Klarinet Archive - Posting 000171.txt from 2005/11

From: Adam Michlin <amichlin@-----.com>
Subj: RE: [kl] Conversion
Date: Wed, 09 Nov 2005 19:12:54 -0500

Dan,

Your logic sounds similar to the following:

Since it is entirely impossible to know with certainty whether Mozart would
have approved of substituting a contrabassoon for the double bass in the
Gran Partita, then we must assume that he would have.

An argument we would both pounce on in a heartbeat.

It is just as likely that Mahler did what he did for political reasons. My
recollection of the evidence (I am away from my books right now) is that
the political reasons are more likely owing to his various positions as a
conductor, but there is no clear consensus as to why he converted. It would
have been in his best interests to keep his reasons to himself, anyway,
especially if he did so for political reasons.

To assume that he converted for religious reasons is to do exactly that,
assume. I know of no evidence supporting this assumption, but I would be
more than happy to be corrected.

I think the answer is simply that we do not know and never will know.

-Adam

At 07:15 AM 11/9/2005 -0800, dnleeson wrote:
>Since it is entirely impossible to know with certainty what
>Mahler's mindset was at the time of his conversion, then we must
>assume, because of the gravity of the act, that he converted for
>religious reasons. And certainly, from the Catholic point of
>view, a baptism is irrevocable.
[...]

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