Release Date: April 8, 2011

National Gallery of Art Events Note 100th Anniversary of the Death of Gustav Mahler

Washington, DC—The legacy of Gustav Mahler (1860–1911) extends to the National Gallery of Art, which has in its permanent collection a bronze bust of the composer, sculpted and cast in 1909 by Auguste Rodin. Gallery talks and lectures on the subject of this sculpture and related art, a film, and a concert are scheduled for spring 2011, commemorating Mahler’s death on May 18, 1911.

All programs are free of charge and open to the public on a first-come, first-seated basis.

Lecture Series

Gustav Mahler and Fin-de-Siècle Vienna
David Gariff, lecturer, National Gallery of Art
These lectures take place at 2:00 p.m. in the West Building Lecture Hall.

Gustav Mahler and Fin-de-Siècle Vienna
May 18

Gustav Klimt and the Vienna Secession
May 25

Provocations of the Body: The Art of Egon Schiele
June 1

The Expressionist Language of Oskar Kokoschka
June 8

Gallery Talk

Public tours focusing on Auguste Rodin’s 1909 bust of Mahler and related art will be given by the adult programs department of the education division. For additional times and topics, please consult the bimonthly calendar of events or the Gallery Talks section of the Gallery’s website at www.nga.gov/programs/galtalks.

Gustav Mahler by Auguste Rodin
May 6, 13, 20, 27 at 1:00 p.m.
June 4, 5, 9, 16 at 2:00 p.m.
West Building, Rotunda
David Gariff, lecturer, National Gallery of Art
(30 mins.)

Film

Death in Venice
Sunday, May 15, at 4:00 p.m.
East Building Auditorium

Visconti’s epic adaptation of Thomas Mann’s novella, filmed on location in the Grand Hôtel des Bains, Piazza San Marco, and other sites around Venice and the Veneto, changes Mann’s original writer protagonist into the composer Gustav von Aschenbach. The film, with its sensuous soundtrack consisting of Adagietto from Mahler’s Fifth Symphony and sections from the composer’s Third Symphony, is screened on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Mahler’s death in May 1911. Visconti envisioned specific parallels to the composer’s life and work. (Luchino Visconti, 1971, 35 mm, 130 minutes)

Concert

Alexandria Symphony Orchestra
Kim Allen Kluge, music director
Sunday, May 22, at 6:30 p.m.
Music by Gustav Mahler
East Building Atrium

The East Building Atrium will be the setting for a performance of Mahler’s monumental First Symphony. Seating begins 30 minutes prior to the concert.