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The death of their eldest daughter has a profound effect on Gustav and Alma. Donald Macleod continues the story of their marriage, and its relationship to Mahler's music.

Their relationship wasn't always the happiest, the terms he laid down for their marriage were far from fair, and she wasn't always faithful to her husband. But Alma Mahler exerted a powerful fascination on Gustav Mahler, and proved not only an inspiration but a also a very practical support for his working and creative life.

In today's episode, the event about which Mahler had composed a cycle of songs (Kindertotenlieder or 'songs on the deaths of children') actually happens. The loss of the Mahler's eldest child is a numbing shock, prompting the couple to seek a change of scene as far away as New York. Alma finds consolation in her unhappiness through dancing with the man whom she would eventually marry. And Gustav will open up his heart on the psychiatrist's couch, when he visits Sigmund Freud.

Oft denk'ich sie sind nur ausgegangen (Kindertotenlieder)
Bryn Terfel, baritone
Philharmonia Orchestra
Giuseppe Sinopoli, conductor

Symphony No 7 (4th movement: Nachtlied)
Philharmonia Orchestra
Lorin Maazel, conductor

Symphony No 1 (2nd movement: Kraftig bewegt, doch nicht zu schnell)
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
Rafael Kubelik, conductor

Symphony No 8 (Part 1)
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Klaus Tennstedt, conductor.