The Turn in the Finale of Mahler’s Ninth Symphony as Allusion to Wagner’s Parsifal

Abstract

The finale of Mahler’s Ninth Symphony is saturated with turn figures. More than a traditional Baroque embellishment, in this movement the turn establishes a densely motivic role while simultaneously, on three occasions, functioning as an allusion to the Heilandsklage motive (the “Savior’s Lament”) of Wagner’s Parsifal. Yet despite the wealth of literature on Mahler’s Ninth Symphony, the turn figure has been almost entirely overlooked in Mahler studies, both as motivic device and intertextual reference. This article fills this gap and provides a detailed investigation into the role of the turn in the finale of Mahler’s Ninth Symphony as both a motive and allusion to Wagner’s Heilandsklage. It begins by exploring Mahler’s relationship with Wagner’s last drama before examining the appearance of the Heilandsklage motive in Mahler’s songs and symphonies more broadly. Following this, it embarks on a detailed investigation into the turn in the finale of the Ninth Symphony and offers a fundamental rethinking of the turn, not simply as a musical ornament, but as a tool for musical and intertextual meaning in Mahler’s and Wagner’s works.