Symphony No. 10 in F sharp major (incomplete)

Mahler left a substantially complete first movement of his tenth symphony, marked Adagio and published a few years after his death. It is a meditative, tragic movement, rising to a screamingly dissonant chord pierced by a high trumpet note. Mahler died after sketching out the rest. Musicologist Deryck Cooke discovered around 1960 that the composer had written at least a melodic line from the beginning of the second movement to the end, sometimes with detailed indications of instrumentation and harmony, sometimes with less information, sometimes with nothing but the melodic line. He used this sketch to produce a "performing version" in which to Mahler's material he added, where needed, countermelodies, harmonies, and orchestration. Later Cooke redid his completion, using a larger orchestra. The interior of the symphony comprises two scherzos divided by a movement called "Purgatorio," based on the accompaniment to one of his early Wunderhorn songs. The first scherzo is grotesque, the second more dramatic, with a great deal of good humor. The fourth movement ends with a muffled bass drum stroke, an effect Mahler observed at a New York City fireman's funeral procession. The final movement is a struggle movement, faster in tempo, not yielding easy answers, and reprising the screaming chord of the first movement. Is this completed version valid? Many conductors, including arch-Mahlerite Leonard Bernstein, did not think so. This writer accepts it as fascinating listening which is never less than at least a good imitation of Mahler, and frequently coming close to the genuine article.