The events take place in a large European city without reference to a specific country. The city has for many years had a symphony orchestra under the baton of a famous conductor, the Maestro. In recent years, the Maestro has been facing financial problems in maintaining the orchestra, which is financed by the city's patrons, led by the Founder. An experienced administrator, Semyon Grigorievich Machler, has been working with the Maestro for many years. Maestro needs him to settle conflicts with musicians and financial management of the orchestra.
In order to save the reputation of the orchestra, the Maestro decides to take a risky step and introduces Gustav Mahler's First Symphony "Titan" into the orchestra's repertoire. This causes bewilderment to the Founder of the orchestra and indifference of the musicians. The musicians do not accept his interpretation of the "Titan" Symphony and especially the main part of the symphony - "The Hunter's Funeral" with its primitive beginning and the funeral march in the development. In the sometimes anecdotal scenes of the orchestrators living in the dormitory, it is often discussed that it is bad luck to play the Hunter's Funeral. Mahler himself defined the mood of this piece as "...the eerie, ironic, oppressive gloom of a funeral march." Furthermore, the very idea of the beasts mourning for their dead tyrant is not sympathetic to the orchestrators.
Fearing that the musicians' misunderstanding and rejection of the work may lead to the collapse of the orchestra, the Founder, without consulting the Maestro, announces to the administrator the decision to invite a Young Conductor, a trainee, to join the orchestra. The Young Conductor is in favor of popularizing the repertoire and offers to work with the musicians on Hunter's Funeral. The Maestro decides not to interfere with the young talent and leaves for a vacation at a mountain resort, having previously invited the Young Conductor to visit him after rehearsals and to discuss the interpretation of the symphony.
A few days after the Maestro's departure, the Orchestra Administrator is contacted by the police. It turns out that a snow avalanche has occurred at the mountain resort where the Maestro and the Young Director met. According to the police, one of the vacationers died under the snow blockage. Police are investigating exactly which of the guests died. The administrator is trying to contact the conductors, but their phones are silent. The rumor of the Maestro's possible death instantly spreads around the orchestra. For some reason the musicians have no doubt that it is the Maestro who has died.
In a moment of utter despair, the unharmed Maestro and the Young Conductor appear in the administrator's office. It turns out that they were left without communication and did not receive the administrator's messages, but managed to get to the city. Maestro and the Young Conductor, having heard about the incident at the resort, discuss the theme of death and immortality in "Hunter's Funeral." Indeed, Mahler too, says the Maestro, was very afraid of death. And more than physical death, he was afraid of oblivion after death. He was afraid he wouldn't have time to write his music, or, even more monstrous for him, he was afraid that people would forget his work. Mahler wanted to survive his death. For him, immortality meant striving to live not only the present or the past, but also the future, to live the eternity of the spirit.
Listening attentively to the conductors' conversation, the administrator Semyon Grigorievich suggests a truly diabolical prank-mystery: to take advantage of the rumors that one of the conductors has died. So, he suggests, it is necessary to indirectly confirm the death of the Maestro. And when the musicians are convinced that it is not true, they will take it as a sign of good luck and an omen of long life. Everyone will thus be cured of the "bad premonitions" associated with the performance of "Hunter's Funeral".
The conductors agreed that one of them would not come to the dress rehearsal, and the orchestra would rehearse with one conductor, but at the concert the other conductor, who had supposedly died in the boarding house, would miraculously appear. Thus the orchestra will actually experience the "funeral of the hunter-conductor", and will play with an emotional rise and exactly as the conductors intended.
To the amazement of the musicians and the administrator himself, not the Young Conductor, but the Maestro came to the dress rehearsal. The musicians played "not the notes" of the symphony for the first time out of anxiety, but a tragedy, where they heard Mahler's terrible childhood in a large family, his loneliness in his own home, his fear of the vulgar street, his problems in family life, arguments with his wife, and her frequent adulteries, humiliating Mahler.
The Maestro is pleased with the rehearsal, but worries whether the prank has gone on too long. The administrator assures the Maestro that he has arranged with the Young Conductor and the Founder that there will be an empty chair in the middle of the first row at the concert, next to the Founder and other important guests. The Maestro will begin the concert. Impressed by recent events, the performance of "Titan" and especially "Hunter's Funeral" should be as tragic and voluminous as it was in rehearsal. At the end of the first movement of the symphony, as if running late, the Young Conductor will sneak onto an empty chair. The audience will see him, but the orchestra will not. When "Titan" is played and the lights are turned on, the Young Conductor will be discovered by the orchestrators. In this way everyone will have learned their lesson.
On the day of the concert, everything goes according to the administrator's plan. The orchestra plays brilliantly. The symphony is played. The Maestro turns to the hall and sees an empty seat in the front row... The young Conductor has not come....
The Maestro covers his eyes with his hand and returns to the events in the snow-covered resort, to his conversation with the Young Conductor about Mahler's music. They talk about how the music in "Titan" and "Hunter's Funeral" is eternal, the mourning for tyrants is repeated over and over again, and the "beasts" never learn anything. Or are afraid to learn...
The ideal state in life, to which Mahler aspired, was hindered by struggle and vanity. But life, says the Maestro, is impossible to know without suffering and death. Mahler's feelings toward life, death, music, and family were not simple - he simultaneously loved, feared, hated, and felt guilt.
"Immortality is music. But who can know what life is?" - asks the Young Conductor Maestro.
"One can only assume that life is a hoax."
In order to save the reputation of the orchestra, the Maestro decides to take a risky step and introduces Gustav Mahler's First Symphony "Titan" into the orchestra's repertoire. This causes bewilderment to the Founder of the orchestra and indifference of the musicians. The musicians do not accept his interpretation of the "Titan" Symphony and especially the main part of the symphony - "The Hunter's Funeral" with its primitive beginning and the funeral march in the development. In the sometimes anecdotal scenes of the orchestrators living in the dormitory, it is often discussed that it is bad luck to play the Hunter's Funeral. Mahler himself defined the mood of this piece as "...the eerie, ironic, oppressive gloom of a funeral march." Furthermore, the very idea of the beasts mourning for their dead tyrant is not sympathetic to the orchestrators.
Fearing that the musicians' misunderstanding and rejection of the work may lead to the collapse of the orchestra, the Founder, without consulting the Maestro, announces to the administrator the decision to invite a Young Conductor, a trainee, to join the orchestra. The Young Conductor is in favor of popularizing the repertoire and offers to work with the musicians on Hunter's Funeral. The Maestro decides not to interfere with the young talent and leaves for a vacation at a mountain resort, having previously invited the Young Conductor to visit him after rehearsals and to discuss the interpretation of the symphony.
A few days after the Maestro's departure, the Orchestra Administrator is contacted by the police. It turns out that a snow avalanche has occurred at the mountain resort where the Maestro and the Young Director met. According to the police, one of the vacationers died under the snow blockage. Police are investigating exactly which of the guests died. The administrator is trying to contact the conductors, but their phones are silent. The rumor of the Maestro's possible death instantly spreads around the orchestra. For some reason the musicians have no doubt that it is the Maestro who has died.
In a moment of utter despair, the unharmed Maestro and the Young Conductor appear in the administrator's office. It turns out that they were left without communication and did not receive the administrator's messages, but managed to get to the city. Maestro and the Young Conductor, having heard about the incident at the resort, discuss the theme of death and immortality in "Hunter's Funeral." Indeed, Mahler too, says the Maestro, was very afraid of death. And more than physical death, he was afraid of oblivion after death. He was afraid he wouldn't have time to write his music, or, even more monstrous for him, he was afraid that people would forget his work. Mahler wanted to survive his death. For him, immortality meant striving to live not only the present or the past, but also the future, to live the eternity of the spirit.
Listening attentively to the conductors' conversation, the administrator Semyon Grigorievich suggests a truly diabolical prank-mystery: to take advantage of the rumors that one of the conductors has died. So, he suggests, it is necessary to indirectly confirm the death of the Maestro. And when the musicians are convinced that it is not true, they will take it as a sign of good luck and an omen of long life. Everyone will thus be cured of the "bad premonitions" associated with the performance of "Hunter's Funeral".
The conductors agreed that one of them would not come to the dress rehearsal, and the orchestra would rehearse with one conductor, but at the concert the other conductor, who had supposedly died in the boarding house, would miraculously appear. Thus the orchestra will actually experience the "funeral of the hunter-conductor", and will play with an emotional rise and exactly as the conductors intended.
To the amazement of the musicians and the administrator himself, not the Young Conductor, but the Maestro came to the dress rehearsal. The musicians played "not the notes" of the symphony for the first time out of anxiety, but a tragedy, where they heard Mahler's terrible childhood in a large family, his loneliness in his own home, his fear of the vulgar street, his problems in family life, arguments with his wife, and her frequent adulteries, humiliating Mahler.
The Maestro is pleased with the rehearsal, but worries whether the prank has gone on too long. The administrator assures the Maestro that he has arranged with the Young Conductor and the Founder that there will be an empty chair in the middle of the first row at the concert, next to the Founder and other important guests. The Maestro will begin the concert. Impressed by recent events, the performance of "Titan" and especially "Hunter's Funeral" should be as tragic and voluminous as it was in rehearsal. At the end of the first movement of the symphony, as if running late, the Young Conductor will sneak onto an empty chair. The audience will see him, but the orchestra will not. When "Titan" is played and the lights are turned on, the Young Conductor will be discovered by the orchestrators. In this way everyone will have learned their lesson.
On the day of the concert, everything goes according to the administrator's plan. The orchestra plays brilliantly. The symphony is played. The Maestro turns to the hall and sees an empty seat in the front row... The young Conductor has not come....
The Maestro covers his eyes with his hand and returns to the events in the snow-covered resort, to his conversation with the Young Conductor about Mahler's music. They talk about how the music in "Titan" and "Hunter's Funeral" is eternal, the mourning for tyrants is repeated over and over again, and the "beasts" never learn anything. Or are afraid to learn...
The ideal state in life, to which Mahler aspired, was hindered by struggle and vanity. But life, says the Maestro, is impossible to know without suffering and death. Mahler's feelings toward life, death, music, and family were not simple - he simultaneously loved, feared, hated, and felt guilt.
"Immortality is music. But who can know what life is?" - asks the Young Conductor Maestro.
"One can only assume that life is a hoax."
