Mahler Concert
- Symphony #5
As a music lover, and as a reviewer of concert performances, the Digital Concert Hall is an ideal site for me. Not just professionally, but also from a personal perspective. When times are hectic, and when I need some time to myself, there’s nothing more suitable than to ‘escape’ to the DCH and to enjoy one of the concerts from the past 1-3 years that are stored at the DCH’s archives.
That’s what I did yesterday, when I totally enjoyed the Berlin Philharmonic’s performance of Mahler’s 5th symphony, as conducted by Sir Simon Rattle. I captured the photos on my computer monitor while the music was playing. The performance was wonderful! the video took me directly to the flutes, or the Oboes, or to the Horns, so I could easily follow Mahler’s creation of this music.
It was quite bold of Gustav Mahler to begin a symphony with a trumpet solo. Keep in mind that we are talking about the late 1800’s. The influence of Haydn and Mozart and Beethoven was still very present in music. And usually these works began with a low orchestral introduction. Yes, Mahler adds other instruments as the first movement gets going.
The second movement is titled “Stuermlich Beweget” (Moving in a stormy manner). The movement starts with a lovely melody in the Cellos, and later it develops into a Chorale song, leading to the movement’s end.
The Scherzo is a waltz in the finest Viennese tradition. But Mahler, as a composer develops this movement into a 20-minute creative experience. Then comes the famous slow movement titled “Adagietto”. It is one of the saddest and most sublime sounds in all of music, scored for strings and Harp.
The symphony ends with the Rondo/Finale. It is a long work that runs about an hour and 20 minutes.
Here is the amazing “Adagietto” movement from the Mahler Symphony No. 5, with Sir Simon Rattle, conducting the Berliner Philharmoniker
Tags: Gustav Mahler, Symphony #5, Berlin Philharmonic, Simon Rattle