If You Love for Beauty
Text by Friedrich Rückert
If you love for beauty,
O love not me!
Love the sun,
She has golden hair.
If you love for youth,
O love not me!
Love the spring
Which is young each year.
If you love for riches,
O love not me!
Love the mermaid
Who has many shining pearls.
If you love for love,
Ah yes, love me!
Love me always,
I shall love you ever more.
The only love song Gustav Mahler ever wrote was “If You Love for Beauty.” It was a gift for his wife, Alma, during their first summer together in 1902.
Guests include:
• Thomas Hampson, Foremost Baritone & Opera Star
• Marilyn McCoy, Columbia University, New York
Music used in Episode 6. All titles used with permission.
Rückert Lieder: Liebst du um Schönheit
By Gustav Mahler
Piano arrangement and embellishment
Written and performed by D.D. Jackson
Lieder Op. 12, No. 4: Liebst du um Schönheit
By Clara Schumann
Sung by Carolyn Sampson, accompanied by Joseph Middleton
Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.
BIS (BIS-2473)
Rückert Lieder: Liebst du um Schönheit
By Gustav Mahler
Sung by Karen Cargill, accompanied by Simon Lepper
Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.
Linn Records (CKD543)
Rückert Lieder: Liebst du um Schönheit
By Gustav Mahler
Sung by Christine Schäfer, accompanied by the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, conducted by Christoph Eschenbach
Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.
Capriccio (C5101)
© 2020 Aaron Cohen