Gustav Mahler did not feel like a prophet in his homeland. He described himself as a foreigner three times: a bohemian among Austrians, an Austrian among Germans, and a Jew before the world. Despite his attempts to find his place, he devoted his entire compositional life to seeking the transcendent meaning of human existence. From the first to the last of his Symphonies , Mahler seeks through music to understand man, to find God, and to explain love.