BITTERSWEET MAGIC and a BROKEN COVENANT

Choir Masters Bruce Chamberlin and Julian Ackerley, Maestro José Luis Gomez, Concertmaster Lauren Roth, Soloist Kelly Nassief, and Narrator Jamie Bernstein

This concert -- Beethoven's Fidelio Overture, the 'Adagio' from Mahler's 10th Symphony, and Bernstein's 'Kaddish', Symphony #3, on Friday, January 19th, 2018 -- was utterly fantastic; one for the books for the Tucson Symphony Orchestra.

Regarding the Mahler...
Not meaning to gush or ingratiate, here; Maestro José Luis Gomez gave an extremely thoughtful, penetrating, emotional, and fully engaged reading of the haunting, churning, surreal, 'Adagio' from Mahler's 10th Symphony. Mahler juxtaposes seemingly irreconcilable antinomies; lighthearted street dancing alternates with a Soul being torn asunder by implacable undertow. In this performance, it all made sense. The unaccompanied viola-section-only opening melody, and all of its otherworldly and inner-worldly manifestations, were generously, carefully, and powerfully sculpted and expressed. Then, when the episodes of playful, rhythmic, descending, embellished trills appeared, Gomez let them go freely, like the natural, easy, flutter of birds just released. There they go! And whenever the stridently profound struggles reemerged, so too resumed the fully detailed embrace of the ever-daunting ascent over increasingly perilous ground. For me personally, this was a revelation of Mahlerian insight. The antinomies are not reconciled. Rather, they coexist in a stupefying disorder; heart-rending to realize. 

And, five minutes from the Adagio's end, where did that startling dissonant stream of unconsciousness come from? Penned in 1910, it exposes and shrilly expresses an almost earth-shattering, intensely dark spiritual perspective. As uniquely communicated is this terrifying vertigo, it does have one powerful contemporaneous emotional peer: the frenetic sustained dissonance climaxing Scriabin's 10th Piano Sonata, from 1913. Each was written in the final year of its composers' life. And both provide naked slices of the psychological devastation lying just beneath the glossy public optimism of the first decade of the 20th Century. Many of the riveting musical expressions of the M10 'Adagio' are not particularly pleasant. On this night, this performance of this music brought tears to my eyes. 

I was not surprised that this little gem was so well interpreted and performed, but just shocked by the music itself through this fine delivery. In a concert hall infamous for sucking all life out of the mid and high strings, the balance and presence of sound retained their integrity. Concertmaster Lauren Roth's full-bodied bowing of Mahler's beautifully setup and orchestrated violin solos, paid off handsomely, providing a perfect, somewhat spooky repose from the dominating horn-heavy sonorities. And the performance of the brass, with Principal Horn Johanna Lundy on the Mahler hot seat, was fully up for their outsized responsibilities -- lovely, difficult work. This kind of art, the writing and the performing, makes average people into better, deeper, more humane human beings. I shall return to the TCC Music Hall on Sunday afternoon in support of the call to increase humanity's humanity.

Regarding the Bernstein...

The text of Bernstein's 'Kaddish', his 3rd Symphony, makes the biblical 'Story Of Job' appear as child's play. God is here judged and held accountable on His own terms and has failed. Man must and does take charge, guiding God, through a dream, to His own fulfillment, by demanding a faithful discharge of God's obligations within His covenant with Man. Finally, God is fully, humanly informed and in perfect stride with Man, now re-formed in Man's image; God is a reflection. Does this spiritual accomplishment produce a joyous, over-arching victory for Man? No, it does not. Having to face the brutal horrors of life on Earth, with a spiritual partner that is neither omniscient nor omnipotent, is heavy-hearted and open-ended; the severest trial in living one's life.

In a 'coup d'etat', George Hanson, onetime Bernstein associate and current Desert Song Festival Director, lured Jamie Bernstein -- LB's daughter -- to narrate the Tucson performances of the 'Kaddish' Symphony, using her own rewrite of her father's text, which he himself had rewritten, yet was never fully satisfied. The addition of Jamie's personal perspective, a surprise at first, added an enlightening dimension, without compromising her father's message or outrage. Bernstein's 'Kaddish', written just after the post-WWII bubble of the great promise of world peace, is an all-out furiously passionate intellectual and spiritual attack on humankind's inhumanity. Now, two generations later, Bernstein's titanic taking of God to task for failing in His covenant with Man, is again prescient, as we sit teetering on yet another, even more terrifying, inexorable precipice, with the survival of civilization clearly at hand. Bernstein's method here is Mahler-like, in bringing massive forces to bear on the subject. And the result is a 'tour de force' of Bernstein's mid-20th Century style, orchestral compositional mastery, and a pinnacle of multi-element musical expression -- giant orchestra, 2 choruses, vocal soloist, and narrator included. The choral performances, always top notch here, were so good as to appear a fully natural part of the musical statement; clearly also a result of the great writing. Kelly Nassief's silken tone and powerful projection proved the glittering jewel adorning this overpowering combined ensemble.

This music and its coordination is a conductor's dream -- if your dream is to be fully engaged, energized, and tested to your farthest limit! I dashed backstage to for a quick congratulations, and found a beaming Maestro Gomez, overflowing with appreciation of others' contributions, and humbled by the moment. This very successful production was a full collaborative effort from Tucson's broad community of musicians and musical artistic organizations. A gigantic "Bravo!" to George Hanson and the Tucson Desert Song Festival, to the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, to Jaime Bernstein, the Tucson Symphony Orchestra Chorus, the Arizona Boys Chorus, and again to Music Director Gomez, for this triumph on a scale rarely seen or attempted in Tucson, Arizona. Huge thank yous to everyone involved!

 ~ Steven Gendel

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