A resolution of this human paradox
for nature can only be achieved on a worldly plane through direct and
         unflinching confrontation with the negative side of life.

      The Fifth Symphony,
            as a case in point,
                    presents a life crisis in the abstract,
  explores its manifestations, and then overcomes its tragic nature through a courageous struggle with its most destructive aspects.

                        Mahler avoids explicit extra-musical subjects,
having openly disavowed programmatic content, he now concentrates on purely abstract music-making,
                                          he no longer expresses nature as the quintessence of worldly existence,
                                                                                                                        or otherworldly spiritualism or pantheism, as a path to ultimate truth.

A central philosophical concept seems pervasive,
                                                            a search for redemption from suffering.
                        Within this conceptual framework,
            Mahler infuses the music with implicit psychological and philosophical overtones,
                                        in an exploration of the human subconscious.

Mahler moves from the sublime to the ridiculous,
                        the mournful to the outraged,
                                                the calm to the storm,
                                                                                                      sometimes without the slightest warning.

        Form follows function here,
                always in the service of the music’s dramatic nature.

Diversions from classical form, enable Mahler to express a myriad of emotions that appear in disarray,
                                        their chaotic manner of presentation, mirroring the confusions and disaffection of modern life.