Mahler Symphony No. 4 - 3rd Movement - Listening Guide

Peacefully, somewhat slowly. Theme and variations. The third movement is a solemn processional march cast as a set of variations. Mahler uses the theme and variation structure in a more unconventional way.

This movement can be divided into five main sections: A1 – B1 – A2 – B2 – A3 – CODA. The theme is presented in the first 16 bars of A1, but the true variations don’t appear until section A3, although the theme is developed slightly within the preceding sections; sections A1, A2, B1, and B2 are in bar form. This movement remains mostly in G major, but does modulate to D minor, E minor, and E major; the B2 section has a rather unstable tonality, being more chromatic and moving through many keys.

---

A listening guide of Symphony No. 4 - 3rd Movement with Lew Smoley.