MAHLER'S FIFTH SYMPHONY
Tucson Symphony OrchestraJosé Luis Gomez, conductor
Joyce Yang, piano
Conrad Jones, trumpet
Program
Giuseppe Martucci: Notturno
Dmitri Shostakovich: Piano Concerto No. 1
Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 5
Friday, 15 March 2019
This was a spectacularly conceived and executed concert. Innocently enough, Martucci's oh-so-mellow and harmonious 'Notturno', from 1888, opened the action; waves of carefully crafted smooth sonorities, gathering just enough momentum to gently crest, roll, and release into the shoreline... This was the beautiful calm before the onrushing high Russian comedy, and the full Viennese Sturm und Drang to follow.
BLOKE WITH A JOKE
Shostakovich was not exactly known for his musical wit or an outright funny bone. And while this Piano Concerto with Trumpet Solo, written pre-WWII, while in his 20s, starts conventionally enough, by the end, it becomes almost circus-like. The opening musical storytelling eventually morphs into a series of complete style shifts; wink-wink imitations and allusions to Beethoven's 'Appassionata' here, his 3rd Piano Concerto there, a simplistic, open horn call from the trumpet is . . . slammed with a calculated percussive dissonance by the piano. You have got to hand it to Dimitri on this one! While the piano has more than a few moments of insane virtuosity, the writing is masterly, clever, and musically downright hilarious.
Watching Yang work, aside from her brilliant, crisply articulate, and powerful playing, was like catching a bit of high classical style Vaudeville. Especially in the Allegro Brio finale, Dimitri keeps handing out a slice of seemingly normal musical duty, only to turn it, on a dime, stylistically upside down or inside out. Now we're racing through some straightforward passage work. Whoops! Now mirror image synthetic scale counterpoint! Whoops! Now percussive double octaves -- in a different meter than the orchestra, and with . . . subtle phrasing and deceleration! Whoops! And Yang's facial expressions and body language, reacting to the disjointed Smorgasbord of successive musical responsibilities, was absolutely superb. Few performers would be able or willing to combine that kind of complete musical mastery with a full embrace of such a dramatic / comedic musical script. Bravissimo!
Conrad Jones, the talented former Principal Trumpet of the TSO, now of the Indianapolis Symphony, returned to Tucson to handle the trumpet part of the Shostakovich. Jones deep, rich tone shown brightly, despite the light scoring of the trumpet in the first two movements. The trumpet also plays the straight guy role as the concerto "devolves" into high crimes and musical misdemeanors. The finale's high comedy instrumental fight ends in a rousing virtuosic trumpet flourish, as it flies to the final cadence -- all handled with aplomb by Jones. It takes a very good sport, tight embouchure, and a rapid-fire tongue to excel here, and Conrad brought it all!
MAHLER'S FIFTH EPIC
A few not quite random thoughts
The depth and breath of this work, typical for Mahler, is almost off the scale. He divided it into 3 "Parts", yet each movement is arguably a world unto itself. So if I ignore here, a lot a what happened on stage last night, my excuse is that I am only writing about those aspects from which I have so far recovered...
For all of the drama and surging emotions of the opening Funeral March and succeeding Vehement Storm, something truly unexpected happened in the massive Scherzo which anchors the middle of this epic. Our celebrated Principal Horn, Johanna Lundy, came stage front for the famous obbligato that runs throughout the movement, and proceeded, matter of factly, to go about her business. This solo part is not a concerto-like show of instrumental pyrotechnics. It is prominent, now subtle, now anticlimactic, and now atmospheric, with echoes and synthesized, setting-sun-style orchestral brass sonorities. It first leads, yet only for a few moments, then melds into the orchestra, contains open moments of pensive reflection, and even its few driving triumphs are fleeting, if emphatic. The dancing rhythms threaded through much of the Scherzo, were as always, brightly and spritely articulated by Gomez and the TSO. In this textural and thematic weave, Mahler sends successions of off-beat, off-balance shivers rolling through the orchestra, with unpredictable mood and musical method shifts overlapping each other. You might wonder the thematic connection between some of them, though most ideas eventually receive altered recapitulation. This is a large, dense, structurally complex, "concerto for orchestra" type of movement, which José Luis compares to the technical challenges of executing Mahler's vaunted Seventh symphony.
But then . . . Des Mädchen Wunderhorn; musical interpretive magic took over. Lundy's tone and range of expression are broad and deep, yet it was how she took hold of the phrasing and lines, which immediately brought an attentive dialectical response from Maestro Gomez. A great conductor, as if always working in an opera pit, always leads the way, yet is reflexively aware and ready, to both carefully set up, and respond in kind to, a striking vocal / musical interpretation in the moment. Johanna is talented, humble, dedicated, and versatile. I can only think, that for all of those reasons, the music, as expressed through her horn, drew out an equally honoring answer. And honor that expression Maestro Gomez and the the orchestra certainly did. Knock me over with a feather. This kind of drama and intimacy, obviously made uniquely possible by Herr Mahler, was breathtaking and soul-deepening.
Regarding the great 'Adagietto', Mahler's so-called Love Letter to his adored wife, Alma, I hate to say that just thinking about it, especially at the glacial pace -- sometimes twice the duration of Mahler's own renditions! -- that it is so often given by modern conductors, had me well-prepared to be underwhelmed by the experience. Even with glaciers melting, molto allegro at both poles, and calving triple-time into the ocean, the extreme push to give halting exaltation to each successive rich harmony in this little masterpiece, always leaves me craving to be crushed by the melodies that Mahler actually scored.
Uh, what just happened? Surging lines. Long, beautifully sculpted phrases, with passionate acceleration and devastating cadences, welled up from the Music Hall stage. Yes! The intense, offsetting development section swirled sharpy into the hanging, panging emotions. I did not actually see W. Mengleberg peeking in from the wings, but he may well have been the angel dancing on the tip of Maestro's baton. Whether or not a Wimpy Kid is actually always lurking inside of me, this 'Adagietto', brought me, out of the cold blue, to halting tears.
All sorts of momentous energies dip and dive their way through the Rondo Finale of Mahler's Fifth. Its twists and turns never stop, through to the final trapeze dismount, which concludes the work. TSO crowds rarely fail -- it's almost reflexive -- to give standing ovation at concert's end. That was certainly the case here, and yet the excitement and exhilaration were palpable following this triumphant performance. José Luis recognized all of the outstanding instrumentalists featured here; Principal Trumpet, Hayato Tanaka, the hard-working brass and woodwind sections, and all of his players, because the extreme coordination demands of this contrapuntal stained glass window of the soul were executed at such a high level. Maestro walked back and paraded Johanna to stage front for special recognition. He did not have to do this. Yet it gave these listeners, many of whom appeared to be moved towards revelation, a chance to release and show their utter joy to one of the lead collaborators. I searched for, but spotted neither Messrs Sophocles nor Euripides anywhere in the house, and yet this performance provided some most welcome catharsis. Thank you, Tucson Symphony Orchestra.
~ Steven Gendel
HEAR IT - Humanity's Expressive Artists Reveal & Illuminate Truth
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Brilliant review Steven! Thanks for reminding us of Mahler's aphorism "I'm hitting my head against walls, but the walls are giving way."
ReplyDeleteYour opening comment re. the Notturno...."The calm before the..... Sturm und Drang", is highly quotable!