Gustav Mahler composed the song cycle Kindertotenlieder at the beginning of the 1900s. Depicting a mournful subject based on the poems of Friedrich Rü;ckert, the Lieder explore the different emotions and perspectives of a grieving parent who has lost his children to death. This discussion connects the movements of Mahler\u27s Kindertotenlieder through a discussion of discoveries unveiled through Schenkerian analysis; harmonic, melodic, and motivic connections are highlighted throughout the composition. The tonal centers of the movements are discussed in an effort to illustrate the work as a whole, and not just as individual Lieder
