{"id":1315,"date":"2010-01-25T18:42:44","date_gmt":"2010-01-25T17:42:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/?p=1315"},"modified":"2011-05-10T12:57:00","modified_gmt":"2011-05-10T11:57:00","slug":"performers-perspective-mahler-2-a-moment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/2010\/01\/25\/performers-perspective-mahler-2-a-moment\/","title":{"rendered":"Performer’s Perspective- Mahler 2, a moment"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Bridgewater Hall- Mahler in Manchester<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>\"Mahler<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

My wife and I call Mahler 2 \u201cthe Mahler symphony of \u201cthis is the best moment in the piece\u201d moments.\u201d<\/p>\n

From the bracing opening to the shattering climax of the first movement, from the infinitely elegant pizzicato return of the theme of the 2nd<\/sup> movement to the bizarre and jarring opening of the 3rd<\/sup>, 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\u00a0 a piece that again and again has you saying \u201cI love this bit- this is the best moment in the piece.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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.<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

To talk about this spot, I need to speak for a moment about keys. <\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Discussions of keys are one of those things that many listeners find to be a little too technical. They often say \u201cI don\u2019t have perfect pitch, I can\u2019t 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\u2019t understand or can\u2019t hear.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Well, have no fear- this is not going to be an ear training test.<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n


\n<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

After all, tuning pitches have always varied and have changed a great deal over the year. A listener with perfect pitch who grew up in Bach\u2019s Leipzig would not recognize Bach\u2019s C minor and Mahler\u2019s as being the same key- Mahler\u2019s was higher.<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Unless you have synesthesia (meaning you see specific colours for each pitch, chord and key you hear), or perfect pitch, the frequencies of each key are not all that important. What is important, and can help us get more out of the music emotionally are the relationships between keys<\/em><\/strong> and the meaning and history of each key.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

A lot of the frustration and confusion surrounding discussions of \u00a0keys comes from the clumsy way in which we are taught them when we are young- we learn each key as a collection of sharps or flats, or as scale fingerings on our instrument. We are taught that D minor has one flat, C minor has 3. Describing D minor as a key with one flat doesn\u2019t get us very far toward enhancing one’s listening experience. A far more useful description comes from the movie Spinal Tap, when the rather addled guitarist Nigel Tufnel calls D minor \u201cthe saddest of all keys. People weep instantly when they hear it\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

So, don\u2019t think about keys as scales, key signatures, fingerings or frequencies. Think about keys as moods, as histories, as contexts, as universes. A key is a space in which things happen. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The 2nd<\/sup> movement of Mahler 2 is in A flat major, but because it occurs in a symphony in C minor it means something different than it would if the whole symphony was in A flat, or D major or any other key. When we see \u201cSymphony in C minor\u201d on the cover page, we can take a moment to remember that for Mahler, C minor is the key of Beethoven 5, of the Great Mass of Mozart, of the end of the St Matthew Passion of Bach, of Brahms\u2019 First Symphony and Beethoven\u2019s last Piano Sonata. What this key means will forever be in some way changed by Mahler\u2019s engagement with it. When Shostakovich wrote his 8th<\/sup> Symphony in the key of C minor, it carried all the associations that Mahler had in mind, but also had become the key of Mahler 2 and Bruckner 8.<\/p>\n

Mahler was always conscious of his engagement with the musical tradition, and would have been keenly aware that when one said \u201cSymphony in C minor,\u201d in 1888, two pieces would have come to mind- Beethoven\u2019s Fifth and Brahms\u2019 First. Both of these works, and the then-brand new 8th<\/sup> of Bruckner are really symphonies from<\/em><\/strong> C minor to <\/em><\/strong>C major. They begin in a place of profound darkness and tragedy and emerge into light, hope and triumph.<\/p>\n

Mahler seems to have clearly seen C minor in a similar way- as a place of darkness from which hope can possibly emerge, but he was too much the innovator to simply repeat the journey from C \u00a0minor to major that Beethoven and Brahms had handled so perfectly. Beethoven\u2019s only other minor key symphony (the 9th<\/sup>) traces a similar arc from D minor to D major, as does Schumann\u2019s only minor key symphony (again- D minor to D major). Brahms 3rd<\/sup> begins in F minor and ends peacefully, rather than triumphantly, in F major. Truly tragic symphonies that end in the minor are exceedingly rare- Beethoven never wrote one. The most famous examples are Brahms 4th<\/sup> in E minor and Mozart\u2019s 40th<\/sup> in G minor- probably the bleakest and most tragic work in the symphonic literature. Mahler would eventually write one, and only one, work which would end in the minor- his 6th<\/sup> Symphony.<\/p>\n

In all of these examples of Minor-to-Major symphonies, the symphony ends in what we call the \u201cparallel major,\u201d which is the key which shares the same tonic note as the home key. Mahler\u2019s innovation is both extraordinarily simple and completely new- instead of ending in parallel key, he ends in the relative one. A\u201d relative key\u201d shares the same key signature as the home key- Mahler 2 is in C minor, and the relative major of C minor is E flat, as both keys have 3 flats. Of course, it\u2019s not important for you the listener to know how many flats we\u2019re dealing with, only that we\u2019re dealing with a new kind of journey- instead of keeping the same tonic note and evolving of transforming from minor to major, Mahler keeps the same key signature and rises a third from C to E flat. In a symphony that starts with a funeral march, climaxes with Armageddon and ends in heavenly transfiguration, this key relationship with its perceptible feeling ascension is a powerful metaphor.<\/p>\n

And, of course, E flat, like C minor, has a history, has resonances. There is Beethoven\u2019s Eroica, which also has a great funeral march in C minor at its heart (the funereal nature of C minor seems to be defined in the St Matthew Passion, be honed in Mozart\u2019s Masonic Funeral music and perfected in the Marche Funebre of the Eroica), and one of his last works, the String Quartet op. 127. It was Mozart\u2019s favourite key, home to the sublime Piano Quartet in E flat and the 39th<\/sup> Symphony, and Haydn did great things with it in his 99th<\/sup> Symphony. Because of Beethoven, 3 E flat is often thought of as the \u201cheroic\u201d key. Mahler was well aware of this, but for him E flat found it\u2019s meaning in this work, and he stayed true to that character throughout the rest of his life. For him it would always be a spiritual, ecstatic and celebratory key- his other work in which E flat major plays an important role is the closest in spirit in every way to the 2nd<\/sup> Symphony, the 8th <\/sup>Symphony in E flat Major.<\/p>\n

This relationship between a home key and it\u2019s relative key is the most common one in music, particularly in works in a minor key. Most works in a major key move first from the home key to the dominant. Works in a minor key, as often as not, move first from the home key to the relative major. \u00a0In the case of both Mozart\u2019s Masonic Funeral Music and the Marche Funebre, both also in C minor, the second theme is in E flat major, just a minute or so into the piece.<\/p>\n

Mahler 2 begins with a funeral march in C\u00a0 minor, clearly indebted to the slow movement of the Eroica. One would expect it to move immediately to E flat major, but instead the first new key it hints at is E major before being jerked back into the funeral world of C minor. Lots of keys are visited, but none of them E flat major. The 2nd<\/sup> mvt is in A flat- you would expect the first port of call to be the dominant of A flat, E flat major. Nope- we first visit the parallel key instead (G sharp minor). On it goes- the epic Finale goes through numerous keys before the entrance of the chorus, and basically avoids E flat major.<\/p>\n

The world ends, the souls of humanity march to Armageddon, the off stage band sounds the Last Trump, and even the chorus finally gets to sing, and we\u2019ve all the while not seen the key we\u2019ve been looking for since the 2nd<\/sup> page of the piece. We are almost at the end of the symphony before we hear a cadence in E flat major. Just before the long-awaited appearance of the key we’ve been searching for since the first pages of the work, the chorus sings<\/p>\n

Was enstanden ist, das muss vergehen!<\/p>\n

Was vergangen, auferstehen.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What has come into being must perish,<\/p>\n

What perished must rise again.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

They begin in B flat minor and end in C flat major. Not promising, but the brass answer them with a simple chorale- a moment that could come straight from Bach, and they cadence, for the first time, on E flat major<\/em><\/strong>. This is THE MOMENT we\u2019re talking about today- the first appearance of something we\u2019ve been seeking for 75 minutes. The chorus hears this chord, this key, and answer, now staying in E flat.<\/p>\n

H\u00f6r auf zu beben!<\/p>\n

Bereite dich zu leben!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Fear no more!
\nPrepare yourself to live!<\/p>\n

So, where is the “Performer\u2019s Perspective” in all of this?<\/p>\n

Well of course, it is a pivotal moment in the work, but it is not a climax- there are no cymbals and drums to underline the first arrival in our destination key. Does a conductor see this moment for what it is? How does she or he shape these phrases? How does she or he bring the text to life?<\/p>\n

Mahler gives lots of instructions to the conductor- the beginning of the first phrase in the chorus is marked Slower and Mysteriously, but ends with the indication of Forward!. When the brass enter, it is suddenly held back (Zuruckhaltend), and he repeats the instruction in Italian, just in cased you missed it (ritenuto). The brass cadence on a fermata, then there is a second fermata on the silence that follows that first E flat major chord. In that silence we are awestruck- astounded by what we have heard. Finally, the men of the choir speak- Mahler says it should Langsammer (slower) and, again, Misterioso. \u201cFear no more,\u201d they say. The women join, now everyone singing the same words \u201cFear no more.\u201d (there\u2019s a great low B flat in the basses here- what a great sound).<\/p>\n

Then Mahler tells the conductor Schneller (faster) as the men erupt in fortissimo- \u201cPrepare yourself to live!\u201d Finally, all repate the same words mezzo forte and melt into pianississimo, landing on an expectant E flat dominant chord as we prepare to begin the work\u2019s ecstatic coda.<\/p>\n

So much happens in these 23 bars- we go from a sober acknowledgement that all that is created must die, to the hopeful promise, the realization, even, that all will Auferstehen- Rise Again.<\/p>\n

In 23 bars, there are 8 indications of tempo modification and 6 fermatas or pauses.<\/p>\n

Perhaps more than almost any moment in the work, this passage tells the listener whether a conductor dares to go to the extremes Mahler seems to demand, whether they have been tracking the piece\u2019s harmonic journey from the beginning, and whether they have the patience to let these awesome silences have meaning.<\/p>\n

Who goes for contrast, and who goes for continuity? Who is fastest and who is slowest? Who has the most terrified sounding Alto soloist? Let’s listen….<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not sure Otto Klemperer<\/a> knew what \u201cVorwarts\u201d meant, but then he told one of my teachers that \u201cKlemperer means slow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eliahu Inbal <\/a>downplays the first few tempo changes- very little change for the first Langsammer, almost nothing for the Zuruckhaltend which follows the Vorwarts, and very little of the last Schneller.<\/p>\n

Claudio Abbado<\/a> in Lucerne is masterful as always- he surprised me with the vehemence, even violence of the first “bereite dich” Schneller.<\/p>\n

The under-recognized Kazushi Ono<\/a> is marvellously in control, and the chorus sings with lots of care for the words.<\/p>\n

Riccardo Chailly<\/a> starts brilliantly (he even gets the accents on the first two notes, almost the only who does), but doesn\u2019t do a whole lot of Vorwarts or Schneller. The slow stuff is stunning, but is it balanced by enough drama and contrasts? His are the softest softs, but that can also be a factor of the recording.<\/p>\n

Michael Gielen<\/a> sounds very impressively polished, but downplays the tempo changes and skips the fermatas on \u201cbeben.\u201d There is a strangely disinterested quality to the cutoff of that first E flat chord which kind of bugs me, but what follows is pretty beautiful.<\/p>\n

Valery\u00a0Gergiev<\/a> sounds a little rough and ready (he\u2019s not a big rehearser), but he sure as hell knows what Vorwarts means (although that first forte, and it is just forte and not fortissimo, is close to too harsh sounding for me), and I am sure he knows what that E flat major chord means from the way they play it. A moment, to be sure.<\/p>\n

Back-in-the-day Lenny <\/a>B is dramatic as you\u2019d expect, but tends to treat changes of tempo as changing tempos- both the Zuruckhaltend and the last Langsammer are getting gradually slower, instead of simply being held back of slower.<\/p>\n

I like James Levine\u2019s<\/a> violin trill at the beginning (they start the trill a little slow). He\u2019s not big on Vorwarts, but has a great fermata on the first silence. His Schneller is faster than his Vorwarts, which begs the question- should they be more or less the same tempo, or one faster than the other. We know what Jimmy thinks.<\/p>\n

Late Lenny<\/a> is not quite what I expected- I thought he\u2019d go like a bat out of hell at the Vorwarts, but he\u2019s pretty broad there, taking time to let each chord sound. Like Levine, he does more for the Schneller than for the Vorwarts. His brass chorale sounds like it was multitracked by God- what a sound, and the chorus sings as if possessed.<\/p>\n

Ivan Fischer<\/a> has a lot of attention to detail- nothing on the slow side, to be sure. You can actually hear the contrabassoon in his chorale- it drowns out the tuba. Kind of a cool sound .<\/p>\n

Haitink with the BBC Symphony at the Proms <\/a>(not great sound quality from webstream) a few years ago is astoundingly in control (listen to that harp!) at the beginning and it just gets better from there. I was at this concert, and listening again to this passage, in my opinion, \u00a0it is pretty amazing music making.<\/p>\n

Which of these readings speak to you? Which drives you bananas? Do they all sound the same and do you feel I’ve just wasted 30 minutes of \u00a0your life? Does one or another make you want to listen to the whole performance? We’d love to hear your comments<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

UPDATED<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A few friends asked me to put my head on the chopping block, more out of curiosity about how I conduct it than out of malice. In spite of the fact that our budget for this entire season, not just the Mahler 2, was about half James Levine’s normal weekly fee, I’ve decided to post this clip of my OES performance in 2006. <\/a><\/p>\n

A sensational take from Walter Weller on video<\/p>\n

http:\/\/youtu.be\/DTd2MTYpqOE<\/p>\n