Hello Everyone,
Sorry for my late reply, it's been a hectic few days here. To fill you in on my Mahler evening on Thursday:
The evening was hosted by my friend with whom I usually listen to Mahler on Thursday. (Her stereo is better than mine, and she is retired and lives alone so we can listen as loudly as we please). She had invited two friends of hers while I brought along my mother-in-law who is here on a visit from Poland. I would say that each of these three guests new to Mahler have some appreciation for classical music but in a very casual manner.
The two friends of our host had both heard the last 10 minutes of so of M2 because my friend had it played at her husband's funeral service as it was his very favorite.
To prepare for the evening, I had printed out the text for Urlicht and movement 5 for each person. They did ask for a "pre-concert talk", so I gave a very brief overview of the symphony's main themes, using Barry's idea of thinking of the symphony as the humanist, inclusive view of striving towards heaven. I also mentioned David Hurwitz's thoughts about the huge shift in mood between movements 4 and 5 - that Urlicht is a view of simple child-like faith that doesn't quite square with Mahler's true beliefs - hence the opening of movement 5 can be seen as a violent reaction to that sort of faith. I gave a sentence or two of description of each of the 5 movements so they would have some feel for the overall structure of the symphony. I did mention the Wunderhorn origin of the 3rd movement and described the humor of that song with its lyrics of St. Anthony and the fish. I probably spoke for 5 minutes or less altogether.
We took a short break after movement 1, following Mahler's thoughts on the subject. With that pause, I was able to gauge the early reaction a bit. Everyone seemed very impressed and involved, though perhaps a bit surprised at the intensity of the movement. It was interesting to see that as the second movement began, what I think Mahler had mentioned as an interlude after the storm of the first movement, had exactly that effect! Our guests visibly relaxed and for a few moments enjoyed the more peaceful, lyrical strings. Of course with Mahler, those interludes don't usually last for too long...
The third movement was a big hit, I think having given them the visual reference of the fish swimming along oblivious to the sermon helped ground the experience for them in something easy to imagine.
Urlicht was another favorite. Well, how can one not like that one, really? I offered to take another short break after that, but everyone was anxious to press ahead, so on we went to the last movement. As it was progressing, I did warn of the upcoming huge timpani rolls and the chaos that comes in after that. Also I explained about the offstage brass and their role in the symphony as we went along. The choir came in, and it was all smiles for our friends. That sense of having been through a struggle and now having won our reward was palpable. At the conclusion, one of the guests said, simply: "Triumphant!".
The next day I happened to see everyone and get their opinion after having some time to reflect on the experience. Everyone was very positive. I got some compliments for my explanations, but I hastened to credit you all here for your assistance with that! Each of the guests said they would like to come back again for a Mahler night.
I live in a very small town in northern New Hampshire, where cultural events are few and far between. It was encouraging to see people interested and excited in something like this. Who knows? Maybe my little town will have a full-fledged Mahler Society soon! Now word is definitely out about our Mahler Thursday nights.
Anyway, thank you for your advice and your interest in my little adventure in Mahler proselytization.
Cheers,
Herb
PS: I suppose if you've read this far, you're curious what version I played for this occasion. I chose one that is not often spoken of as a first choice but is becoming a favorite of mine: Bertini / Cologne from his EMI box set. I have others on CD, but I played that one because I feel it's a nice compromise between the more self-indulgent interpretations (some of which I love!) and the more reserved ones (also some of which appeal to me). I very much appreciate that not only can you hear the bells and organ very clearly at the end, but also the tam-tam in the final few bars. Too often one or all of those get drowned out at the end.
I had given some thought to playing Mehta's version, but the sound quality was not as good and I thought it might be a little off-putting for more casual listeners. I had gone as far as last week testing that CD on my friend's stereo but at louder volumes it just didn't hold up well.
