Question about Foerster...

[eschiss1]

Not too sure about the reliability of my source on this one- a translation of a book by Floros (whose English title is "Gustav Mahler: The Symphonies") - but he claims that Mahler and Josef Bohuslav Foerster were regular correspondents and friends around the time the former was composing the main body of his 2nd symphony (early 1890s). ... Interesting. Anyone know about this? (I realize that a fair number of responses may be more along the lines of "who cares" so far as the Mahler angle is concerned, but restricting to such as do and might have a better source than this contentious book...)

[Aramiarz]

Too in one booklet I saw about this friendship, I will revise!

[eschiss1]

... hrm. And within two days (somewhere else? same book? not sure- hrm. maybe same book...) I also see a reference to another intriguing friendship (though Mahler-Diepenbrock, not Foerster-someone else). Re JB Foerster, by the way, -- will check to see if there is a good biography published, recent, in any language. Hopefully English, or French, or German in that order of preference for me, though my ability to read French or German has deteriorated-decayed. Still, will go and check.

(There's other Foerster/Förster composers, of course-at least three come to mind; two rather earlier (Renaissance/Baroque and Classical), and one contemporary with Josef Bohuslav (Adolf Martin Foerster - German immigrant to the USA, I think)- I assume perhaps that the surname was and perhaps is somewhat common, as with Wagner/Waggoner/Wagenaar as was pointed out to my dense kep in another thread...)

[alberto]

Friendship Mahler-Foerster.
That is reminded in various booklets/notes of Foerster recordings (Symphony n.4: Supraphon and Naxos; Cyrano de Bergerac: Supraphon and Orfeo; Complete Piano Music : Brilliant).
The meeting took place and the friendship arose in 1893 when Foerster followed his wife, the dramatic soprano Berta Lautererova to Hambourg and the singer sang  often under Mahler conducting.When Mahler went to Vienna in 1903 he engaged Foerster's wife for the Court Opera and also Foerster got a post in Vienna.

[eschiss1]

Ah, thanks.
No mention of this in Wikipedia article on Foerster as yet ; might not be sufficiently relevant in such a brief article, but - well... will consider including, have put on talk page for discussion, &c. (It's been awhile since I was last active there, rules have changed, I gather, don't want to make assumptions as to how...)

[Aramiarz]

Ok about this friendship

[eternalorphea]

Just another Foerster..
http://www.free-scores.com/Download-PDF-Sheet-Music-anton-foerster.htm

[eschiss1]

Different Foerster- there were, after all, several composers of that name over the years.  Also, this link doesn't address biographical questions about Mahler and Foerster- any Foerster- at all. So... nu?

[Alan Howe]

As Eric says, this thread is about Josef Bohuslav Foerster (1859–1951), not Anton!

[eschiss1]

Ah. What I did not know, btw, was that Anton was Josef Bohuslav's uncle (from the brief German Wikipedia articles on Anton and his brother. Czech Wiki does a better job at least on the former)

(his brother, Josef, was Josef Bohuslav's father...
er... erm... ack! Now I wonder whether Floros was referring to JB Foerster or to his father Josef. Sources seem to agree that JB Foerster was meant (not just by Floros, but by anyone discussing the Mahler-Foerster correspondence, since I gather it's new to me, but not new at all as a subject...)

, but is this certain? I wasn't aware they had the same first name. ... Interesting... Where was Josef Foerster (the elder...) in 1896-odd, anyway?)

[Alan Howe]

A simple Google search turns up the following:

Josef Bohuslav Foerster was born in Prague in 1859. He studied at the Prague Organ School, and upon graduation he was appointed organist at St Vojtĕch Church, taking over the post from no less a figure than Antonín Dvořák. In these years Foerster also had close contact with Bedřich Smetana, and received encouragement from Tchaikovsky and others. In 1888 he married the famous Czech soprano Berta Lauterer, and the couple eventually moved to Hamburg. It was here that Foerster met Gustav Mahler, a fellow German-speaking Bohemian, and the two became friends. The Foersters went with Mahler to Vienna in 1903, where they remained until they returned to Prague in 1918. By the time of his death, at the age of 91, Foerster had become the grand old man of Czech music, teaching many important young composers. In all this time he also composed prolifically. His writing was influenced both by his close connection with music for the church, including a complete mastery of Palestrina-style counterpoint, and by his love of the theatre. Music, and all art, was for Foerster an expression of the beauty of the human soul. (emphasis added)
http://www.naxos.com/person/Josef_Bohuslav_Foerster_23232/23232.htm

Also:

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=0-CLovqx5GcC&pg=PA168&lpg=PA168&dq=foerster+mahler&source=bl&ots=T3NhxrU4bL&sig=rEo-DliJsvP9vTlWTp7c9sBlIpo&hl=en&sa=X&ei=4d7oVKHCHcPX7QbcqYCIAg&ved=0CDMQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=foerster%20mahler&f=false

http://gustavmahler.com/symphonies/No1/Analysis-Of-Programme-Notes.html