From the library

Remembrance of things past We do not know what the Viennese doctor told Mahler, for the telegram he sent Alma the next day is no longer to be found. According to her Erinnerungen, Kovacs diagnosed inborn contracted mitral valves on both sides, with compensatory movements. He ordered Mahler to give up sport altogether: no mountain climbing, no bicycle rides, no swimming, indeed with incredible short sightedness he recommended this man who had always practised the most strenuous sports to take a field course to accustom himself to walking, overlooking the inevitable psychological eVect of all these prohibitions. For the next few days, Mahler obediently followed the doctor’s instructions and taught himself how to walk. He practised walking slowly for the first time in his life. His diligence was touching. Looking at his watch, he walked for five minutes, for ten, and so on. (Henry-Louis de La Grange. Gustav Mahler. Vienna: Triumph and Disillusion (1904–1907). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999:693.)