Unfortunately, Hans Rott never had any chance to exert
a direct influence upon the music of his time. But anyone
comparing his Symphony No. 1 in E major with
Mahler's (considerably later written) symphonies and
considering that Mahler was familiar with Rott's first
work, comes to recognize that Rott's ideas have been
propagated and advanced by Gustav Mahler's uvre.
Thus Rott is being considered a link between Bruckner
and Mahler.
Musicology has already begun to deal with Hans Rott's
music and his relationship with Gustav Mahler. The research
work is, however, still in its early stages. For it
is not only his Symphony No. 1 in E major which
holds quite a number of surprises such as themes which
surface years later in Gustav Mahler's symphonies. Other
works (Pastoral Prelude, Winter Song)
reveal impressionistic tendencies - long before the
first impressionistic creations by Debussy or Ravel.
Some parts of the Pastoral Prelude also reminds
the listener of Max Reger's works for orchestra composed
decades later.
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Gradually, the musically interested general public
is realizing that Rott's music is a true gain not only
from a musicological point of view. Thus the number
of the annual performances of his First Symphony is
increasing; the "Pastoral Prelude", too, can be heard
more often in the concert halls now. And more and more
of his works experience their first performance - after
more than one hundred years.
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