Born in Vienna, August 31, 1879
Died in New York, December 11, 19641
- Perhaps best known for her marriage to Gustav Mahler and/or her relationships with some of Europe’s most acclaimed artists, Alma Mahler was also a composer in her own right.
- Alma Mahler’s marriage to Gustav Mahler was famously fraught with challenges, not the least of which was Gustav Mahler’s disapproval of his wife’s compositional aspirations. Consequently, nearly all of Alma Mahler’s works were composed between 1898-1901, before her marriage to Gustav Mahler in 1902.
- As a composer, Alma Mahler exclusively wrote songs (Lieder). Three sets were published during the composer’s lifetime (Fünf Lieder, Vier Lieder, and Fünf Gesänge) along with a small handful of individual songs published posthumously, though her oeuvre likely contains many more pieces that have not been published and/or have been lost.2
- A note on Alma Mahler’s various names – the composer is most commonly referred to as Alma Mahler or Alma Mahler-Werfel today; however, you might find Alma Maria Schindler-Mahler on her published songs because they were composed before her marriage to Gustav Mahler (Schindler was her maiden name).
Biography from Universal Edition
Sources
- Peter Franklin, “Mahler(-Werfel) [née Schindler], Alma Maria,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed July 21, 2022, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000040696.
- Natasha Loges, “Alma Mahler (Schindler-Mahler),” Oxford Lieder (2022), accessed July 21, 2022, https://www.oxfordlieder.co.uk/composer/133.