Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler, (1860-1911). Austrian composer and conductor. A German-speaking Jew, Mahler was born in what is now the Czech Republic. After studies at the Vienna conservatory, he became the conductor of the Vienna Imperial Opera (1897-1907) and later of the New . York Metropolitan Opera and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. He wrote 10 large-scale symphonies, of which the fourth and fifth are perhaps best known, as well as numerous songs and song-cycles.