Symphony No. 9 (Mahler)

The piece is in four movements:

1. Andante comodo
2. In tempo eines gemächlichen Ländlers
3. Rondo-Burleske: Allegro assai
4. Adagio

Although the symphony has the traditional number of movements (four) it is unusual in that the first and last are slow rather than fast. As is often the case in Mahler, one of the middle movements in a ländler.

The work ends quietly, fading away, and is often interpretated as being a self-conscious farewell to the world (Mahler died not long after its completion, and did not live to witness its premiere). However, as Mahler was working on his never-completed Symphony No. 10[?] at the same time as this one, this is perhaps unlikely.

The work was premiered on June 26, 1912 at the Vienna Festival by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Bruno Walter. It was first published in the same year by Universal Edition.