Life first led Gustav Mahler from Bohemia to Vienna, where he would become one of the most famous composers and conductors of his time. Further stations were Ljubljana, Olomouc, Kassel, Prague, Budapest, Leipzig and Hamburg. Both his working and private life allowed him to travel to Scandinavia, Finland, Germany, the countries of the Danube Monarchy, Russia, Italy, Great Britain and the USA. Based on photographs, sketches, letters, memories and registration documents, the authors were the first to fully reconstruct all the places that marked the life of the musician. This included retracing all of Mahler’s home addresses, all music institutions he played at as well as the places he visited – with friends and family, to compose and be alone. The topography at hand uses texts and images to shed new light on Mahler’s life between the “Gründerzeit” era (Founding Years) and Modernism, in both the Old and New World.

Born in the year of the “Great Comet”, the path of this child prodigy from Raidling, Burgenland first led to Vienna and later Paris, the Mecca of the musical world at the time. There, Franz Liszt became highly successful as a piano virtuoso and led the life of a sought-after bohemian. Always searching for success as a composer, Liszt’s torn inner state marked his artistic development as much as his love affairs. After concert tours through all of Europe, he was appointed director of Weimar’s court orchestra, where he helped Richard Wagner’s opus achieve a breakthrough. Jan Jiracek von Arnim embarks on a fascinating journey exploring the composer’s life. He follows Liszt’s years on the road as a virtuoso, visionary, musical pioneer, superstar and soul-searcher as he takes a closer look at the person and musician. The result is this magnificent portrait of an exceptional artist.