Music Chat: Mahler's Major Italian Inspirations

The influence of Italian music on Mahler's mature style has been largely ignored by scholars and fans, but it was very real and very marked. Of course, German musicologist tend to dislike any suggestion that their sacred art was ever contaminated by those tawdry guys to the south, and the Italians, well, they don't care. It's a shame really because composers are often far more open to such things then their followers. I offer a couple of telling examples of Mahler's debt to Italy for your consideration.