Concerts: previews / reviews

[JSngry]

Oh, almost forgot about this tonight:

Ebène Quartet

Monday, March 7, 2016, 7:30PM | at Caruth Auditorium

What began in 1999 as a distraction in the conservatory practice rooms for the four young French musicians has become a trademark of the Quatuor Ébène, and has generated lasting reverberations in the music scene. The four breathe new life into chamber music through their consistently direct, open-minded perspective on the works.

“These Parisian string stars bring out the wild, unbuttoned side of the classics” -Chris Waddington, The Times-Picayune (New Orleans)

Haydn: Quartet in C Major, Hob. III:32
Dutilleux: Ainsi la Nuit
Beethoven: Quartet in A minor, Op. 1329

They look like they're not above taking it out to the alley on break, let's see.

"wild" and "unbuttoned", hmmm...that could go either way. But that program definitely appeals.

 

[T.D.]

The Dutilleux quartet is a personal favorite. Agreed that it's an excellent program; nice to see the late Beethoven #15 (op. 132) rather than early LVB.

[JSngry]

Quatuor Ebène - ok, I'm hearing people in the men's room on intermission taken aback by the Haydn, saying they didn't recognize it, etc. Me, I don't know enough one way or the other, but it sure spoke to me, as did the entire evening. I must get familiar with Dutilleux, that quartet was a breathtaking piece, the way these guys played it, it sounded almost like a drum solo played on 16 strings (c.f. Cecil's "88 tuned drums", I felt a connection to that mindset in both composition and performance). The Beethoven was epic, "know" it by records, first time hearing it live, and the slow movement was an exquisite torture, really, really fine-tuned dynamics and pocket (as was true all evening), the insanity of it "ending" but no, NOT ending was a trip. I don't know if you can convey just how radical/crazy this guy really was by giving things like this one more "old school" interpretation, all I know is that they had me on the edge of my seat, a mix of ecstasy and confusion and almost desperate trust, oooh, let's get high on Beethoven, yeah, hit me with that, please.

Best non-played thing heard all evening was on the way out, some pretty jovial (I love going to calssical concerts where there are jovial people in the mix, life is meant to be jovial whenever that's a viable option, no?) old bearded guy says, "well, if you take old music, then take it apart and make it completely your own, then you have new music". Object of the game, pretty jovial old bearded guy, object of the game. And not just in this music/world.

As far as Dallas goes, these are good times right now, a damn good orchestra and a dedicated local organization solely dedicated to bringing in top-shelf but not "superstar" chamber groups, and to be honest, all things being equal, if forced to choose between a 16-17 symphony season and a 5 concert chamber series, hmmm...tough call right now. A really together string quartet/piano trio/etc. heard up close and personal is a pretty heavy thing.

Most definitely music worth leaving the house for.

 

[A Lark Ascending]

Well thought out programme. Contrast rather than all the hits.  

[T.D.]

9 hours ago, JSngry said:

 ...I must get familiar with Dutilleux, that quartet was a breathtaking piece, the way these guys played it, it sounded almost like a drum solo played on 16 strings (c.f. Cecil's "88 tuned drums", I felt a connection to that mindset in both composition and performance)...

There are some good boxes on Erato. I have one of the forerunners of this one (inexpensive on Amazon):

[JSngry]

Good to know about that, thanks.

[papsrus]

EnsembleNewSRQ

Inaugural Festival

Church of the Palms, Sarasota

Program:

David Hertzberg — “Meditation Boreale” for string quartet

Milton Babbitt — “Beaten Paths” for solo marimba

Steve Reich — “Mallet Quartet” for percussion quartet

Nico Muhly — “Seeing is Believing” for large ensemble with solo electric violin

 

George Nickson (marimba) and Samantha Bennett (violin) are the leaders of this new music ensemble that is comprised of a rotating cast of musicians. Both studied at the New England Conservatory of Music. Nickson is a percussionist with the Sarasota Orchestra, Bennett a violinist in the Florida Orchestra (Tampa).

Tonight’s concert — the first of two comprising this inaugural "new" music festival — is an attempt to cultivate a contemporary music scene/audience in Sarasota. Despite the modest but enthusiastic audience, I’d say they’re off to a good start.

The first piece, “Meditation Boreale,” was performed by a string quartet and the music was meant to evoke the Aurora Borealis. Alternating between very soft, almost microtonal-sounding techniques to more sweeping bowing techniques, the piece was beautifully played and indeed conjured up images of shimmering northern lights.

“Beaten Paths” was a short piece, highly percussive, obviously. First time I’ve heard the marimba live and the instrument resonates in a much more muscular way than I’d anticipated. As a solo instrument, perhaps an acquired taste. None the less, an engaging piece. 

“Mallet Quartet” was a piece for two marimbas and two xylophones. Hypnotic layers of sound, almost tribal. And there was a spot somewhere in the middle of the piece where it almost began to sound like a submerged calliope playing in a slow, dreamlike way. Trippy.

They saved the best for last, as the highlight of the evening for me was “Seeing is Believing,” played by a 14-piece orchestra, plus Bennett on six-string, electric violin as soloist. Nickson conducting.

The piece ran 25 minutes and it flew by. 

The music references the practice of mapping the sky, where dots connect to form a cohesive image. As described in the notes, an unchanging series of eleven chords form the harmonic structure of the piece. So the individual voices of each instrument form a wall of punchy, staccato layers on top of this eleven-chord progression all guided by the six-string, electric violin to form this beautiful tapestry that was quite exciting and magical. 

There was a bit of “herding cats” quality to it all, with the electric violin acting as shepherd. It was an incredible piece though, and sounded beautiful in the large, circular church space.

All mostly unfamiliar territory for me. I kind of attended this one on the spur of the moment as the church is right up the street from me. But I'd say things are off to a good start for this bunch, and it's nice to see young members of area orchestras, having been trained in larger Northeastern urban areas where contemporary music has greater currency, bring their enthusiasm for this music and make it a reality. 

The concert was being filmed, so perhaps the link above to their website will have video of the concert at some point.

 

 

Edited March 9, 2016 by papsrus

[A Lark Ascending]

Cosi Fan Tutti (Opera North, Nottingham Theatre Royal)

Lovely evening. Pretty sparing on the staging - opened with a huge box camera coming almost to the stage edge with the opening taking place in front; then the front slid up to reveal the inside, also a drawing room. No other scene changes. 

Despite it's daft plot (the instant fallings in love and ability to disguise identity with a change of costume) this always seems a very modern opera with its underlying cynicism. The four lovers played their parts with marvellously exaggerated gestures. Despina's down to earth realism always comes across as the most attractive character, nicely played here. 

Marvellous music (the horns and woodwind sounded very distinct jumping out of the pit). The conductor waved his stick fetchingly. 

Proper review of an earlier performance in Leeds here: http://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/feb/04/cosi-fan-tutte-review-opera-north-grand-theatre-leeds

(Apologies for picture size - couldn't find a smaller one showing the full stage). 

[Sung in English. Wish they'd still use surtitles - diction was clear in the recitatives but once the orchestra started and more exaggerated singing in the arias (not to mention the multiple voice sections) it was hard to catch the words (even when repeated, as they are...a lot). Remember there was a big controversy many years back about surtitles with the county set very much against them. Would have thought we'd have got past this by now - not everyone in the theatre would know the piece). 

Edited March 9, 2016 by A Lark Ascending

[papsrus]

Nottingham Royal Theatre looks like a terrific venue. Glad you enjoyed yourself. The music is entirely the thing with Mozart, yes? As you say, the story is a bit absurd. And I readily admit that once I get a visual sense of the staging of a given scene (in any opera), I feel free to close the old peepers and just listen for long stretches. Some might think that kind of defeats the purpose (why go if you're not watching what's going on?) But once I familiarize myself with the general storyline prior to attending, once I get the visual of the stage and who the characters are, etc., it's a long evening and things can get a little static on stage from time to time. It's good to just listen. 

Sung in English ... is that common in the UK? I suspect I'd much prefer Italian, as we had here with Cosi. 

Edited March 9, 2016 by papsrus

[A Lark Ascending]

It's a nice old Victorian/Edwardian theatre - still quite a few about and they make nice venues. 

Opera North varies on language. English National Opera always do their productions in English (I think!). I prefer the original language as long as there are surtitles.  

Edited March 10, 2016 by A Lark Ascending

[A Lark Ascending]

Not live but as close as I'll get to Moscow (trains from Worksop only go as far as Scarborough):

Spartacus - Khatchaturian (Bolshoi Ballet via Stage on Screen Cinema broadcast)

I don't do ballet. Enjoyed a live Prokofiev 'Romeo and Juliet' many years ago and know lots as music but the genre has never appealed. So went to this out of curiosity and was spellbound. The score is pretty ordinary (apart from the gushily Romantic 'Onedin Line' theme). And it took time to adjust...the triumphal march of the Roman army at the start, mincing across the stage had me thinking 'Life of Brian'. But as it progressed I got more and more drawn in (even though I'm clueless about the different types of dances and 'moves' [I'm sure there's a proper term...in French)]. Apart from being amazed by the athleticism and stamina (you can tell I'm not a ballet fan...I expect I should be admiring something like grace or poise), I was fascinated by the way that everything had to be conveyed by gesture. 

Could not take my eyes off the lady who played Aegina (above)...extraordinary. And there was a wonderful moment in the 'big tune' where Spartacus came as close to dammit as balancing his squeeze on one finger. 

Though if this review of a performance in New York by a similar team is anything to go by, I should have hated it:

http://observer.com/2014/07/from-russia-with-love-and-spectacle-the-bolshoi-arrives-at-lincoln-center/

Robert Gottlieb is clearly the beneficiary of a very expensive private education that has trained him perfectly to be unimpressed.

Will keep an eye out for some live or (hired) DVD performances of 20thC ballets - would like to see things like Jeux, Daphnis and Chloe and The Prince of the Pagodas.  

Edited March 13, 2016 by A Lark Ascending

[JSngry]

Hey Bev, have you seen this?

Stumbled across it one night, watched it on a whim, and was mesmerized. Like you, never had even a whiff of interest in ballet. No longer true, although still have not gone to see anything live. There's so many local companies of the "student" type, and I have a flashback to attending a friend's girlfriend's student dance recital in college that was the beginning of the one bad acid trip I had in my life, a truly ugly, horrifying experience. So no, I don't do ballet live - yet. But something like this, I would go see in a quick minute!

 

 

[A Lark Ascending]

Thanks, Jim. I'll try those later...though tutus scare me (much more than clowns)!  Particularly interested in the Debussy at the top. 

Where I have enjoyed ballet recently is within baroque opera. Some marvellous sequences in the Rameau/Lully operas I've watched over the last couple of years. Though I have a suspicion that some of the appeal is being able to watch scantily clad ladies (or men if that is ones preference) doing all sort of extreme things with their bodies under the protective umbrella of culture.

Worth keeping your eye out at the cinema for opera/ballet/theatre. Things like the Bolshoi production are shown worldwide. I only started going to these things last autumn and have been mightily impressed, especially the Shakespeare. Haven't done an opera there yet - they tend to be 19thC things - though Elektra is coming up in a couple of months. I've watched that on DVD but might well go to see a different production.   

Edited March 14, 2016 by A Lark Ascending

[papsrus]

I have a friend who keeps trying to cajole me into attending the Sarasota Ballet. Truth be told, the company is easily the most acclaimed local cultural institution (if that's the right term), compared to the orchestra, certainly, and the opera. They performed last summer at the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in Massachusetts, which from what I can gather is one of the leading dance festivals in the country, if not the leading event. Here's a review of one of their performances there.

They'll be hitting the Joyce Theater in New York this summer, where they've performed in the past. They do performances with live orchestra, which is nice not only because it's live music, but because it demonstrates a certain level of craft. And they have some fascination with a Sir Frederick Ashton, who I know nothing about but apparently is something of a specialty in the repertoire.

And yeah, who wouldn't want to watch perfect bodies flying around the stage in feats of athleticism pretty much unmatched? The season runs a little longer than the orchestra and opera, so I may yet have an opportunity.  

 

[JSngry]

Coming up on Saturday. Should be fun, why not?

March 24-26 | 2016

 

Quote

Jaap van Zweden conducts
Leonidas Kavakos violin

BARTOK Violin Concerto No. 2

BORSTLAP Solemn Night Music (Feierliche Abendmusik) (World Premiere)

BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 5

https://www.mydso.com/buy/tickets/beethovens-fifth

[A Lark Ascending]

2 hours ago, JSngry said:

Coming up on Saturday. Should be fun, why not?

March 24-26 | 2016

 

https://www.mydso.com/buy/tickets/beethovens-fifth

The Bartok Violin Concerto is fabulous - as is the Beethoven, of course. Don't know the middle composer. Enjoy.

Edited March 25, 2016 by A Lark Ascending

[JSngry]

Yeah, love both the Bartok & the Beethoven and/or pretty much anything by them, even "minor" works. Those are two of the guys I am automatically open to, period.

Hearing these things live should be sweet, sweet, sweet!

More on John Borstlap here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Borstlap

I can see this one going either way...I've some of these tonal/classical "revivalists" that are just plain sillyboring, and others for whom it's the ideas more than the actual maths that they use, so...we shall see. Personally, I like "re-imagining" better than "re-creating", and by a big margin. But like you, totally unfamiliar with the man and his works, no idea of what to even begin to expect. But that's part of the kick of going to these things, the possibilities of confronting the (personally and otherwise) unknown and the familiar all on the same ticket. Fun!

[A Lark Ascending]

Very good new biography of Bartok - I read it very quickly a few weeks back:

Gets the balance between narrative and musical analysis just right. A bit technical for me (you'd probably find it straightforward as a musician) but I could just about hang on by my fingernails even if the the descriptions of the tonal developments within movements were over my head. 

[JSngry]

Thanks for the tip...now can you find me some time to actually read a book instead of covering a few pages at a time while on the loo?

[BillF]

Borstlap is a new name to me too. Found a nice YouTube clip of minimalist piano music that includes Borstlap. Certainly listenable.

[JSngry]

Geez, I could have left after the first movement of the Bartok with enough information to mull over for at least a few weeks afterwards. But there was more, so much more...

I felt that van Zweden is still "working through " the Bartok as far as bringing a trademark interpretation to it. There was not hesitancy or rote-ness or anything like that, but there were passages where it just felt like that if you were to go here him conduct it a few years from now, those passages would have been refined past where they are now.

Actually, that was a good thing, it very much gave the music a feel of in the moment "struggle", not of aptitude, but of vision. Hearing something that is already very good and sensing that it will at some point, be even better...that's a thrill in itself. And the composition itself, yeah, how much music can one piece hold? That a serious question, because like i said, the first movement alone was....whew.

Kavakos brought a nicely sawing attack when the music called for it, and an equally nicely lyrical quality when that was what was needed. The "Hungarian flavor" is always something to look for in Bartok, and I don't know that he brought it in the literal sense. But he did play with passion, and did not back away from what I guess is his version of a "folk" aesthetic. In other words, sometimes he was a violinist, and sometimes he was a fiddler. A very engaging performer.

The world-premiere Borstlap piece led off the second set, and it was...ok. The first thing I heard was that it played the continuous looping of theme re-entry that Strauss brought to a peak in Metamorphosen. But it wasn't just that. Unfortunately, with just one hearing of a literally new piece, I can only say that I don't see it gaining traction unless and until somebody finds more to it that was done last night. Which could happen.

What did happen, though, was that van Sweden & Co. played the shit out of Beethoven's 5. Is it at this point overplayed? Perhaps, although does true genius ever wear out its welcome? More to the point - is it easy to get over with expertly playing the piece the way that people have come to expect it, just don't fuck it up and let everybody be happy? I think the answer to that is certainly yes, and that type of thing probably goes on more than we'd like to see. van Sweden, though, did not make those choices, and whoa, what a ride we had as a result.

The program notes actually set the tone:

 

Quote

It's difficult to imagine hearing Beethoven's Fifth Symphony at its first performance in 1808, when the composer unleashed it on poor, unsuspecting Vienna in the middle of a marathon concert of this works. The shock of its radical simplicity was more subversive than punk rock.

The opening tempo was pretty damn brisk, faster than anybody I've heard do it before (admittedly small sample size, though), and soon enough,things were getting kinda punky, some really aggressive repeated eighth notes. whoa, seriously? Was he going to do THIS to it?

No, he wasn't. Pretty soon he started doing his taffy-pull magic and everything started getting fluid, tempos, dynamics, everything...and that was it, it went there and stayed there, pure magic, a true vision realized, one that did not settle for the established, or try to create novelty by gimmickry, no, a vision of the entire work as one continuous story arc, every "micro-managed" detail relevant to what had happened before, and then, to what would come after, just a masterful interpretation and a masterful orchestra performing it.

This Jaap van Sweden guy...worth keeping an eye on.

[king ubu]

upcoming concerts I just bought tickets for:

 

SO 17.04.16
EINGESPIELT
19:30 - ca. 22:00 Uhr, Kleiner Saal
Kammermusik-Soiree

Isabelle Faust Violine
Jean-Guihen Queyras Violoncello
Alexander Melnikov Klavier

Robert Schumann: Klaviertrio Nr. 1 d-Moll op. 63
Salvatore Sciarrino: Trio Nr. 2 (1987)
César Franck: Trio concertant fis-Moll op. 1 Nr. 1
____________________

MO 09.05.16
19:30 - ca. 22:00 Uhr, Grosser Saal
Neue Konzertreihe Zürich

Chamber Orchestra of Europe
Vladimir Jurowski Leitung
Patricia Kopatchinskaja Violine

Mieczyslaw Weinberg: Sinfonie Nr. 10 a-Moll op. 98 "Transcendence" für Streicher
Sergej Prokofjew: Violinkonzert Nr. 2 g-Moll op. 63
Ludwig van Beethoven: Sinfonie Nr. 7 A-Dur op. 92
____________________

SO 12.06.16
L'ÊTAT C'EST MOI - FRANKREICH ZUR ZEIT DES SONNENKÖNIGS
11:15 - ca. 13:30 Uhr, Kleiner Saal
Kammermusik-Matinee

Annette Labusch Sopran
Esther Pitschen Amekhchoune Flöte
Noémie Rufer Zumstein Violine
Cornelia Angerhofer Violine
Andreas Sami Violoncello
Margarete Kopelent Cembalo
Emanuele Forni Laute

Michel Pignolet de Montéclair: "La Mort de Didon"
François Couperin: "La Françoise" Triosonate aus "Les Nations"
Michel Pignolet de Montéclair: "Europe"

____________________

DI 19.04.16
FAZIL SAY
19:30 Uhr, Grosser Saal

Fazil Say Klavier

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Klaviersonate Nr. 12 F-Dur KV 332
Klaviersonate Nr. 18 D-Dur KV 576
Frédéric Chopin
Nocturne b-Moll op. 9 Nr. 1
Nocturne Es-Dur op. 9 Nr. 2
Nocturne H-Dur op. 9 Nr. 3
Nocturne Nr. 20 cis-Moll op. posthum
Nocturne fis-Moll op. 48 Nr. 2
Nocturne g-Moll op. 37 Nr. 1
Nocturne H-Dur op. 32 Nr. 1

[JSngry]

Plenty of music there. Enjoy!

[A Lark Ascending]

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Nicholas Collon, CBSO Youth Chorus
 

Webern - Six Pieces Op. 6 (chamber version)
Brahms - Four Songs for Women’s Voices, 2 horns and harp Op. 17
Mahler - Symphony No. 10 (completed by Deryck Cooke)

Webern - Extraordinary to think how this was composed a couple of years before the Mahler. Although it grew out of the same soil you're in a completely different world. I can't claim to 'love' Webern but find his music beguiling without really understanding what is going on. Like looking at a sequence of dazzling but mysterious jewels rather than following an evolving narrative (the narrative might be there...or maybe it's deliberately not...but I can't hear it). 

Brahms - Not pieces I know. Very attractive without having me rushing to return.  

Mahler 10 - I'm obsessed with this piece. First heard the detached Adagio (the only part to have anything close to a full score in Mahler's hand) on the 4th side of a Mahler 6 in the mid 70s. Bought Rattle's full version in the early 80s...I can still picture the room I was in when the whole thing first overwhelmed me. There was also a wonderful TV documentary around that time as part of a short series on the music of 1911 with Rattle again. Saw a Rattle performance in 1992 also at Symphony Hall (thank you programme for chronologically pinpointing that one).

Last night the two great outer movements proved as mesmerising as ever. The searing, ever-varying opening with it breathtaking dissonance 2/3rds through; and above all, in the last movement, the most beautiful melody you will ever hear emerging on a flute from an extraordinary texture of muted bass drum, tuba and horns, flowering into a series of waves on the strings, interrupted just over halfway through by a return of the nightmare music from the first movement. I'm afraid I well up every time that melody emerges from the mist. 

But for me what I most got from last night were the three shorter middle movements which can get a bit overshadowed by the massive frame either side. Never noticed before that the second is actually a mammoth concerto grosso, a bit like the end of the 7th. The third also reminded me of the 7th but the inner movements with their serenade like feel. Most revelatory was the fourth movement which sounds like a constant tension between utter anguish and a desire to sit back and enjoy a good Viennese cream cake. Very unsettling.

Watching and listening from slightly to the left of the image above (from net) it was also noticeable just how exposed some instruments were - the trumpet during the two 'nightmare' passages in 1 and 5, one of the horns, the tuba and the flute at the start of 5. It must be terrifying to be spotlighted like that.

Back when I first heard it there were conductors and orchestras who would not touch 10 as inauthentic. Rattle made a big thing of championing it (I seem to recall one of his riders when going to Berlin was programming it). I've long claimed it as up there with 2, 6, Das Lied and 9 as my favourite Mahler. After last night I think I'd go one further and place it as my favourite. What would 20thC music have sounded like if he'd lived another twenty years (there's a novel in that thought!)?         

Good 30 minute talk before the concert too - about the background of the Mahler (leaving Vienna for New York, diagnosis of his heart condition, death of his daughter and marital difficulties) and how the reconstruction from the sketches by Cooke (and assistants) came about. 
 

Edited April 1, 2016 by A Lark Ascending

[BillF]

2 hours ago, A Lark Ascending said:

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Nicholas Collon, CBSO Youth Chorus
 

Webern - Six Pieces Op. 6 (chamber version)
Brahms - Four Songs for Women’s Voices, 2 horns and harp Op. 17
Mahler - Symphony No. 10 (completed by Deryck Cooke)

Webern - Extraordinary to think how this was composed a couple of years before the Mahler. Although it grew out of the same soil you're in a completely different world. I can't claim to 'love' Webern but find his music beguiling without really understanding what is going on. Like looking at a sequence of dazzling but mysterious jewels rather than following an evolving narrative (the narrative might be there...or maybe it's deliberately not...but I can't hear it). 

Brahms - Not pieces I know. Very attractive without having me rushing to return.  

Mahler 10 - I'm obsessed with this piece. First heard the detached Adagio (the only part to have anything close to a full score in Mahler's hand) on the 4th side of a Mahler 6 in the mid 70s. Bought Rattle's full version in the early 80s...I can still picture the room I was in when the whole thing first overwhelmed me. There was also a wonderful TV documentary around that time as part of a short series on the music of 1911 with Rattle again. Saw a Rattle performance in 1992 also at Symphony Hall (thank you programme for chronologically pinpointing that one).

Last night the two great outer movements proved as mesmerising as ever. The searing, ever-varying opening with it breathtaking dissonance 2/3rds through; and above all, in the last movement, the most beautiful melody you will ever hear emerging on a flute from an extraordinary texture of muted bass drum, tuba and horns, flowering into a series of waves on the strings, interrupted just over halfway through by a return of the nightmare music from the first movement. I'm afraid I well up every time that melody emerges from the mist. 

But for me what I most got from last night were the three shorter middle movements which can get a bit overshadowed by the massive frame either side. Never noticed before that the second is actually a mammoth concerto grosso, a bit like the end of the 7th. The third also reminded me of the 7th but the inner movements with their serenade like feel. Most revelatory was the fourth movement which sounds like a constant tension between utter anguish and a desire to sit back and enjoy a good Viennese cream cake. Very unsettling.

Watching and listening from slightly to the left of the image above (from net) it was also noticeable just how exposed some instruments were - the trumpet during the two 'nightmare' passages in 1 and 5, one of the horns, the tuba and the flute at the start of 5. It must be terrifying to be spotlighted like that.

Back when I first heard it there were conductors and orchestras who would not touch 10 as inauthentic. Rattle made a big thing of championing it (I seem to recall one of his riders when going to Berlin was programming it). I've long claimed it as up there with 2, 6, Das Lied and 9 as my favourite Mahler. After last night I think I'd go one further and place it as my favourite. What would 20thC music have sounded like if he'd lived another twenty years (there's a novel in that thought!)?         

Good 30 minute talk before the concert too - about the background of the Mahler (leaving Vienna for New York, diagnosis of his heart condition, death of his daughter and marital difficulties) and how the reconstruction from the sketches by Cooke (and assistants) came about. 
 

My, you do get around, Bev!