Preface and acknowledgements: List of abbreviations: Part I. Formation: 1. Family life Stephen McClatchie; 2. A childhood in bohemia: early teachers and friends Reinhold Kubik; 3. Music in Iglau, 1860¿75 Timothy Freeze; 4. Student culture in 1870s Vienna Caroline A. Kita; 5. Viennese musical associates, 1875-1883 Charles Youmans; 6. Becoming a conductor: the early years in Mahler's career Peter Revers; 7. Between 'Thrice Homeless' and 'To the Germans in Austria': political conditions in Mahler's Europe Margaret Notley; Part II. Performance: 8. Operatic and orchestral repertoire Anna Stoll Knecht; 9. Collaborators Anna Harwell Celenza; 10. A perfect storm: Mahler's New York Joseph Horowitz; 11. Celebrity Eva Giloi; Part III. Creation: 12. The composer 'goes to press': Mahler's dealings with engravers and publishers in Vienna around 1900 Renate Stark-Voit; 13. Mahler and program music Constantin Floros; 14. Intertextuality in Mahler Vera Micznik; 15. The symphony, 1870-1911 David Larkin; 16. Mahler and the visual arts of his time Martina Pippal; 17. Mahler and modernism Marilyn L. McCoy; 18. Reception in Vienna Kevin C. Karnes; 19. Mahler's press from London to Los Angeles Karen Painter; Part IV. Mind, Body, Spirit: 20. Organized religion Stephen McClatchie; 21. German idealism Morten Solvik; 22. Nietzsche Lesley Chamberlain; 23. Fechner Michael Heidelberger; 24. Literary enthusiasms Jeremy Barham; 25. Romantic relationships Charles Youmans; 26. Mahler and death Carl Niekerk; Part V. Influence: 27. Posthumous reputation, 1911 to World War II Stephen Downes; 28. Mahler and the second Viennese school Wolfgang Rathert; 29. The Mahler revival James L. Zychowicz; 30. Broader influence Thomas Peattie; 31. Adorno Roger Allen; 32. Influences in literature Matthew Werley; 33. Mahler on disc Richard Wattenbarger; 34. Film and recent popular culture Peter Franklin.

"Explores the institutions, artists, thinkers, cultural movements, socio-political conditions, and personal relationships that shaped Mahler's creative output. Focusing on the contexts surrounding the artist, the collection provides a sense of the complex crosscurrents against which Mahler was reacting as conductor, composer, and human being. Topics explored include his youth and training, performing career, creative activity, spiritual and philosophical influences, and his reception after his death. Together, this collection of specially commissioned essays offers a wide-ranging investigation of the ecology surrounding Mahler as a composer and a fuller appreciation of the topics that occupied his mind as he conceived his works"--Back cover.