in vienna mahler soon became famous for his conducting of wagner and mozart. his friend guido adler paid for the publication of his first and third symphonies. mahler replaced hans richter as conductor of the philharmonic concerts. mahler attracted bigger audiences, but he had disagreements with the players. they did not like some of his unusual ideas and he was very strict. after an illness in 1901 he resigned. he bought a house in maiernigg in carinthia where he spent his summers composing. in 1901 he fell in love with alma schindler whose father anton schindler was a famous landscape painter. she was nearly twenty years younger than mahler. she was studying composition, but mahler made her give up composing so that she could devote herself to being a good wife. this made the relationship between them rather difficult. in 1910 mahler went to see the psychoanalyst sigmund freud. freud helped him to understand not only his marriage problems but also his creative nature. he now felt a deeper love for alma than he ever had before.