I also had a brother who was like me a musician and a composer. A man of great talent, far more gifted than I. He died very young... he killed himself in the prime of his life.

In his three seasons he had performed around 80 different works which included pieces by relatively unknown composers such as Hermann Goetz Wilhelm Kienzl and the Italian Lorenzo Perosi. A second daughter Anna was born in 1904. In spite of numerous theatrical triumphs Mahler's Vienna years were rarely smooth; his battles with singers and the house administration continued on and off for the whole of his tenure.

A Jew he was born in the village of Kalischt Bohemia in what was then the Austrian Empire now Kaliště in the Czech Republic. His family later removed to nearby Iglau (now Jihlava) where Mahler grew up. Aside from early works such as a movement from a piano quartet composed when he was a student in Vienna Mahler's works are designed for large orchestral forces symphonic choruses and operatic soloists.