Quick Facts
- A “symphonic fantasy” in three movements based on the famous tale by Hans Christian Andersen
- Written between 1902-03
- Premiered in 1905 at Vienna’s Musikverein conducted by the composer
About the Piece
- Zemlinsky began writing The Mermaid shortly after a humiliating rejection from Alma Mahler, which makes the emotional intensity of the piece all the more visceral.1
- The composer tells the story musically through a series of distinct motives, such as an ascending figure depicting the bottom of the ocean and a lyrical solo violin representing the mermaid.
- Following the work’s premiere, Zemlinsky withdrew the score from public performance. The work was only rediscovered in its entirety in 1984 and has since been gradually making more regular appearances in the concert hall.2
Short synopsis of Andersen’s The Little Mermaid:
The Little Mermaid, daughter of the Sea King, is allowed to visit the surface of the ocean for the first time on her 15th birthday. She observes the birthday celebrations for a handsome prince aboard a nearby ship and instantly falls in love. A violent storm soon sinks the ship, and the little mermaid saves the prince from drowning, though the prince doesn’t know who has saved him.
Desperate to be reunited with her love, the little mermaid visits the sea witch to become human in exchange for her voice. As an additional condition to the transformation, the prince must reciprocate the little mermaid’s love for her and marry her for the mermaid to continue living as a human. If the prince marries another, the little mermaid will die and dissolve into the sea.
The little mermaid successfully becomes acquainted with the prince in her human form but ultimately fails to win his love – the prince marries a princess from a neighboring realm. However, before she dies, the little mermaid’s sisters deliver a dagger from the sea witch with which she can turn back into a mermaid and save her life… if she kills the prince. The little mermaid refuses and dissolves into sea foam.
However, due to her selflessness, the little doesn’t cease to exist but instead transforms into a spirit, a “daughter of the air.” By performing good deeds for the next 300 years, she will earn a soul and enter Heaven.
Sources
- Antony Beaumont, “Zemlinsky [Zemlinszky], Alexander,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed March 30, 2023, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000030919.
- John Mangum, “The Little Mermaid,” L. A. Phil, accessed March 31, 2023, https://www.laphil.com/musicdb/pieces/743/the-little-mermaid.
Cut IDs
20873