The key areas provide a continuation of the tonal juxtaposition displayed in earlier works (notably Symphonies No.

The work opens with a hesitant, syncopated rhythmic motif (which Leonard Bernstein suggested is a depiction of Mahler's irregular heartbeat[3]), which is heard throughout the movement.

The brief introduction also presents two other ideas: a four-note motif announced by the harp that provides much of the musical basis for the rest of the movement, and a muted horn fanfare that is also heard later.

At the height of the development, the trombones and tuba announce the rhythmic heartbeat motif, marked within the score "Mit höchster Gewalt" (with greatest force).

Near the end of the movement is a remarkable example of Mahler's linear polyphony, in which piccolo, flute, oboe, and solo violin imitate bird-calls.

[4] Allusions to other music in this movement include references to Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata Op.

Traditional chord sequences are altered into near-unrecognizable variations, turning the rustic yet gradually decaying C major introductory ländler into a vicious whole-tone waltz, saturated with chromaticism and frenetic rhythms.

Commentators[7] have noted the similarity of the opening theme in particular to the hymn tune "Eventide" (familiarly sung as "Abide with Me").

The work's ending is usually interpreted as his conscious farewell to the world,[9] as it was composed following the death of his beloved daughter Maria Anna in 1907 and the diagnosis of his fatal heart disease.

[11] Mahler was a superstitious man and believed in the so-called curse of the ninth, which he thought had already killed Beethoven, Schubert and Bruckner; this is proven by the fact that he refused to number his previous work Das Lied von der Erde as his ninth symphony, although it is often considered a symphony.

This quote, from 1932, is typical: The Ninth Symphony has been recorded over a hundred times for commercial release on 78-rpm discs, LP, CD, or DVD.