Mahler

Menacing…majestic…massive…melancholy…Mahler’s Third Symphony as played by the Philadelphia Orchestra, was a meandering storm through life in one concert!  I’m not an expert in classical reviews, but I enjoy and love classical music and Mahler was introduced to me by a longtime friend and musician who understands and has studied this piece of music extensively.  A long symphony consisting of six movements, a spectacle with every instrument a large orchestra owns, boys choir, women’s chorus, and a mezzo soprano!  As the opening horns blared, I could feel the doubts and questions Mahler had about life going on in his head, as I do listening.  An off stage trumpet solo, portraying distance and longing, was beautifully revealed.  Every principal instrument had a voice, as if in a conversation at a large convention, each spoke up clearly whether short or extended.  Voices and soloist added lightness and hope along with sadness and despair.  The whole storm culminating in the calm aftermath, where one could hear the quiet of the “pin drop”.  

Life mirrors music, a way to express what one can’t articulate with words.  A musician suffers and it manifests itself in a symphony lasting all these years.  Genius!