While Mahler was alive, he always was known as a better conductor than a composer, but he was a ruthless conductor who demanded perfection. His musicians rebelled at him, and the organizers hated his iron-willed determination in running concerts how he believed they should be run. Nonetheless the audience was breath-taken by the outstanding playing and the results pleased everybody. But since he was so difficult to work with, the majority of his life he traveled between Prague, Leipzig, Budapest, Hamburg and Vienna.
Mahler was born on July 17th, 1860 in Bohemia. He was poor and suffered much of his life. He suffered mainly because seven of his brothers and sisters died from diphtheria and another died of a brain tumor. He was the eldest of the survivors and later when he began to compose, he would let these emotions flow heavily. In 1880, after graduating from the Vienna Conservatory, he was selected to conduct in the worst of conditions. This is where his dictatorial conducting style was taken from. From then on he would conduct with the greatest demands and the least patience. He would go on to conduct at several more facilities. He even conducted the New York Philharmonic and the Metropolitan Opera. When he returned to Vienna, he died of a blood clot in 1911.
Mahler's perfectionism caused him to rework several of his pieces. Sometimes he would even change a piece after it had already been performed and received grandly. But Mahler became so great because of his perfectionism on such a grand scale. His nine symphonies are massive. Most of them take well over an hour to perform. They portray despair and longing to the audience.
Mahler's notable pieces include his fifth, first and seventh symphonies. His other works include Songs of the Death of Children, Songs of a Wayfarer and The Youth's Magic Horn.
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