Matthew Winkler on Mahler, music writing, the heart of sound
By Alexander Minagar | May 16In a wood-paneled practice room on the lower level of Granoff Music Center, graduating senior Matthew Winkler sat down to talk about his love of classical music, his years writing for the Daily and how composer Gustav Mahler changed his life. “I can’t think of the exact time I first heard Mahler,” Winkler said. “I started the trumpet in sixth grade … but I think when I first actually fell in love with the music … [was when] I got a YouTube recommendation for [Mahler’s Symphony] No. 5. … That opening trumpet just kept building, and the depth of emotion overwhelmed me. It was so stormy and dramatic, but also had these profound moments of beauty in the middle of it.”