Alma Maria Mahler Gropius Werfel (born Alma Margaretha Maria Schindler; 31 August 1879 – 11 December 1964) was an Austrian composer, author, editor, and socialite. At 15, she was mentored by

Max Burckhard Max Burckhard (14 July 1854, Korneuburg, Lower Austria - 16 March 1912, Vienna) was director of the Burgtheater, Vienna, from 1890 to 1898. Vita Max Burckhard, a lawyer, was the artistic director of the Burgtheater when it opened as the “ ...

. Musically active from her early years, she was the composer of nearly fifty songs for voice and piano, and works in other genres as well. Only 17 songs are known to survive. In her early years, she had an affair with composer and conductor

Alexander von Zemlinsky Alexander Zemlinsky or Alexander von Zemlinsky (14 October 1871 – 15 March 1942) was an Austrian composer, conductor, and teacher. Biography Early life Zemlinsky was born in Vienna to a highly diverse family. Zemlinsky's grandfather, Anton S ...

, but their relationship did not last long. She became the wife of composer Gustav Mahler, who was not interested in her compositions. Eventually she fell into depression from being artistically stifled. While her marriage was struggling, she had an affair with

Walter Gropius Walter Adolph Georg Gropius (18 May 1883 – 5 July 1969) was a German-American architect and founder of the Bauhaus School, who, along with Alvar Aalto, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier and Frank Lloyd Wright, is widely regarded as one ...

. Gustav started to encourage Alma's composing and helped prepare some of her compositions for publication, but died soon after this attempted reconciliation in 1911. Alma married Gropius in 1915 and the couple had a daughter together,

Manon Gropius Alma Manon Anna Justina Carolina Gropius (5 October 1916 – 22 April 1935) was the daughter of the architect Walter Gropius and the composer and diarist Alma Mahler and the stepdaughter of the novelist and poet Franz Werfel. She is a ''Randfigur' ...

. During her marriage to Gropius, Alma had an affair with

Franz Werfel Franz Viktor Werfel (; 10 September 1890 – 26 August 1945) was an Austrian- Bohemian novelist, playwright, and poet whose career spanned World War I, the Interwar period, and World War II. He is primarily known as the author of ''The For ...

. Alma and Werfel were eventually married after Alma separated from Gropius. In 1938, after the

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...

, Werfel and Alma were forced to flee Austria as it was unsafe for Jews. Eventually the couple settled in Los Angeles. In later years, her salon became part of the artistic scene, first in Vienna, then in Los Angeles and in New York.

Early years

Alma Maria Schindler was born on 31 August 1879 in Vienna, Austria (then

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

) to the famous landscape painter Emil Jakob Schindler and his wife Anna Sofie. She was tutored at home and brought up in the Catholic Church. In 1886,

Crown Prince Rudolf en, Rudolph Francis Charles Joseph , caption = Rudolf in 1887 , spouse = , issue = Elisabeth Marie, Princess Otto of Windisch-Graetz , house = Habsburg-Lorraine , father = Franz Joseph I of Austria , mother ...

found interest in Emil Jakob Schindler's paintings and commissioned Schindler to take a trip with his family to the Adriatic coast to produce landscape paintings. In 1892, the family also traveled to the North Sea island of Sylt, where Emil Schindler died. After her father's death, Alma focused on the piano. She studied composition and counterpoint with Josef Labor, a blind organist who introduced her to a "great deal of literature". At 15, she was sent to school but attended for only a few months. As she grew older, a case of childhood measles left her with decreased hearing.

, friend of Emil Schindler and director of Vienna's Burgtheater theater, became Alma's mentor. On Alma's 17th birthday, Burckhard gave her two laundry baskets full of books. In 1895, Anna Schindler, Alma's mother, married Carl Moll, Emil Schindler's student. In 1899 they had a daughter together named Maria. Alma met Gustav Klimt through Carl Moll. Moll and Klimt were both founding members of the

Vienna Secession The Vienna Secession (german: Wiener Secession; also known as ''the Union of Austrian Artists'', or ''Vereinigung Bildender Künstler Österreichs'') is an art movement, closely related to Art Nouveau, that was formed in 1897 by a group of Austr ...

, "a group organized for the purpose of breaking with Vienna's tradition-bound Imperial Academy of the visual arts". Klimt fell in love with Alma. While she initially was interested in Klimt, her desire cooled soon after. Klimt and Alma were friends until Klimt's death. In autumn 1900, Alma began studying composition with

. Zemlinsky and Alma fell in love and kept their relationship a secret. Gustav Mahler 1909

Alma teased Zemlinsky about what she thought were his ugly features, saying she could easily have "ten others" to replace him. She also noted that to marry Zemlinsky would mean she would "bring short, degenerate Jew-children into the world". As the relationship grew strained, Zemlinsky visited her less and less. On 7 November 1901, she attended Zuckerkandl's salon where she began a flirtation with Gustav Mahler. In the month of November, while still in a relationship with Zemlinsky, she started an affair with Mahler. By 8 December, Mahler and Alma secretly were engaged; however, it was not until 12 December that she wrote to Zemlinsky about her engagement. The engagement was formally announced on 23 December.

Marriage to Gustav Mahler

On 9 March 1902, she married Gustav Mahler, who was 23 years her senior and the director of the Vienna Court Opera. With him she had two daughters, Maria Anna (1902–1907), who died of scarlet fever or

diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild clinical course, but in some outbreaks more than 10% of those diagnosed with the disease may die. Signs and s ...

, and Anna (1904–1988), who later became a sculptor. Gustav was not interested in Alma's composition, desiring for her to abandon composing. However, it is disputed among scholars whether or not Gustav outright forbade Alma Mahler to compose. Despite this scholarly confusion, she did artistically stifle herself and embraced the role of a loving wife and supporter of her husband's music. In June 1910, after becoming severely depressed in the wake of Maria's death, Alma began an affair with the young architect

(later head of the

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 20 ...

), whom she met during a rest at a spa. Gustav sought advice from

Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies explained as originating in conflicts ...

in August. The 2010 film '' Mahler on the Couch'' suggests that Gustav's consultations with Freud might have focused on his curtailing of Alma's musical career as a major marital obstacle, but the actual content of them is not known. Following the emotional crisis in their marriage after Gustav's discovery of Alma's affair with Gropius, Gustav began to take a serious interest in Alma's musical compositions, regretting his earlier dismissive attitude and taking promotional actions. Gustav edited some of her songs (''Die stille Stadt, In meines Vaters Garten, Laue Sommernacht, Bei dir ist es traut, Ich wandle unter Blumen''). Upon his urging, and under his guidance, Alma prepared five of her songs for publication (they were issued in 1910, by Gustav's own publisher,

Universal Edition Universal Edition (UE) is a classical music publishing firm. Founded in 1901 in Vienna, they originally intended to provide the core classical works and educational works to the Austrian market (which had until then been dominated by Leipzig-bas ...

). In February 1911, Gustav fell severely ill with an infection related to a heart defect that had been diagnosed several years earlier. He died on 18 May.

Relationship with Walter Gropius

After Gustav's death, Alma did not immediately resume contact with Gropius. Between 1912 and 1914 she had a tumultuous affair with the artist

Oskar Kokoschka Oskar Kokoschka (1 March 1886 – 22 February 1980) was an Austrian artist, poet, playwright, and teacher best known for his intense expressionistic portraits and landscapes, as well as his theories on vision that influenced the Viennese Expres ...

, who created works inspired by his relationship with her, including his painting '' The Bride of the Wind''. Kokoschka's possessiveness wore on Alma, and the emotional vicissitudes of the relationship tired them both. With the coming of World War I, Kokoschka enlisted in the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army (, literally "Ground Forces of the Austro-Hungarians"; , literally "Imperial and Royal Army") was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint arm ...

. Alma subsequently distanced herself from Kokoschka and resumed contact with Walter Gropius, who was also serving in combat at that time. She and Gropius married on 18 August 1915 in Berlin during one of his military leaves. They had a daughter together,

(1916–1935), who grew up being friends with

Maria Altmann Maria Altmann (née Maria Victoria Bloch, later Bloch-Bauer; February 18, 1916 – February 7, 2011) was an Austrian-American Jewish refugee from Austria, who fled her home country after it was annexed to the Third Reich. She is noted for her u ...

. After Manon died of

polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...

at the age of 18, composer Alban Berg dedicated his newly composed

Violin Concerto A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up thro ...

to her, "In Memory of an Angel". Alma became pregnant and gave birth to a son, Martin Carl Johannes Gropius (1918–1919). Gropius at first believed that the child was his, but Alma's ongoing affair with

was common knowledge in Vienna by this time. Within a year, Alma and Gropius agreed to a divorce. In the meantime, Martin, who had been born prematurely, developed

hydrocephalus Hydrocephalus is a condition in which an accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) occurs within the brain. This typically causes increased pressure inside the skull. Older people may have headaches, double vision, poor balance, urinary inc ...

and died at the age of 10 months. Alma's divorce from Gropius became final in October 1920.

Relationship with Franz Werfel

Wohnung von Franz Werfel und Alma Mahler-Werfel in Sanary

While Gropius's military duties were still keeping him absent, Alma met and began an affair with Prague-born poet and writer

in the fall of 1917. She and Werfel began openly living together from that point on. However, she postponed marrying Werfel until 1929, after which she took the name Alma Mahler-Werfel. In 1938, following the ''

'', Alma and Werfel, who was Jewish, were forced to flee Austria for France; they maintained a household in Sanary-sur-Mer on the French Riviera from the summer of 1938 until the spring of 1940. With the German invasion and occupation of France during World War II, and the deportation of Jews and political adversaries to

Nazi concentration camps From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps, (officially) or (more commonly). The Nazi concentration camps are distinguished from other types of Nazi camps such as forced-labor camps, as well as con ...

, the couple was no longer safe in France and frantically sought to secure their emigration to the United States. In Marseille, they were contacted by

Varian Fry Varian Mackey Fry (October 15, 1907 – September 13, 1967) was an American journalist. Fry ran a rescue network in Vichy France that helped approximately 2,000 to 4,000 anti-Nazi and Jewish refugees to escape Nazi Germany and the Holocaust ...

, an American journalist and emissary of the Emergency Rescue Committee, a private American relief organization that aided refugee intellectuals and artists at that time. As exit visas could not be obtained, Fry arranged for the Werfels to journey on foot across the Pyrenees into Spain, to evade the

Vichy French Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...

border officials. From Spain, Alma and Franz traveled on to Portugal. They stayed in Monte Estoril, at the Grande Hotel D'Itália, between 8 September and 4 October 1940. On the same day, they boarded the ''S.S. Nea Hellas'' headed for New York City, arriving on 13 October. Eventually they settled in Los Angeles, where Alma continued her role as a hostess, bringing together Arnold Schoenberg, Igor Stravinsky,

Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...

, and many other artists. Werfel, who had enjoyed moderate renown in the U.S. as an author, achieved popular success with his novel '' The Song of Bernadette,'' and the science fiction novel ''Star of the Unborn'', published after his death. Werfel, who had experienced serious heart problems throughout his exile, died of a heart attack in California in 1945.

Cultural icon in the U.S.

In 1946, Mahler-Werfel became a U.S. citizen. Several years later she moved to New York City, where she remained a cultural figure. Leonard Bernstein, who was a champion of Gustav Mahler's music, stated in his

Charles Eliot Norton lectures The Charles Eliot Norton Professorship of Poetry at Harvard University was established in 1925 as an annual lectureship in "poetry in the broadest sense" and named for the university's former professor of fine arts. Distinguished creative figure ...

of 1973 that Mahler-Werfel had attended some of his rehearsals.

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

, considering her to be a "living" link to both Mahler and Alban Berg, dedicated his '' Nocturne for Tenor and Small Orchestra'' to her.

Death

Alma Mahler-Werfel died 11 December 1964 in New York City. She was buried on 8 February 1965 in the

Grinzing Cemetery Grinzing () was an independent municipality until 1892 and is today a part of Döbling, the 19th district of Vienna. Wien.gv.at webpage (see below: References). Geography Location Grinzing lies in the northwest of Vienna and, with an ar ...

of Vienna in the same grave as her daughter Manon Gropius and a few steps away from Gustav Mahler.

Nazi-looted art

In 1999, the granddaughter of Mahler-Werfel requested that five artworks seized under the Nazis be restituted to the family. The paintings were “A summer's night on the beach” (1902) by Edvard Munch and three landscapes by her great-grandfather Emil Jakob Schindler. Alma Werfel had loaned the paintings to the Oesterreichische Galerie before fleeing the Nazis; Carl Moll, a militant Nazi, gained control of them, selling the Munch to the Oesterreichische Galerie in 1940 and keeping the others until, fearing retribution from the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

, he committed suicide. Mahler-Werfel filed claims after the war but was able to recover only the Kokoschka portrait. When Austria modified its extremely restrictive restitution laws, the granddaughter revived the claims. Austria initially rejected the claim. After a restitution battle that lasted six decades, Austria finally agreed to restitute the stolen Munch in 2006.

The Alma Problem

Mahler-Werfel's two books on Gustav Mahler influenced studies of the latter. As an articulate, well-connected, and influential woman who outlived her first husband by more than 50 years, Mahler-Werfel was for decades treated as the main authority on the mature Gustav Mahler's values, character, and day-to-day behavior, and her various publications quickly became the central source material for Mahler scholars and music-lovers alike. As scholars investigated her depiction of Mahler and her relationship with him, her accounts have increasingly been revealed as unreliable, false, and misleading. Nevertheless, the deliberate distortions have had a significant influence on several generations of scholars, interpreters, and music-lovers. Citing the serious contradictions between Alma's accounts and other evidence, including her own diaries, several historians and biographers have begun to speak of the Alma Problem. According to

Hugh Wood Hugh Wood (27 June 1932 – 14 August 2021) was a British composer. Biography Wood was born in Parbold, Lancashire and grew up in a musical family; while still a teenager, he was encouraged by the composer Alan Bush. He says that his "earlies ...

: "Often she is the only witness, and the biographer has to depend on her while doubting with every sentence her capacity for telling the truth. Everything that passed through her hands must be regarded as tainted".

As a composer

Alma played the piano from childhood and in her memoirs (''Mein Leben''), reports that she first attempted composing in the beginning of 1888 on the Greek island of Corfu. She studied composition with

Josef Labor Josef Paul Labor (29 June 1842 – 26 April 1924) was an Austrian pianist, organist, and composer of the late Romantic era. Labor was an influential music teacher. As a friend of some key figures in Vienna, his importance was enhanced. Biogr ...

beginning in 1894 or 1895 and until 1901. She met

in early 1900, began composition lessons with him that fall, and continued as his student until her engagement to Gustav Mahler in December 1901, after which she ceased composing. Until this time, she had composed or sketched mostly Lieder, but around 20 piano pieces and a small number of chamber music works, and a scene from an opera. She briefly resumed composing in 1910, but stopped in 1915. The chronology of her compositions is difficult to establish because she did not date her manuscripts and destroyed many of them herself. Attempts to establish a chronological list of her works have been made by Susanne Rode-Breymann in 1999 and 2014, and by Knud Martner in 2018. A total of 17 songs by her survive. Fourteen were published during her lifetime in three publications dated 1910, 1915, and 1924. The first two volumes appeared under the name Alma Maria Schindler-Mahler, and the last volume was published as "Fünf Gesänge" by Alma Maria Mahler; the cover of the 1915 set was illustrated by Oskar Kokoschka. Three additional songs were discovered in manuscript posthumously; two of them were published in the year 2000, edited by Dr. Susan M. Filler, and one published in 2018, edited by Barry Millington. Her personal papers, including music manuscripts, are held at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, the Austrian National Library in Vienna, and the Bavarian State Library in Munich. These songs have been performed and recorded regularly since the 1980s. Orchestral versions of the accompaniments have been produced. Seven songs were orchestrated by

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

and

Colin Matthews Colin Matthews, OBE (born 13 February 1946) is an English composer of contemporary classical music. Noted for his large-scale orchestral compositions, Matthews is also a prolific arranger of other composer's music, including works by Berlioz, ...

(published by Universal Edition), and all 17 songs were orchestrated by Julian Reynolds, and by

Jorma Panula Jorma Juhani Panula (born 10 August 1930) is a Finnish conductor, composer, and teacher of conducting. He has mentored many Finnish conductors, such as Esa-Pekka Salonen, Mikko Franck, Sakari Oramo, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Osmo Vänskä and Klaus ...

Works

Compositions cited from ''Mahler, A Complete Songs'' unless otherwise noted. * Five Songs for voice and piano (published in January 1911) **(i) ''Die stille Stadt'' (The Quiet Town;

Richard Dehmel Richard Fedor Leopold Dehmel (18 November 1863 – 8 February 1920) was a German poet and writer. Life A forester's son, Richard Dehmel was born in Hermsdorf near Wendisch Buchholz (now a part of Münchehofe) in the Brandenburg Province, Ki ...

) **(ii) ''In meines Vaters Garten'' (In My Father's Garden; Erich Otto Hartleben)
''Note'': The original poem is entitled ''Französisches Wiegenlied'' or ''Volkslied'', and was composed between May and August 1899. **(iii) ''Laue Sommernacht'' (Mild Summer's Night; Bierbaum)
''Note'': The original title of the poem is ''Gefunden''. **(iv) ''Bei dir ist es traut'' (With You It Is Pleasant; Rilke) **(v) ''Ich wandle unter Blumen'' (I Stroll Among Flowers; Heine) *Four Songs for voice and piano (published in June 1915) **(i) ''Licht in der Nacht'' (Light in the Night; Bierbaum) **(ii) ''Waldseligkeit'' (Woodland Bliss; Dehmel) **(iii) ''Ansturm'' (Storm; Dehmel) **(iv) ''Erntelied'' (Harvest Song; Gustav Falke)The original title is ''Gesang am Morgen'' (Song at Dawn). *Five Songs for voice and piano (published in April 1924) **(i) ''Hymne'' (Hymn;

Novalis Georg Philipp Friedrich Freiherr von Hardenberg (2 May 1772 – 25 March 1801), pen name Novalis (), was a German polymath who was a writer, philosopher, poet, aristocrat and mystic. He is regarded as an idiosyncratic and influential figure of ...

) **(ii) ''Ekstase'' (Ecstasy; Bierbaum) **(iii) ''Der Erkennende'' (The Recognizer; Werfel) **(iv) ''Lobgesang'' (Song of Praise; Dehmel) **(v) ''Hymne an die Nacht'' (Hymn to the Night; Novalis) Posthumously published **''Leise weht ein erstes Blühn'' (Softly Drifts a First Blossom; Rilke), for voice and piano (published 2000 by Susan M. Filler) **''Kennst du meine Nächte?'' (Do You Know My Nights?; Leo Greiner), for voice and piano (published 2000 by Susan M. Filler) **''Einsamer Gang'' (Lonely Walk, Leo Greiner), for voice and piano (published London 2018 by Barry Millington)

In popular culture

American satirist

Tom Lehrer Thomas Andrew Lehrer (; born April 9, 1928) is an American former musician, singer-songwriter, satirist, and mathematician, having lectured on mathematics and musical theater. He is best known for the pithy and humorous songs that he recorded in ...

described her obituary as “the juiciest, spiciest, raciest obituary it has ever been my pleasure to read”. It prompted him to write the ballad, "Alma", portraying her as "the loveliest girl in Vienna ... the smartest as well" who became a difficult, temperamental companion to the work-absorbed Mahler, Gropius, and Werfel as each in turn came under her "spell". Of her relationship to Mahler he sang: "Their marriage, however, was murdah/ He'd scream to the heavens above/ 'I'm writing ''

Das Lied von der Erde ''Das Lied von der Erde'' ("The Song of the Earth") is an orchestral song cycle for two voices and orchestra written by Gustav Mahler between 1908 and 1909. Described as a symphony when published, it comprises six songs for two singers who alte ...

''/ and she only vants to make love! In the 1974 film ''

Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

'', by director Ken Russell, Gustav Mahler, while on his last train journey, remembers the important events of his life, such as his relationship with his wife, the deaths of his brother and young daughter, and his trouble with the muses. In the film, Alma was portrayed by

Georgina Hale Georgina Hale (born 4 August 1943) is an English film, television and stage actress. She is best known for her roles in the films of director Ken Russell, including '' The Devils'' (1971), '' The Boy Friend'' (1971), and ''Mahler'' (1974), for ...

and Gustav by

Robert Powell Robert Powell (; born 1 June 1944) is an English actor who is known for the title roles in '' Mahler'' (1974) and ''Jesus of Nazareth'' (1977), and for his portrayal of secret agent Richard Hannay in '' The Thirty Nine Steps'' (1978) and its s ...

. In 1996, Israeli writer Joshua Sobol and Austrian director

Paulus Manker Paulus Manker (born 25 January 1958) is an Austrian film director and actor, as well as an author and screenplay writer. Manker is considered one of the most maverick German-speaking actors, and polarizes public opinion like scarcely no other. H ...

created the polydrama '' Alma''. It played in Vienna for six successive seasons and toured with over 400 performances to Venice, Lisbon, Los Angeles, Petronell, Berlin, Semmering, Jerusalem, and Prague—all places where Mahler-Werfel had lived. The show was made into a three-part TV miniseries in 1997.

Mohammed Fairouz Mohammed Fairouz (born November 1, 1985) is an American composer. He is one of the most frequently performed composers of his generation and has been described by Daniel J. Wakin of ''The New York Times'' as an "important new artistic voice". Fa ...

set the words of Alma Mahler in his song cycle ''Jeder Mensch''. It premiered in a coupling with songs of Alma Mahler by mezzo-soprano

Kate Lindsey Kate Lindsey (born 1980) is a mezzo-soprano opera singer from the United States. She is married to the documentary filmmaker Olly Lambert. Lindsey was born in Richmond, Virginia, and holds a Bachelor of Music Degree with Distinction from India ...

in 2011. A treatment of Mahler-Werfel's life was presented in the 2001

Bruce Beresford Bruce Beresford (; born 16 August 1940) is an Australian film director who has made more than 30 feature films over a 50-year career, both locally and internationally in the United States. Beresford's notable films he has directed include '' B ...

film '' Bride of the Wind'', in which Alma was played by Australian actress

Sarah Wynter Sarah Wynter (born 15 February 1973)
movies2.nytimes.com; accessed 13 January 2016. is an Australian actr ...

. Gustav Mahler was portrayed by British actor

Jonathan Pryce Sir Jonathan Pryce (born John Price; 1 June 1947) is a Welsh actor who is known for his performances on stage and in film and television. He has received numerous awards, including two Tony Awards and two Laurence Olivier Awards. In 2021 he was ...

. Swiss actor

Vincent Pérez Vincent Perez (born 10 June 1964) is a Swiss actor, director and photographer. He played the title character, Ashe Corven, in '' The Crow: City of Angels'', and starred in ''Queen of the Damned'', playing Marius de Romanus. Some of his films in ...

portrayed Oskar Kokoschka. In 1998, extracts from Alma's diaries were published, covering the years from 1898 to 1902, until the time she married Mahler. In the 2001 novel ''The Artist's Wife'' by Max Phillips, she tells her story from the afterlife, focusing on her complicated relationships. In 2010, the German filmmaker

Percy Adlon Paul Rudolf Parsifal "Percy" Adlon (; born 1 June 1935) is a German director, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for his film '' Bagdad Cafe''. He is associated with the New German Cinema movement (ca. 1965–1985), and has been noted ...

and his son Felix Adlon released their film ''Mahler auf der Couch'' ('' Mahler on the Couch''), which relates Gustav Mahler's tormented relationship with his wife Alma and his meeting with Sigmund Freud in 1910. In the film's introduction, the directors state, "That it happened is fact. How it happened is fiction."

References

Informational notes Citations Further reading *Alma Mahler, ''My Life, My Loves: Memoirs of Alma Mahler'' Vermilon Books, reprint edition (February 1989) *''Alma Mahler-Werfel, Diaries 1898–1902'' (ed. and translator,

Antony Beaumont Antony Beaumont (born 27 January 1949, in London)Jacket notes for Beaumont (1987). is an English and German musicologist, writer, conductor and violinist.Lewis, Uncle Dave, ''Allmusic'', reproduced aAnswers.com Accessed on 3 February 2009. As a ...

and Susanne Rode-Breymann) Faber and Faber (1 February 1999) *Alma Mahler-Werfel, 'And the bridge is love' Hutchinson of London, first published September 1959, third impression April 1960 *''Gustav Mahler, Letters to his Wife 901–11'. Edited by

Henry-Louis de La Grange Henry-Louis de La Grange (26 May 1924 – 27 January 2017) was a French musicologist and biographer of Gustav Mahler. Life and career La Grange was born in Paris, of an American mother (Emily Sloane, daughter of Henry T. Sloane) and a French ...

and Günther Weiss, in Collaboration with Knud Martner. First complete edition, revised and translated by Antony Beaumont (Faber and Faber, London 2004) *Susanne Rode-Breymann, ''Die Komponistin Alma Mahler-Werfel'' (Hanover, 1999) *Susanne Rode-Breymann, ''Alma Mahler-Werfel. Muse, Gattin, Witwe'' (C. H. Beck, Munich 2014) * Susanne Keegan, ''The Bride of the Wind. The Life and Times of Alma Mahler-Werfel''. (Houghtin Mifflin Company, Boston 1983; Secker & Warburg, London 1984,348 pages). *"Walter Gropius" in Nicholas Fox Weber, ''The Bauhaus Group: Six Masters of Modernism'' (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2009.) The chapter opens with her story. pp. 1–5; 11–15; 27–42 * Jörg Rothkamm, "'A husband and wife who are both composers'? An unpublished song version of the so-called "Erntelied" ("Gesang am Morgen") in the hand of Gustav Mahler in light of the correspondence between Alma Mahler and Walter Gropius." In: ''News about Mahler Research'' 72, 2018, pp. 7–34.

External links

* Finding aid to th
Mahler-Werfel papers
at th
University of Pennsylvania Libraries

Franz Werfel Family papers
at the Leo Baeck Institute, New York

at the Sophie database * * *, by

, '' That Was the Year That Was (1965) {{DEFAULTSORT:Mahler Werfel, Alma 1879 births 1964 deaths 19th-century classical composers 20th-century American women musicians 20th-century classical composers 20th-century Austrian women artists Austrian artists' models Austrian classical composers Austrian emigrants to the United States Austrian women classical composers Alma Muses Musicians from Vienna Models from Vienna 20th-century women composers 19th-century women composers Austro-Hungarian expatriates in Germany Harold B. Lee Library-related rare books articles Emigrants from Austria to the United States after the Anschluss Jewish art collectors