Really fascinating; that could sort of throw us back to Alpsman's question as to why everyone "must" perform or is performing Mahler today. Who is (are) conducting, I'm curious -- local forces?
And you are of course right, Yale not Princeton. Alfred Rose was that nephew (son of Arnold).
That is exactly the question I would have for the Vietnam National Symphony--why did they decide that they had to do a Mahler cycle? The works are clearly difficult for the musicians and completely unfamiliar to the local people, and the program materials handed out at the M5 and M6 performances were terrible, with nearly no information about either Mahler or the symphonies being played.
There may be more appeal to foreign residents and tourists, who typically make up about a third of the audience in the 1911 French-era Opera House. It's certainly interesting for a Mahlerian like myself, although as you might expect the level of playing leaves much to be desired.
The VNSO Mahler cycle is being conducted by a Japanese, Maestro Tetsuji Honna, and nearly all of the sponors of the cycle are Japanese organisations. Most of the musicians are Vietnamese, although they were supplemented with Japanese harpists and Norwegian brass players in the M6.
Mike Bosworth
Hanoi
P.S. From what I have read, Rosé originally wanted to sell the 1880 DkL manuscript to the Library of Congress, with the attached condition that it never be performed. This condition was (fortunately) rejected and the sale fell through.
