MAHLER'S FIFTH SYMPHONY Tucson Symphony Orchestra José 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 If you were never a Shostakovich fan before, you are a Shostakovich fan now! And if you knew nothing about Joyce Yang's expressive skills, her ability to react in the moment to the inanity of some incredibly difficult piano writing, and to fully act out the dominant dramatic role w...
Gendel's Reviews of Music and Life