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Mahler composed his 8th Symphony in E flat major (the Symphony of a Thousand) at his Forest House at Maiernigg near Klagenfurt in southern Austria. In this lecture Keith James Clarke focuses on this composing house and looks at associations between this 'place' and the music he composed here.

Gresham College

This lecture took place at Gresham College on July 9, 2008.

www.gresham.ac.uk

"Gresham College is an independent institution, governed by a Council and with the Lord Mayor of London as its President. In addition to the free public lectures, the College runs occasional seminars and conferences, and provides support to initiatives by the Gresham Professors and others which seek to reinterpret the new learning of Sir Thomas Gresham's time in contemporary terms."

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Mahler's Heavenly Retreats: Encounters with the master's 'Composing Houses'

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Keith James Clarke, delivers this latest lecture on the building and its surroundings and associations where Mahler created his 8th Symphony in E flat major (the Symphony of a Thousand).

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My take on Mahler's artistic output is distinctively different from others who too have been inspired by his work. I am neither a musicologist nor a historian. Rather, I seek to make use of my understanding of buildings and their surroundings to consider key environmental, aural, visual, spatial and architectural factors that impacted on Mahler's life and music. My viewpoint is supported by the creation of site information of key locations where Mahler composed his works.

This material seeks to define a deeper way of thinking about Mahler - and the forces that influenced him. My investigation embraces music and architecture but this approach needs to be considered in more detail.

Keith James Clarke

There is an evocative and dynamic relationship between Mahler's music and the particular 'places' where he composed his symphonies.

Keith James Clarke

Who are the events for?

The lectures are designed for scholars, music and Mahler enthusiasts and take place at a central London venue with presenters Keith James Clarke and live or recorded contributions by actor Richard Burnip.

What's included?

The multimedia presentations will include film, music and sound recordings, extracts from a specially prepared radio programme together with architectural drawings and analysis to define a new way of thinking about Mahler. The Lecture Series celebrates Mahler's life – his extraordinary music and genius.

During each lecture there will be readings from the book Mahler's Heavenly Retreats: Encounters with the master's Composing Houses.

Who are the speakers?

Architect Keith James Clarke (pictured above) is an Associate Lecturer at Chelsea, Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design and Director of Mahler's Heavenly Retreats. He has practised in Birmingham and London as well as Cambridge where he made a film about one of his commissions. In this investigation he applies his expert knowledge of buildings and their sites to key places where Mahler lived and worked.

Richard Burnip is an actor and historian whose work involves numerous audio books. He is also the voice on various documentary programmes.