Kenneth Woods- A View From the Podium

I finally managed to make it to one of the Mahler in Manchester concerts this past weekend (in spite of my blog project, I’ve had concerts of my own every previous concert night). Happily, this time I had a rehearsal in Manchester, so I was able to catch Gianandrea Noseda and the BBC Philharmonic giving a quite stunning performance of Mahler 7.

Almost as interesting as the performance were the conversations before and after. There was a small army of rather distinguished composers about, as well as critics, Mahler nuts, broadcasters and other serious listeners. While everyone seemed unanimous in their praise for the performances, the work still sparked some rather pointed conversations- particularly the famous Finale, which still seems to shock and baffle.

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The Bridgewater Hall- Mahler in Manchester

The BBC Philharmonic will perform Mahler’s Sixth Symphony in A minor on the 27th of March at 7:30 under the direction of their Principal Conductor, Gianandrea Noseda. Also on the programme is the premiere of Edward Gregson’s “Dream Song.”

I am often asked to rank the Mahler symphonies.

Which one do you think is the greatest? Which is the hardest to conduct? Which is hardest to play? Which is a good one to start with if I am new to Mahler? Which one sells the most tickets?

Not surprisingly, my answers to all of these questions have varied over the years. They are all such compelling, challenging, rewarding, vexing works that working on or listening to any of them can quickly  convince you that the piece on your desk is the greatest, the hardest, the most accessible, the most popular, the scariest or the most multi-faceted.

However, when asked for my “favourite” Mahler symphony over the years, my answer has been pretty consistent. It’s still a close contest and always has been. The late triptych of Das Lied von der Erde, the Ninth and the Tenth all mean a great deal to me- they are a profound source of comfort and solace and have been almost my entire life. The 2^nd will always be special for many reasons because of its cathartic power and the special place it has held in my performing life. The 4^th is simply perfection. The 8^th, well, I just love it- I’m not too cool to love it, and I have no criticisms of it. On goes the list for all 11 works.

But, more or less without interruption, the 6^th has always been my favourite of them all.

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The Bridgewater Hall- Mahler in Manchester

Our first “conductor conversation” for Mahler in Manchester took place on Friday at Studio 7 in Manchester. I met Gianandrea after his final rehearsal of Kurt Schwertsik’s Nachtmusiken- the orchestra was on great form, and the new piece is very good.

He’s been called “the conductor who could save us all.” Since joining the BBC Philharmonic as Principal Conductor in 2001, he has amassed an impressive array of recordings and broadcasts, and his 2005 series of Beethoven symphony mp3′s made for the BBC Radio 3  website remain the most popular collection of downloads in music history.

In 1997 Gianandrea became the first foreign Principal Guest Conductor at the Mariinsky Theatre, whose forces he has conducted both in St Petersburg and on tour. In 2002 he made his debut with the Metropolitan Opera in New York (returning in 2006 and 2007). In September last year he became Music Director at Teatro Regio in Turin, one of Europe’s leading opera houses, and he has also appeared with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, and La Scala, Milan. Gianandrea is Principal Conductor of the Orquesta de Cadaqués in Spain and Artistic Director of the Stresa Festival on the shores of Lake Maggiore, near his home in northern Italy.

Through his association with the BBC Philharmonic, Gianandrea is an exclusive artist of Chandos Records. He has released 16 recordings, which include his ongoing exploration of Liszt’s orchestral music, as well as discs of Dallapiccola, Dvorák, Karlowicz, Mahler, Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff, Respighi, Shostakovich and Smetana. All have been favourably reviewed worldwide.

Vftp- Gianandrea Noseda Mahler Podcast 128

The Bridgewater Hall- Mahler in Manchester

Mahler in Manchester begins this weekend, as Gianandrea Noseda leads the BBC Philharmonic in Mahler’s 1^st Symphony. The performance takes place at 7:30 PM on the 16th of January, 2010 in The Bridgewater Hall

Even today, the First probably remains Mahler’s most popular piece- a generation ago, it was probably his only popular piece. How times have changed. It was the first Mahler work I heard in concert, and it made quite an impression on me.

A generation ago, a performer might have been tempted to compare it first to other symphonic works by Dvorak, Brahms, Beethoven or Tchaikovsky. A musician today is more likely to compare it to the other Mahler symphonies, and the works of people like Bruckner and Shostakovich. In comparison to the symphonies of his predecessors, Mahler 1 looks gargantuan in every way. Longer than just about any symphony since Beethoven 9, the wind section for Mahler’s first symphony is nearly twice the size of that for any of the Brahms, Dvorak or Tchaikovskys- 7 or 8 horns instead of the usual 4, 4 of each woodwind instead of the usual 2-3 and so on.

Now that we live in an age where almost every musician not only knows all of the Mahler symphonies but probably has a set of recordings (or several) at home, the First looks more modest. Compared to Bruckner or Shostakovich, it doesn’t look that massive. It is his shortest symphony, one of his smallest orchestras (although the 4^th and 5^th are smaller), and in many ways the most accessible technically and musically. How times have changed.

Still, every Mahler symphony has its challenges and its riddles for the performer to come to terms with. It is not a work to underestimate.

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