A single part of a symphony can open the door to a world of story-telling. As the CCM Philharmonia presents the music of Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 on October 16, 2026, the CCM Library shares the story of the violin I part held in the Theodore Spiering Collection.
The Albino Gorno Memorial / CCM Library Special Collections holds a collection of annotated sheet music that belonged to Theodore Spiering (1871-1925), an American violinist, conductor, and teacher. Spiering studied violin with Henry Schradieck at the College of Music of Cincinnati in the 1880s before moving to Berlin to study with Joseph Joachim. Spiering later performed as concertmaster for the New York Philharmonic under Gustav Mahler from 1909 to 1911 and conducted the final seventeen concerts of 1911 during Mahler’s illness. On January 17 and 20, 1911, the New York Philharmonic performed Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with Spiering as concertmaster and conducted by Mahler. A highlight of the Theodore Spiering Collection is the violin I part of the symphony, bearing edits and paste-overs of performance markings and notation. While the violin part in the Spiering Collection was evidently not used in the 1911 performances, the background of the marked-up sheet music illuminates a rich snapshot of the symphony’s editorial and performance history.
Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) began composing his fourth symphony in 1899 and completed it during the winter of 1900/1901, though he continued to refine the orchestration of the piece over the next several years. Mahler sent his score of the symphony to the publisher and requested a proof to use during a reading rehearsal with the Vienna Philharmonic in October, as he wanted to hear what it sounded like before it was published. It is not clear if the publishing house also provided proofs of the parts—it is possible the musicians performed from manuscript parts when the symphony was premiered in Munich by the Kaim Orchestra on November 25, 1901. The first edition was engraved and printed by Josef Eberle and published by Ludwig Doblinger in Vienna in December 1901.
Mahler made further edits over the next few years, adding corrections to conducting scores for performances given by Willem Mengelberg in Amsterdam in 1904 and by Richard Wickenhauser in Graz in 1905. In 1910, Mahler transferred publication rights to Universal Edition and sent to the publisher a galley proof with numerous revisions. After Mahler conducted the piece with the New York Philharmonic in January 1911, he sent his final corrections to Universal Edition.
Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 premiered in New York on November 6, 1904, performed by the New York Symphony conducted by Walter Damrosch. Beginning in 1907, Mahler traveled between the U.S. and Europe, spending time in New York each season conducting with the Metropolitan Opera, New York Symphony Orchestra, and New York Philharmonic. Mahler conducted his Symphony No. 4 with the New York Philharmonic in January of 1911, a significant occasion of the composer interpreting his own work with the ensemble.
For the January 1911 performances, the New York Philharmonic used the 1901 Doblinger first edition orchestral parts, which had been marked up with Mahler’s revisions by Viennese copyist Johann Forstik. Theodore Spiering performed as concertmaster during these January 1911 performances—the violin I part held in the CCM Library Special Collections is also the Doblinger first edition and was also marked up by Forstik, though it evidently does not belong to the New York Philharmonic set of parts. The violin part of the New York Philharmonic set bears annotations not present in the CCM Library Spiering part, including bowings, dynamics, notation edits, and rehearsal letters in blue, red, and graphite pencil. Shortly after the January 1911 New York performances, Mahler fell ill. Spiering took over as conductor of the New York Philharmonic while Mahler traveled back to Vienna, where he died on May 18, 1911.
The Mahler Symphony No. 4 violin I part from the Theodore Spiering Collection has been digitized by the UC Libraries Digital Initiatives Team. It is accessible on JSTOR, along with many other pieces from the Theodore Spiering Collection. Materials in the Theodore Spiering Collection were donated by Lenore Spiering, Theodore Spiering’s daughter.
Check out the digitized Theodore Spiering Collection on JSTOR, and access the Mahler Symphony No. 4 violin I part!
As you explore the revisions and paste-overs, you can compare to a digitized score of Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 from the NY Philharmonic Archives, which shows more clearly what was in the score prior to the changes. Image 7 is the cover page of the Doblinger first edition with a note indicating red corrections after Mahler and green corrections after later Universal Edition revisions. You will see significant changes right from the beginning: the Spiering part has a paste-over of “Bedächtig” (deliberately) at m. 1, which is covering the original marking of “Heiter, Bedächtig” (cheerful, deliberately). Imagine the different interpretive ways the music would feel and sound as you explore the revisions!
Bottom: Spiering violin I part of Doblinger edition with pasted-over revision. Theodore Spiering Collection, Albino Gorno Memorial College-Conservatory of Music Library Special Collections, University of Cincinnati. https://www.jstor.org/stable/community.42074264
References:
- Peter Franklin, “Mahler, Gustav,” Grove Music Online. 24 June 2024. https://doi-org.uc.idm.oclc.org/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.40696.
- Gustav Mahler, Symphonie Nr. 4 für Sopran-Solo und Orchester, ed. Christian Rudolf Riedel (Wiesbaden: Breitkopf & Härtel, 2019).
- “Theodore Spiering,” promotional booklet, Theodore Spiering Collection, Albino Gorno Memorial College-Conservatory of Music Library Special Collections, University of Cincinnati.
- “Theodore Spiering, Composer, Is Dead,” New York Times, 14 August 1925, p. 13. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times.
- James L. Zychowicz, Mahler’s Fourth Symphony (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000).
Written by Rebecca Schreiber
