In the 1970s, a society of LA-based lovers of Mahler created bumper stickers that cemented the composer’s cult status in Southern California and beyond. One even landed on Leonard Bernstein’s score of Mahler’s Sixth Symphony.
From February 19 to March 9, Music & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel leads an exploration of Mahler’s inner world with an eye toward this Angeleno history.
But how does Mahler groove? We asked festival participants and consulted a historical figure to help answer this question....
"The phrase ‘Mahler Grooves’ feels like a wonderfully Southern Californian way of explaining how Mahler’s artistry touches us on these multiple levels. His music doesn’t just play for the ears— it speaks to our hearts, it moves our bodies, and it stirs our souls. It takes us on a journey, from the innocence of childhood to the wisdom of old age, from the joy of love to the sorrow of loss, from playful humor to profound depth. There are moments when it makes us want to dance, to sway with its rhythm; and other times, it pulls us into stillness, resonating deep within us, as if it were a part of nature itself. This festival is a celebration of the full spectrum of Mahler’s genius—his passion, his vulnerability, his grandeur. It’s an invitation to explore, to feel, and to connect with his music in our own unique way.”
“For me, ‘Mahler Grooves’ brings to mind the grooves life made on Mahler, from the deaths of his siblings and child to the infidelity of his wife, his health problems and the criticism his music received, as jack of all trades and one that redefined the art form. It’s even thanks to him that I’m singing songs with orchestra—he was the first to do it. But he seemed very alone. I always think of his quote ‘I am three times homeless, a native of Bohemia in Austria, an Austrian among Germans and a Jew throughout the world.’”
“For a symphony musician, the music of Mahler is the highest attainment of one’s musical journey. For our students, the idea of ‘Mahler Grooves’ connects them with the emotion of his music. The triumph, tragedy, elation, the love, and the joy he captures is relatable to music lovers of any age. Experiencing the deep emotion and the grandeur that is Mahler as a young musician, though, is something that they will carry for a lifetime! For 11 years I’ve had the pleasure to work with YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles) and have seen students as young as 7 years old begin their musical journey, tackling music of Beethoven, Schubert, Wagner, Tchaikovsky—all of the great masters—but the impressions, or ‘grooves,’ of Mahler’s music on us are uniquely meaningful.”
“I don’t know how my boyfriend found out about the Gustav Mahler Society that held meetings in Laurel Canyon. It was 1965, and there was no internet or social media. He must have seen an ad, or newspaper notice. Since he was a year older, I became the youngest member at age 16. William Malloch, who led the society, was tall and striking with a piercing intellect and wry sense of humor. He had hair the length of Franz Liszt that would eventually grow into a very long ponytail. Mahler was consistently near the top when 'High Fidelity' magazine came out with a feature in 1967 that asked all of its music critics which composers do you hate? But for Bill and this counterculture flock, Mahler grooved, which meant he was radical, passionate, moody, and bad ass.”
“Mahler famously said that ‘a symphony must be like the world—it must contain everything,’ and his Symphony No. 2 truly feels that way. While the first and fifth movements take us through intense drama and transformation, I have a special love for the three middle movements, which Mahler treated as ‘intermezzi’. Each offers a unique contrast: the Ländler in the second movement dances with a graceful yet grounded rhythm; the Scherzo in the third swirls with mischief and folk-like energy; then the fourth, Urlicht, shines with a majestic, eternal light. These moments of charm, wit, and beauty represent ‘Mahler Grooves’ for me.”
“In most of his works, Mahler always gets me ‘grooving’ a couple of minutes into the piece. I would rock back and forth to the klezmer-like trio in the third movement of the First Symphony, would nod to the rushing pulses of ‘Das irdische Leben’ from his song cycle 'Des Knaben Wunderhorn,' or would be just physically overwhelmed by basically any finale of his symphonies. Mahler, for me, never fails to build up tension and epic-ness through his ‘groovy’ rhythmical patterns.”
"[Mahler] was struggling all his life to recapture those pure, unmixed, overflowing emotions of childhood. I’m sure you’ve all had emotions like that, that filled-up feeling that nature sometimes makes you have, especially in the spring, when you almost want to cry because everything is so beautiful. Well, Mahler’s music is full of those feelings and full of the sounds of nature, like bird calls and hunting horns and forest murmurs—which are all part of his idea of beauty, childlike beauty. Here was this grown-up, very sophisticated, learned man, with children of his own and a heart full of struggles between the different voices fighting inside him, always trying to feel pure and innocent again, like a child. And that, too, is another one of those battles he had, the battle of the double man—half man, half child.”
Members of Santa Monica High School also contributed their thoughts on how Mahler grooves:
“To me, the phrase ‘Mahler Grooves’ captures the rhythmic intensity and emotional depth that makes his music feel alive. Whether it’s the driving momentum of his tempo, or the dance-like passages that blend darkness with exhilaration, his music grooves by pulling us into its flow. It’s not just about rhythm but the emotion shifting seamlessly between tenderness to chaos. His music grooves by constantly surprising and transforming.”
FEBEN AYELE, VIOLIN, 11TH GRADE
“An ignored composer recognized only for his conducting until after he passed away—groovy. Music that calms, excites, sparks nerves, induces melancholy, and leads to reflection—groovy. A nervous skeptic that created breathtakingly beautiful pieces that leave you utterly speechless—now that's Mahler groovy.”
NATHAN DEBEECH, VIOLIN, 12TH GRADE
“Mahler Grooves represents the relentless waves of emotion that roll over the listener. The ‘groove’ of his music swells into heart-wrenching moments that elicit grooves to crack along one’s face. Whether these are dimples of joy framing one’s smile or lines of sorrow stretching between temples, Mahler’s music touches everyone who opens their ears and, more so, their heart.”
GRAYSON FITZGERALD, BASS, 11TH GRADE
“The phrase, ‘Mahler grooves’ means the dramatic motifs spread throughout his works. The connection between his symphonies with repetition is what really imprints a sense of yearning. It’s like you’re reading a series of books, constantly wanting more.”
AMBER FRENCH, FLUTE/PICCOLO, 11TH GRADE
“To me, ‘Mahler Grooves’ means the way in which Mahler's music is able to evoke emotion in those who listen to it. The emotion evoked is almost irrelevant, because the process, the way the music brings these emotions out of us is so...well, groovy!”
ROSE GALLAGHER, CELLO, 12TH GRADE
“The grooves in an LP are dimpled, and its formations are carved out of the specific music and sounds it plays. So Mahler ‘grooves’ are the canyons and scenery that his music paints when I hear his work; particularly Totenfeier.
ORIANE LA CHAPELLE, VIOLIN, 9TH GRADE
“To me, when I hear the phrase Mahler Grooves, I imagine a large valley, with a river going down the middle. It is sunset, and Mahler’s serene horn solo at the end of the first movement of his fourth symphony is playing. I imagine that it is pushing the sun down the horizon, signaling a brilliant end to the day.”
ADAM ORSHANSKY, VIOLIN, 10TH GRADE
“The phrase ‘Mahler Grooves’ is the feeling that I get when I listen and play Mahler. The beautiful theme that the viola and cellos have in Totenfeier sets a calm, tranquil scene that puts my mind at ease. I also feel that the triplet rhythm makes Mahler’s Totenfeier groovy and exciting.”
ADELINE RADER, VIOLA, 10TH GRADE
“Mahler Grooves encapsulates the feeling of when his landscapes of notes sweep me away. Where each performance has a distinctly different flavor of expression and gives me a new surprise.”
IAN RHIE-KIM, CELLO, 10TH GRADE
“Mahler Grooves, to me, refers to the pulse and flow of Mahler’s music, and how it moves with intensity, but also a tenderness and natural energy. Its a type of ‘groove’ that will stay with you, even after the final note of the music has been played.
LYAM SHAPOURI, CELLO, 11TH GRADE
“Mahler Grooves to me represents the many different styles Mahler incorporates into one piece. In Totenfeier, we are constantly switching between sweet major keys that sound beautiful to suspenseful chords that keep you on the edge of your seat. As a musician during this piece, I get chills as Mahler's composition seamlessly switches tone smoothly, in a ‘groovy' way.”
MARCO SUNG, TRUMPET, 12TH GRADE
“I think the phrase, ‘Mahler Grooves’ doesn't represent a quality of Mahler's music, but his life. Mahler led a life full of loss and regret, and yet he kept writing. I think the expression, ‘Mahler Grooves,’ is the perfect way to express Mahler's devout determination to express feelings of life, in a vast musical space.
LUKE TERLIZZI, TROMBONE, 12TH GRADE
“’Mahler Grooves’ are shown when his incredible music takes you along a whole journey to the end of the universe, like in Totenfeier, when the strings start an epic descent, with the winds closely following, representing supernatural ghostly voices of mortality. The entire orchestra continues to spiral down into the underworld, with the powerful brass pushing through the gates of hell. In this passage, the thundering waves of sound create ominous Mahler grooves that reflect the inevitable approach of death.”
ELI TOBEL, CLARINET, 10TH GRADE
“When I first saw the title, ‘Mahler Grooves,’ my initial reaction was to imagine Mahler himself grooving out on a dance floor. But in all seriousness, to me this term conveys the connections between his pieces, and their effect on the audience when played in succession.”
SILAS TROPEA-LESTER, OBOE, 11TH GRADE
“'Mahler Grooves’ means to capture the unexpected rhythm and intensity of the music—the way the symphonies pulse and flow with intimacy. There are moments where the music has this almost jazzy, syncopated quality, pulling you in with its unexpected swells and shifts. It’s as if Mahler was not just composing symphonies, but creating these deep, layered grooves that resonate with us on an emotional and even physical level.”
NAOMI XIA, VIOLIN, 11TH GRADE