ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book discusses a lengthy essay by Roller written for inclusion in his book, Die Bildnisse von Gustav Mahler. Roller seems consciously to refute Jewish stereotypes in relation to his description of Mahler's body while almost inadvertently reinforcing others. Roller's essay is an examination of Jewish stereotypes in light of Mahler and his reception, including other reactions to Mahler's physiognomy. The book provides a detailed examination of Richard Wagner's ideas and places those ideas into the larger context of assumptions about the supposed lack of Jewish creativity. It provides an examination of Viennese reviews of Mahler's symphonies nos and discusses of the reception history of Richard Strauss's tone poems in Vienna. The book illustrates how anti-Semitic stereotypes were employed in ways that seem contradictory or paradoxical. It lookes at Mahler's own music or delved into the history of Vienna or its Jewish population.
