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Gustav Mahler was born July 7, 1860 in a little Austrian town called Bohemia. Both his parents were Jewish, and the whole family only spoke German. At the age of 4, Mahler found a piano hidden in his grandmother’s attic. He would secretly play this piano until his parents heard him one day and realized they had a prodigy on their hands. Just 6 years after discovering the piano, Mahler was considered a child prodigy, or Wunderkind (wonder-kin). He gave his first public performance at the town hall at the age of ten, even though he had never had any formal training.
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Mahler was drawn to the music that he heard around him all the time. The military barracks near his home gave him the chance to hear marching style music, and he was fascinated by the songs of the working people in his town. This inspired him, at the age of 4, to begin composing his own music. Gustav used those military sounds, popular music sounds, and a little bit of nature, to compose his music. By the age of 15, he was such a musical genius that he was accepted as a student at the Vienna Conservatory. The Vienna Conservatory is a private institution that is highly regarded worldwide as a leading educational center for music studies.
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Aside from early works such as a movement from a piano quartet, composed when he was a student in Vienna, Gustav Mahler's works are designed for large orchestral forces, symphonic choruses and operatic soloists. Fun Fact about Mahler: Despite his inherited heart trouble, he was an extremely active man—a ruthless musical director, a tireless swimmer, and an indefatigable mountain walker.
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Mahler was a very serious conductor, and a rather bossy one too. The members of his orchestras would often complain about how often and how hard he made them practice and rehearse. It was for this reason that Mahler had a hard time keeping a job as a conductor for very long. Mahler worked in many locations. From Prague, to Liepzig to Budapest he bounced from one appointment to another. He always learned something new at every post that would help him with his next job.
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While at his Vienna post, Mahler caused a revolt among stagehands and performers! They were tired of working so hard for someone who was so demanding. The Nazi party saw this is a way to get the Jewish Mahler out of his role as conductor and encouraged, and supported, the revolt. Mahler didn’t mind. He just quit and went on to conduct for the Metropolitan Opera House in New York.
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