It would be presumptuous or wrong to want to talk about the topic “Gustav Mahler’s Dialectical Art” from a perspective directed at an object. Rather, I take this lecture as an opportunity to describe a dialogical practice in retrospect of half a century of Mahler research, which endeavors to recognize the abundant work of Gustav Mahler from one’s own experience, but at the same time strives to integrate it into broader research projects or ideas. The cornerstones of “dialogical research” and “topical form” enclose a central section entitled “work in progress”. This is the subject of the monograph on the symphony Das Lied von der Erde. It is dedicated to Rudolf Stephan – Mahler scholar, Schoenberg editor, and Adorno’s conversation partner – whose 100th birthday it is today.