Discuss the impact of Beethoven on the development of the symphony until Mahler. Difficult as it may be to define the true relationship of an artist to his successors, this difficulty is enormously increased when the subject is as complex a man and musician as Beethoven. His role as both a “preserver of the eighteenth-century tradition1 and a pioneer of romantic self-expression, has secured his status as one of the most revered composers in the history of Western music. Throughout his symphonic cycle
Mahler’s Second Symphony, this essay will focus on the following aspects: (i) its place within composer’s output, (ii) the inspiration leading to its conception, (iii) the composer’s hallmark, (iv) customary and innovative characteristics, (v)