Mahler's 8th
New Japan PhilharmonicConducted by Christian Arming
This huge piece remains one of my favorite pieces of music. Since it is performed infrequently, I usually take any opportunity to hear it. A few years back I heard two performances on two consecutive days - that was a bit too much of a good thing. But a huge benefit to living in Tokyo is that this is probably the fifth or sixth time I've been able to hear it here over a dozen years while in San Francisco I heard it exactly once in the same span of time.
This was a very good performance. Maestro Arming conducted at a reasonable pace and introduced a couple clever and effective devices - particularly some exaggerated staccato in the opening chorus of Part 2.
The orchestra sounded great. The high winds were a little shrill, but the balance was altogether satisfactory, and the horns in the balcony at the climaxes were effective instead of gimmicky.
The choirs were excellent, and the female soloists were uniformly good. I was particularly taken by winsome Manuela Uhl who sang beautifully and looked great. The male soloists were adequate; the bass was, if I understood the sign in Japanese at the entrance to the hall, "under the weather."
Ninety minutes flew by, and I was in an elevated state at the end. Mahler said that he was trying to capture the feeling of the universe bursting into song - he mentioned something about whirling suns and planets. Some people consider the work over the top and way too bombastic - I think it's a wonderful guilty pleasure.
What amazes me most of all was that all of the preparation and manpower needed for the piece resulted in only a single performance. How do they afford it?
posted by Larry Wells @ 7:39 PM
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