
Its no secret that Mahlers Third Symphony is big. As others have noted, the sprawling first movement alone is longer than almost any of Mozarts whole symphonies. With bleachers for the chorus (the Milwaukee Childrens Chorus and the women of the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus) and a greatly expanded orchestra (eight French Horns, two harps, seven percussionists, etc.), conductor Edo de Waart seemed to teeter at the edge of the stage.
Its a huge challenge for a conductor, who must hold it all together. But listening to the Milwaukee Symphony Saturday night, I kept wondering: Must it hold together? Is there any way for the polyglot sounds and styles to seem unified? Particularly in the first movement, where the music moves from resounding brass choruses to wheezy village-band style woodwinds to Messiaen-like tweets and twitters to soaring string passages.
Did it hold together? As usual, de Waart conducted with great sensitivity and precision. He went for dynamic extremes to capture the richness of the music. You had to strain to hear the bass drum softly softly introducing the march sections (the rather cough-happy audience didnt help). And brass fanfares resounded powerfully.
Mahler always sounds like Mahler, but this is a sort of musical disapora, capturing a wealth of worldly experience through music that didnt need to hold together. A haunting and meditative lone voice (beautifully sung by mezzo Kelley OConnor) bumped up against childrens song. An offstage trumpet and snare drum suggests a vast landscape of sound.
What contains it, I think, is the final movementrich and searching strings that restlessly drifted over this landscape, searching for resolution. Mahler draws that tension out with a deftness that rivals Wagners Tristan, and de Waart was at his best here. You could see eye-contact, and even an occasional smile exchange between conductor and concertmaster Frank Almond. No excessive gesturesjust beautiful control and connection. It was a fitting end to de Waarts inaugural season, and no doubt left many eager for seasons ahead.
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1 Comment
Right. I think it's correct to resist the temptation to say that it all "holds together." The Mahler 3 seemed more like a Victorian novel, a "baggy monster" chock full of great moments and oddities. I preferred the first and last movements myself, which contained great beauty, variety, and sonic sense. But I could do without the Christian turn and the religious trappings. We already have great Odes to Joy and Messiahs from his predecessor. Still a wonderful night.