Gustav Mahler

Many people consider Mahler's work to be somewhat difficult to listen to and indeed, his ten symphonies are all complicated works, utilizing features such as choirs, passages played at loud volume and unconventional arrangements. Not surprisingly, many were unpopular when first performed, although Mahler's works have since become some of the most performed and recorded and he is regarded as having bridged the musical gap between the Romanticism of the 19th century and the modern movement of the 20th.

  Gustav Mahler was born in Bohemia (now the Czech Republic) in 1860 and by his early 20s was a successful composer in various European cities, including Prague, Leipzig and Vienna, then the artistic and intellectual center of Eastern Europe. In 1897, Mahler was appointed director of the Vienna State Opera and during the next decade, would transform it into a world class institution. He also began to compose during this time, until being diagnosed with a heart disease in 1907, which forced him to slow down.

Mahler died in 1911 at the age of 50. Today, despite his relatively small musical output, he is considered to be one of the most important and influential of 19th century composers.