Exotic and Topical References in Gustav Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde

This article discusses the topical content of Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde in the context of the “exotic” character of the work. The work combines the formal layout of the symphony with that of the song, thus bringing together the extrovert attributes of a social genre with the introvert touch of a private musical manifestation. This also means the synthesis of elements apparently disparate, but that with Mahler become amazingly similar. Das Lied von der Erde is set in a timeless, seductive Far East, in which nature functions as the main actor and the human subject gradually becomes a part of its forces. Seen through Mahler’s eyes, the musical Orient is allotted a vocabulary of signifiers that stand rather for the long Western canonical tradition than for a genuine representation of the “Other”.