Zander Conducts Philharmonia in Mahler Ninth, April 16
Zander Rehearses NEC Philharmonia (Andrew Hurlbut photo)
For Immediate Release:
March 31, 2008
"It's my first time playing Mahler 9th. It's such a beautiful piece! There are a lot of complexions in emotion, and I love how he put them all together in one picture, His orchestration is amazing! Thankful to play this masterpiece!"-- Ahrim Kim cello, NEC Philharmonia.
Benjamin Zander will conduct his only Boston Mahler performance of the year with the New England Conservatory Philharmonia, April 16, at 8 p.m. in NEC’s Jordan Hall. Zander, who is celebrating his 41st year on the NEC faculty, said he chose the Mahler Ninth Symphony, a supreme work of leave-taking, as the academic year’s final artistic event for the student players, many of whom are graduating. The Philharmonia is the senior-most orchestra in the Conservatory. Zander is documenting preparation of the piece in his online blog, which incorporates his own thoughts about the rehearsals as well as reactions from the students. To follow their progress, click here
"This is one of my favorite pieces of all time! It ranges from the furious Rondo full of and resembling merciless anger, to the timeless ethereal beauty of the Adagio. Mahler is able to pull together all the range of sound and creates some of the most beautiful harmonies that exist in music. I am not sure that there is another piece that expresses the fullest sound an orchestra can make, while also treading the line between silence and sound.”--Kacy Clooton, NEC Philharmonia cellist
Zander, who is in the process of recording all the Mahler Symphonies with the London Philharmonia on the TelArc label, has become one of the world’s foremost interpreters of the Austrian composer. He has performed all of the Mahler Symphonies with his Boston Philharmonic Orchestra as well as selected works with the Preparatory School’s flagship orchestra, the Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, and the College’s senior orchestras. His recording of the Ninth Symphony was widely praised, including this statement from Gramophone: “Zander's performance is more expansive than (Bruno) Walter's, but there's hardly any less expressive tension. In fact, that's the other thing that's so remarkable about this performance - the emotional intensity and impetus. Not since Bernstein (on a two disc set) have I heard a modern recorded Mahler 9th that is so urgently communicative at every stage, though Zander manages to get his message across without stretching tempos or underlining climaxes in red.”
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The first entrance of the first violins led by the exquisitely musical Sasha Kazovsky, so tender, so soft, brought a new mood of quiet, world-weary nostalgia. I told them that the Mahlerian pp is a very special sound – delicate, but incredibly intense and rapt. It took several minutes of work to make sure that every voice was playing their music that way."—Benjamin Zander
“If a late Beethoven Quartet talks about eternity and transcendence, Mahler describes what is beyond that.”--Sasha Kazovsky, (leader of the Ariel Quartet)
Composed in 1909-10, the Mahler Ninth was the composer’s last completed work. It followed by two years the death of his four-year old daughter from diphtheria and the diagnosis of his own serious heart ailment that required him to give up the physical exercise that helped him compose. Mahler had also recently learned of his wife Alma’s infidelity. Mahler biographer Henry-Louis de la Grange writes: “The omnipresence of the 'farewell' motif from Beethoven's Op. 81a Piano Sonata ('Les adieux') in the first movement of the symphony clearly confirms that this is the 'subject matter' of the Andante. Yet, in the Ninth Symphony, other moods and other dispositions lead us far away from this initial sense of valediction. First and foremost, there is the intense love of life that pervades countless passages in the opening movement with its feverish ardor. Beyond serenity, Mahler rediscovers passion and, in the middle movements, even the grotesque visions of his earlier works…Like that of Das Lied von der Erde, this ending (the final Adagio) is in no way pessimistic or tinged with despair. Whether one discovers here a message of hope, a farewell of heartrending tenderness or the serene acceptance of fate, few listeners will deny that this final Adagio brings with it a sense of supreme fulfillment, an ideal catharsis.”
The concert is free and open to the public.
For further information, check the NEC Website or call the NEC Concert Line at 617-585-1122. NEC’s Jordan Hall, Brown Hall, Williams Hall and the Keller Room are located at 30 Gainsborough St., corner of Huntington Ave. St. Botolph Hall is located at 241 St. Botolph St. between Gainsborough and Mass Ave.
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Recognized nationally and internationally as a leader among music schools, New England Conservatory offers rigorous training in an intimate, nurturing community to 750 undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral music students from around the world. Its faculty of 225 boasts internationally esteemed artist-teachers and scholars. Its alumni go on to fill orchestra chairs, concert hall stages, jazz clubs, recording studios, and arts management positions worldwide. Nearly half of the Boston Symphony Orchestra is composed of NEC trained musicians and faculty.
The oldest independent school of music in the United States, NEC was founded in 1867 by Eben Tourjee. Its curriculum is remarkable for its wide range of styles and traditions. On the college level, it features training in classical, jazz, Contemporary Improvisation, world and early music. Through its Preparatory School, School of Continuing Education, and Community Collaboration Programs, it provides training and performance opportunities for children, pre-college students, adults, and seniors. Through its outreach projects, it allows young musicians to engage with non-traditional audiences in schools, hospitals, and nursing homes—thereby bringing pleasure to new listeners and enlarging the universe for classical music and jazz.
NEC presents more than 600 free concerts each year, many of them in Jordan Hall, its world- renowned, 100-year old, beautifully restored concert hall. These programs range from solo recitals to chamber music to orchestral programs to jazz and opera scenes. Every year, NEC’s opera studies department also presents two fully staged opera productions at the Cutler Majestic Theatre in Boston.
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Contact: Ellen Pfeifer
Public Relations Manager
New England Conservatory
617-585-1143
epfeifer@newenglandconservatory.edu