THE forms of Mahler's music undergo a gradual process of refinement
and increasing complexity without ever entirely giving up their basic
simplicity. A case in point are the songs. The simple strophic
Lied (with interpolated contrasting sections) remains the model for
many of his earlier songs; later on a subtle change towards a more
symphonic structure takes effect, still within the narrow limits of the
romantic song; last of all his songs are planned on a more ambitious
scale.

A similar gradual development is noticeable in his textures as the
diatonic homophony and two-part counterpoint of the earlier songs
and symphonies changes almost imperceptibly to the more poly-
phonic manner of the middle symphonies. It is quite possible that
Mahler's increasing interest in Bach led to the adoption of polyphonic
technique in the symphonies of his maturity; but it should not be
forgotten that Mahler was a born contrapuntist and that writing in
canonically intertwined parts came quite easily to him (see Ex. 15 ).
I for one believe that his growing predilection for strict polyphony had
something to do with his tendency to avoid excessive chromaticism
and the over-seasoned harmony of the late romantics. It is a fact
worth noting that fugal writing crops up for the first time in his work
in the finale of Symphony V and that great variety of texture is pro-
vided by the only sets of variations Mahler ever composed: the Adagio
of Symphony IV and the two somewhat similarly planned rondo,
finales of Symphonies V and VII. The climax of these tendencies
was surely reached in the colossal double fugue in the first part of
Symphony VIII ( 'Ductore praevio') and also by the fugal sections of
the 'Rondo-Burleske' in Symphony IX. Mahler's astonishing
mastery of strict fugal writing helped him to exercise the vitality of
his creative faculties, but it was as little an end in itself as was
Bruckner's rarely displayed skill in the writing of choral fugues.
Both were consciously following Beethoven in their application of

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