The Prague Exhibition Grounds

“I have to check the parts, consider how to turn pots for boiling sausages into timpani, a rusted watering can into a trumpet, and a pub into a concert hall. So we patiently set about untangling this mess”, Mahler wrote to his wife Alma from the hotel U Modré hvězdy just before the premiere of his Seventh Symphony. When Alma arrived there, Mahler’s entire room was said to have been covered with scattered pages of the score.

The work was first played on 19 September 1908 at the Jubilee Provincial Exhibition marking the 60th anniversary of the reign of Emperor Franz Joseph I. Crowds were drawn to the Holešovice Exhibition Grounds not only by the industrial marvels on display, but also by Navrátil’s restaurant—an elephant-shaped structure where the Prague Municipal Brewery served refreshments inside the animal itself.

Historical sources do not tell us whether the abstinent Mahler made use of the ponderous pachyderm’s services, but judging from the audience’s reaction, the Czech Philharmonic, reinforced by members of the German orchestra, performed very well.

According to a newspaper review, “If Mahler, who enjoyed access to more celebrated venues, chose Prague for the premiere of his new work, this shows […] among other things, his recognition of Prague’s long-standing musical traditions and the good reputation of the Prague public, which was ready to welcome new musical phenomena with understanding. On this point, the public did not disappoint. Despite the symphony's presentation of much that was unusual and eccentric, exceeding even his previous symphonies in this regard, the work was received respectfully, and in the cases of the second and fourth movements, even warmly.”

Pots for boiling sausages? Listen for yourselves to the timpani in movement V of the Seventh Symphony: