Mahler Symphony No. 6 - 3rd Movement - Listening Guide

The scherzo marks a return to the unrelenting march rhythms of the first movement, though in a ‘triple-time’ metrical context. Its trio (the middle section), marked Altväterisch (‘old-fashioned’), is rhythmically irregular (4/8 switching to 3/8 and 3/4) and of a somewhat gentler character. According to Alma Mahler, in this movement Mahler “represented the unrhythmic games of the two little children, tottering in zigzags over the sand”. The chronology of its composition suggests otherwise...