Alfred Roller relates that an operation in 1901 had left Mahler with extensive internal lesions: “These obliged him to be especially vigilant about what he ate and to follow a strict diet. Nonetheless, he ate readily and with gusto: much fruit, especially apples and oranges, plenty of butter, light vegetables and desserts, little meat and then only from farm animals. He refused to eat game or the meat of wild animals. Since every dietetic error might make him unfit for work, he was exceedingly cautious, even uneasy at table, especially if he was on the point of finishing a work and had only a few days of vacation left.”

Source: Alfred Roller, Die Bildnisse von Gustav Mahler (Tal, Leipzig, 1922).

H/T: Image: “Family Album.” Mahler Foundation. ©Marina Mahler

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