Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Literature, Art and Human Development (ICLAHD 2025)

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Mahler’s Symphony No. 9: An Analysis of Orchestration and Its Philosophical Implications

Authors
Ming Yuan1, *
1Music Performance, Conservatory of Music, Henan University, Kaifeng, Henan, China
*Corresponding author. Email: chixiu@asu.edu.pl
Corresponding Author
Ming Yuan
Available Online 31 December 2025.
DOI
10.2991/978-2-38476-511-9_12How to use a DOI?
Keywords
Mahler; Symphony No.9; Orchestration; Philosophical Implications
Abstract

This paper centers on a systematic analysis of the orchestration techniques of Mahler's Symphony No.9 and explores the existential theme and the consciousness of death embodied in his music from a philosophical perspective. Through the analysis of the four movements, the paper analyzes in detail how Mahler utilizes the combination of instruments, acoustic levels, and contrasts of strengths and weaknesses in different passages to express multi-level emotions such as anxiety, irony, struggle and acceptance, etc. The author believes that Mahler's orchestration method is not only technically mature but also has the ability to be used in a variety of different ways. In the author's opinion, Mahler's orchestration method is not only technically mature, but also deeply reflects a kind of philosophical thinking. Through the construction and dissolution of sound, he lets the listener experience the tension of existence and death in the music. This practice of using orchestration as a means of philosophical expression makes the Symphony No.9 a masterpiece with both musical and intellectual depth.

Copyright
© 2025 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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Volume Title
Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Literature, Art and Human Development (ICLAHD 2025)
Series
Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research
Publication Date
31 December 2025
ISBN
978-2-38476-511-9
ISSN
2352-5398
DOI
10.2991/978-2-38476-511-9_12How to use a DOI?
Copyright
© 2025 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Cite this article

risenwbib
TY  - CONF
AU  - Ming Yuan
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/12/31
TI  - Mahler’s Symphony No. 9: An Analysis of Orchestration and Its Philosophical Implications
BT  - Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Literature, Art and Human Development (ICLAHD 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 102
EP  - 120
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-511-9_12
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-511-9_12
ID  - Yuan2025
ER  -