Gustav Mahler's Seventh Symphony stands out as one of the most provocative symphonic statements of the early twentieth century. Throughout its performance history, it has often been heard as "existing in the shadow" of the Sixth Symphony or as "too reminiscent" of Richard Wagner's opera Die Meistersinger von N?rnberg. Anna Stoll Knecht's Mahler's Seventh Symphony offers a new interpretation of the Seventh based on a detailed study of Mahler's compositional materials and a close reading of the finished work. With a focus on sketches previously considered as "discarded," Stoll Knecht exposes unexpected connections between the Seventh and both the Sixth and Meistersinger, confirming that Mahler's compositional project was firmly grounded in a dialogue with works from the past. This referential aspect acts as an important interpretive key to the work, enabling the first thorough analysis of the sketches and drafts for the Seventh, and shedding light on its complex compositional history. Considering each movement of the symphony through a double perspective, genetic and analytic, Stoll Knecht demonstrates how sketch studies and analytical approaches can interact with each other. Mahler's Seventh Symphony exposes new facets of Mahler's musical humor and leads us to rethink much-debated issues concerning the composer's cultural identity, revealing the Seventh's pivotal role within his output.

IntroductionChapter 1: Premiere and ReceptionPremiereReceptionThe "problems" of the SeventhChapter 2: Structure, Interpretation and GenesisStructureMain interpretive leadsGenesisChapter 3: Compositional HistoryAutobiographical and biographical evidenceMusical evidenceChapter 4: Rondo-FinaleForm and contentInterpretive viewsChapter 5: Genesis of the Rondo-FinaleThe Vienna sketchbook and the Moldenhauer sketchesThe Paris sketchbook leaves and the Moldenhauer sketchesOther sketches and drafts for the FinaleChapter 6: NachtmusikenThe first NachtmusikThe second NachtmusikChapter 7: ScherzoDancing deathStructureSketches and draftsWalpurgis nightChapter 8: First MovementBeginning of the SeventhForm and contentSketches and drafts(Auto)biography, genesis and interpretationChapter 9: Die Meistersinger in the Seventh SymphonyThe Meistersinger references in the FinaleQuartal harmony in the Seventh and MeistersingerPreliminary sketches in the Vienna sketchbookE minor to C major: from Night to DayMahler and BeckmesserConclusionWhat the genesis tells us"Problems" of the SeventhFrom tragedy to comedyBeginnings and endsAppendices:A: Manuscripts and editions of the Seventh SymphonyB: Mahler discographyM: Motivic tablesF: Formal tablesCSk: Correspondences between the sketchesMSk: Motivic table for the sketchesSynopsis of Richard Wagner's Die Meistersinger von N?rnbergBibliography