Empezando el año con Mahler: como debe ser

Flint Symphony Orchestra elevates the drama with Gustav Mahler's Fifth

Posted by Laurence E. MacDonald | Contributing writer January 19, 2009 21:48PM

Ever since Leonard Bernstein launched a pioneering series of concerts featuring the symphonies of Gustav Mahler in the early 1960s, almost every major conductor has become a Mahler devotee. But few have approached Mahler's music with the sheer passion that has been the trademark of Flint Symphony music director Enrique Diemecke. The latest demonstration of Diemecke's devotion took place Saturday as the FSO performed a splendidly dramatic rendition of Mahler's Fifth Symphony.

The drama was displayed early on with the opening trumpet fanfare, which was just one of many moments featuring the golden tones of trumpeter Mark Flegg.

The first movement's subsequent funeral march theme, which included outstanding playing by the FSO strings, hinted further at a descriptive content regarding an unnamed person's death, subsequent burial, and ultimate rebirth. Although Mahler himself denied any descriptive ideas for this work, Diemecke's explanation gave the audience a thought-provoking way of handling this symphony's excessive length, which added up to far more than an hour.

In the second of the work's five movements, a rambunctious beginning theme, with exciting playing by the woodwinds, was followed by a somber theme that was beautifully rendered by the FSO's cellos.

The third movement, which Mahler called a "scherzo," was not only the longest of the five, but also one of the most beautifully played, with outstanding work by the French horns, under the sturdy leadership of Carrie Banfield-Taplin. The multiple layers of Mahler's music were superbly controlled by Diemecke, who used neither a baton nor printed score

The best-known part of this symphony is the slow Adagietto, the long-held notes of which were lyrically played by the FSO strings, led by principal violinist Andrew Jennings. A delicate harp accompaniment featured lovely playing by FSO's harpist Amy Ley. This gem of a movement proved to be a sublime highlight of the evening.

The Rondo-Finale, while not as musically inspired as the Adagietto, brought the symphony to a triumphant ending, with a final theme that featured outstanding work by the entire brass section. If by the end of the work the brass playing became a bit faulty at times, chalk that up to the sheer volume of work demanded of them. The overall dramatic impact of the Mahler Fifth was still intact. Indeed, the FSO has seldom performed with such magnificent flair.

The only other work on Saturday's program, Saint-Saens' Piano Concerto No. 5, featured wonderfully supple playing by guest pianist Lilya Zilberstein. Although she kept racing ahead of the orchestra early in the first movement, for most of the work's length there was a gorgeous sense of ensemble. After the nimble-fingered opening movement, Zilberstein offered a lyrical second movement, the exotic melodies of which have resulted in this work being known as the "Egyptian Concerto."

The fast-paced finale, with rippling keyboard scales and arpeggios, brought this regrettably little-known work to a flashy finish. The standing ovation Zilberstein received was most richly deserved.

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