Mahler Symphony No. 1 - 1st Movement - Listening Guide
Very restrained throughout, D major. The first movement is in modified sonata form, with a substantially slow introduction. The introduction begins eerily with a seven-octave drone in the strings on A, with the upper octaves being played on harmonics in the violins. A descending two-note motif is then presented by the woodwinds, and eventually establishes itself into the following repeated pattern:This opening, in its minimalist nature and repeated descending motif, alludes to the first movem...