nature, Heart, Life: The Life and Works of Alma Mahler

Abstract

This thesis examines the early life of Austrian composer Alma Mahler (1879-1964), the conditions of fin-de-siecle Vienna, her perception in academic literature, and her surviving works. Her 1911 set, Funf Lieder, is studied in detail and subjected to brief harmonic analysis. Her compositional practices are compared to her teacher, Alexander Zemlinsky. The first section provides historical context for Alma's early life in Vienna. The arts scene that Mahler's family was so immersed in is discussed along with the Vienna Secession and general attitudes and expectations surrounding women in society. The second section is a biographical portrait of the young Alma Mahler from her birth until her marriage to famed composer and conductor Gustav Mahler. That marriage and its effects on Alma's life and composition are also discussed in some detail, as well as Alma's perception in academia since her death, including the so-called Alma Problem. The final section is a study of Alma as a composer, including descriptions of her compositional style, analysis of her lieder, and an argument for the recognition of her music alongside the works of Zemlinsky and Schoenberg.