Gustav Mahler
Moritz Nähr, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Standing on the far end of the Romantic Era, Mahler is often considered a bridge into the early modern period.

Mahler's life was full of obstacles. He was born in 1860 into a Jewish family in Bohemia. At age 15, he studied composition at the Vienna Conservatory and began his career as a conductor, holding positions with numerous orchestras across Europe and composing only in his spare time. In 1897, he converted to Catholicism to obtain a position as Director of the Vienna Court Opera, since they would not hire a Jew. He also began conducting the Vienna Philharmonic, which gained him international fame.

He married a young composer named Alma Schindler in 1902, but insisted she stop composing and simply support his efforts, which led to tensions in the marriage. Their eldest daughter, Maria, died in 1907 at the age of 4. Mahler was diagnosed with a severe heart condition later that year, and learned that Alma had been cheating on him. He actually went to Sigmund Freud for therapy, and spent some time in New York, where he conducted the Metropolitan Opera and the New York Philharmonic.

Mahler is most famous for his nine epic symphonies. They are quintessentially Romantic... long, far-reaching works of enormous scale and variety, routinely calling for huge orchestras. His Eighth Symphony, for example, was billed as the "Symphony of a Thousand," written for 200 musicians an 800-piece choir. After this, however, Mahler grew superstitious about the "Curse of the Ninth:" Beethoven, Schubert, Bruckner, and Dvořák had all died after composing their ninth symphonies, before they could complete a tenth. Because of this, he refused to number his ninth symphony, instead calling it "The Song of the Earth: A Symphony." He then composed his tenth symphony but called it his Ninth Symphony, completing in in 1909. Thinking he had broken the curse, he returned to Vienna in 1911. He began composing his eleventh symphony, planning to call it his Tenth Symphony, and died.

Anti-Semitic discrimination continued after Mahler's death, and his work was banned in Germany during the Nazi era, but experienced a massive revival after World War II. His symphonies are now generally considered some of the finest works of musical literature ever composed.