This is something I thought I’d never hear: Mahler playing his own compositions on his own piano. How is this possible, you ask? Turns out that Mahler made some piano rolls in 1905, just as the new technology was starting to gain popularity. Piano rolls were amongst the first methods devised to preserve the nuance of performances.

Here’s a picture of the great pianist (and at one time Prime Minister of Poland!) Ignacy Jan Paderewski in 1906, recording on a system very similar to the one Mahler used a year earlier:

The performance captured on Mahler’s piano roll was played back and recorded on his own instrument in 2010. This is a truly intimate and compelling performance of the first movement of his fifth symphony:

LINK TO “SYMPHONIE NO. 5, I. SATZ” from “GUSTAV MAHLER UND SEIN KLAVIER” ON SPOTIFY

If you don’t have Spotify (which I couldn’t recommend more highly!), here’s a version on youtube. Note though, this is NOT the new recording made on Mahler’s own piano..