Performer’s Perspective- Mahler 2, a moment
The Bridgewater Hall- Mahler in Manchester
The Hallé perform Mahler’s 2nd Symhony,’Resurrection ,’ this Thursday, the 28th of January at 7:30 PM in the Bridgewater hall, under the direction of Marcus Stenz.
My wife and I call Mahler 2 “the Mahler symphony of “this is the best moment in the piece” moments.”
From the bracing opening to the shattering climax of the first movement, from the infinitely elegant pizzicato return of the theme of the 2nd movement to the bizarre and jarring opening of the 3rd, from the serene beauty of Urlicht, the astounding song that makes up the fourth movement, to the portentious and awe inspiring first pages of the Finale, it is a piece that again and again has you saying “I love this bit- this is the best moment in the piece.”
I want to talk about one of those moments today: perhaps one that on first glance is not as obvious as those above, but one that, once you become aware of it, changes your whole sense of the shape of the piece.
To talk about this spot, I need to speak for a moment about keys.
Discussions of keys are one of those things that many listeners find to be a little too technical. They often say “I don’t have perfect pitch, I can’t tell C minor from D minor, so what does it matter to me what key something is in? I just want to enjoy the music and not be reminded of what I don’t understand or can’t hear.”
Well, have no fear- this is not going to be an ear training test.
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