By Alisha Hagey and Jason Hagey
The Utah Symphony at Abravanel Hall in Salt Lake City gives us a truly memorable evening with Mahler’s Symphony No. 1. “If music be the food of love, play on,” writes William Shakespeare, though, perhaps, the cure for love and want of great art is to experience it. This season finale leaves audiences hungering for more and waiting for next season with anticipation. They are treated to a beautifully thought out program, where one piece flows seamlessly into another, building on a theme, and always paying homage to the piece before. I was already a lover of classical music, but tonight’s program made me fall in love again and see the value and need that our community has for the talents of these musicians.
The symphony evening begins under conductor Thierry Fischer‘s experienced direction with Joseph Haydn’s Symphony No. 9 in C Major. There are three movements to the piece and each one is beautiful. This is an earlier work of Haydn and so doesn’t have a large orchestral accompaniment. In fact, unless the instrumentalist needs a chair , there are no seats used. The majority of the musicians are standing. The violas play skillfully throughout the piece. The bassoonist sounds amazing–his tone is glorious and soars high above the strings, delivering beautiful swells of the melody. The strings’ runs are especially exquisite. Throughout, they really express the nuance of the piece, making each section of music tender and transcendent.
Every instrument shines in the small moments. The whole piece is refreshing with a kind of rustic elegance. In the third and final movement, the oboe and French horn duet is delightful. Haydn’s symphony is light and full of life and a great way to begin the night.
The next piece of the evening is one unfamiliar to many audience members: a whimsical, fantastic piece by Russian composer Alfred Schnittke called Moz-Art à la Haydn. Again, the musicians are standing when suddenly the lights in the auditorium go out. The only visible light sources are those on the music stands, which illuminate the artists’ music, and the slight ambient glow that outlines their faces. Some violinists begin playing in an eerie way, more melodic than tuning their instruments, but not by much. There are ambient night sounds and insect noises underneath, all of which are created on stage.
The violin section plays different partial tones on top of one another, some musicians plucking the strings while others just scratch at their strings with their bows, as if experimenting with the sounds a violin can make. With an explosion, like a crazed cacophony, the lights flash on and the strings begin to play more quasi-songs, different melodies interlaced over one another. The piece has a very cinematic quality to the already evocative counter melody as the musicians create different shapes on the stage and stage pictures are used in a theatrical way. These mirror
the same quality as the tones of the piece. They play with physical movement and the sounds of shoes stomping and walking add to the overall effect. Mozart themes feel surreal, as if the melodic theme itself is melting or dripping off a page. Never has music felt so visceral.
The soloists are excellent. Kathryn Eberle (Associate Concertmaster) has the qualities of a virtuoso violinist who is a master of her craft. Claude Halter (Second Violin Leader) counters Eberle to the audience’s absolute delight. Listeners are allowed to laugh as every musician takes the music overly seriously; this exaggeration lends itself to the innate humor of the piece and the audience enjoys the extremes. They are especially evident as members of the orchestra begin to leave the stage or wander around the chairs as if lost before exiting, still playing their instruments.
After intermission comes the true feast of the night: Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 in D Major, nicknamed “Titan.” There is a power and majesty behind the symphonic music. The piece begins with a low growl of instruments, pacing back and forth with the movement of the bits and pieces of songs popping or bubbling up from the surface of carefully constructed sound. Titan is evocative and tender, haunting and hypnotizing.
When it was originally performed, Symphony No. 1 was not well received and was considered too modern for 19th-Century sensibilities. Now, the piece shows its lasting influence on music over the last hundred years. The glory of the notes, intermingling melodies and counter-melodies ebb and flow like ocean tides. Sometimes, the swells smash against musical shores, exploding in splashes. Other times, the tides quietly, gently wash over the audience with salty harmonious froth and cool stillness. Mahler creates an atmospheric sound that tells countless stories, evoking memories and creating thoughts through the careful storytelling. It is possible to hear different characters, conflicts and resolutions, defeat and triumph. By the third act, I was bawling, tears running down my cheeks.
As the concluding performance of this season, the Utah Symphony gifts us with a unique and sublime evening. Come for the glory of Haydn, experience the spectacle and whimsy of Schnittke, and stay for the true grandeur that is Mahler. Each piece is played with love of music, with such grace and perfection that audiences of all ages will be moved.
The Utah Symphony Presents: Mahler’s Symphony No. 1
Abravanel Hall, 123 West South Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
May 2526, 2019, 7:30 PM
Tickets: $15 – $84
Contact: 801-533-6683
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