M9 In Harford CT

[Russ Smiley]

http://www.hartfordsymphony.org/2009/06/mahler%E2%80%99s-ninth/

[John Kim]

Mahler’s Ninth

mahlerThursday, Friday & Saturday, October 8, 9 & 10, 2009, 8pm

Sunday, October 11, 2009, 3pm

Belding Theater, The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts

Mahler’s last completed symphony and to many – his greatest. In the intimacy of the Belding Theater, Edward Cumming leads the Hartford Symphony in Gustav Mahler’s sublime Symphony No. 9. Poignant, and profound, the Ninth is Mahler’s moving testament.

Edward Cumming, conductor

Mahler Symphony No. 9

Join us for an hour inside the mind of our Maestro!
Prior to this Masterworks concert there is a pre-concert discussion with the Maestro that starts one hour prior to the performance. Topics include but are not limited to the various composers and the historical significance of the pieces being played.


Thanks Russ. I quite like the program note, "Mahler’s last completed symphony and to many – his greatest".

Regards,

John,

[Russ Smiley]

Maestro Cumming's pre-concert chat set the composition within the chronology of the final four years of Mahler's life and that while the death theme is unmistakable, it wasn't necessarily about his own passing: at the time Mahler was busy, very engaged, and had already embarked on the next composition.  Cumming noted that M6 likewise didn't reflect the circumstances of Mahler's life at the time it was composed.  The concert was held in the more intimate Belding theater ensuring that all instruments were clearly audible.  The second violins were at the right and particularly spirited.  Tempi throughout were largely conventional, the Scherzo ending was very aggressive.  Cumming forewarned that at end of the second movement the contrabassoon would be heard amongst the horns and bassoons in a manner unlike on recordings: it indeed was prominent and that was consistent with the overall pattern of exposing countermelodies throughout.  I like hearing new, yet valid, treatments in familiar compositions, and these added to my appreciation of the concert.  Rear stage lights dimmed for the final pages of the score: it felt a little like Haydn's Farewell, but it may have contributed successfully to reducing audience noise at the very hushed end.  I believe the performance will be repeated Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

[Russ Smiley]

Here' what the local paper's critic wrote about the performance: http://tinyurl.com/yjr2jco