Mahler On The Couch - Nov. 30th

     Before even continuing I should admit that I know very little about Gustav Mahler, but this was too interesting to pass up. As I was walking by Coolidge Corner Theater in Brookline my ultra-inquisitive girlfriend said "Hey Look! It's a movie about Classical Music". I kind of shrugged and laughed cause she always assumes that every music thing we see could be about "classical music". However; she read the title and I immediately stopped "Mahler (pronounced Maaaler cause she's from Kentucky) On The Couch'. It spurred my curiosity so I came home and looked it up. Apparently it was released some time in 2010 to very tame reviews. The subject matter, though, caught me by surprise. The movie deals with a meeting between Gustav Mahler and Sigmund Freud after Mahlers wife confesses her infidelity. This is in 1910 which is a little over a year before his death. Why was this important enough to make a movie about though? I dug deeper.

     The years before Mahler died were intense because he was in the middle of his 9th symphony and beginning the start of this 10th, which was to be incomplete at the time of his death. He was also taking a very demanding schedule conducting and was finding himself having a hard time balancing his work and private life. Up to the completion of this 8th symphony his wife Alma and their experiences together were of great inspiration and importance to him. So when his wife admits her infidelities and he begins his 9th symphony, considered by some to be his greatest work, he is torn between his two loves. The movie seems to chronicle the creation of the 9th symphony and correlates the piece with this events leading up to and after this famed meeting with Sigmund Freud. 

     This movie has certainly struck my attention and even though it's reviews are poor (how many composer biopics can you think of that garner rave reviews??) I still plan on seeing it. The movie opens up on November 30th at Coolidge Corner Theater. It won't be there very long so if you're interested in this you should check the schedule and go see it.

http://www.coolidge.org/content/mahler-couch