Villa Mahler

Dear Reader, if you have been reading my blogs attentively (there will be a test afterwards), you will remember that I mentioned that the great Austrian composer Gustav Mahler spent a few summers in Toblach. It turned out to be the last three summers of his life, 1908-10. He wrote his Ninth Symphony and the uncompleted Tenth here, as well as that stupendous song cycle "Das Lied von der Erde". Interestingly, the later work uses Chinese poetry (translated into German by Hans Bethge). But these are the alpine views he saw every day which inspired him to write his magnificent music. You may remember that the last song, "Abschied" (which lasts a half hour) is a leave-taking from the earth and its beauties. Mahler was very ill at that time and knew his days were numbered. So, it was particularly touching for me to stop by the Mahler Villa and see the house where he lived (it's actually a few kilometers outside of the town). The downstairs now houses a restaurant; I had lunch there: Polenta with Pfifferlinge (wild mushrooms). Delizioso! There is a commemorative plaque on the outside of the house (see photo). Toblach milks the Mahler association for all it's worth. There is a major Mahler festival here every summer and a nice statue to the composer in the town square. Lucky Toblach. A genius lived here.