The New York Philharmonic
Friday evening, with a birthday gift from my parents, I attended my first live concert at the New York Philharmonic for a performance of Mahlers Sixth Symphony in Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center. I was a very dedicated flautist in my day, aspiring one day to be on that very stage touting my woodwind to a packed audience. Alas, my dreams fizzled but my appreciation for classical music still stands. Seeing it performed live though, my emotional reaction came as somewhat of a surprise to me. I didn’t realize how powerful a complete symphony was and the strong human connection it made. The performance at large boldly expressed a journey through the conflicts, in whatever form they may arise, we face throughout our lives and the affects they have on us in the short and long term. Powerfully expressed through music.
The impressive, impassioned conductor Alan Gilbert said of Mahler’s Sixth Symphony in his program note:
“Very rarely does a musical work conclude with a feeling of utter defeat. Throughout the world you can feel the desperate search for relief and happiness—and there are many opulent, lush passages in the symphony that are incredibly beautiful and seemingly optimistic—but, for me, there’s always the sense that it is on the verge of collapse. In the end, one is in fact left with a sense of total despair, the feeling that the gorgeous place we caught glimpse of during the symphony is closed to us forever.”
Take a listen here, as performed by the London Symphony Orchestra:
I’ve always been in awe of composers. Their instinctual ability to write a piece of music, hearing only in their own head what it will sound like. Pulling inspiration from life and translating that into a symphony, for different instruments to perform in harmony nonetheless. Is that the definition of genius or what? Mahler, what I would do to have spent a day in your brain.
There was a piece in a recent New Yorker article on the late musician John Cage and his exploration on noise (‘Searching for Silence, by Alex Ross in the 10/4 issue). Cage spent his lifetime experimenting with different types of musical expression, silence and instruments. Making me think what is yet to be discovered? What will the next generation of composers and directors do with the beautiful gift of sound? Maybe I’ll reconsider that career as a musician afterall.
Recaps on Common’s ill, intimate take on hip-hop and the impressive Malcolm Gladwell on the revolution of market sharing at this weekend’s New Yorker Fest. What can I say, I’m a fan. Peace out Vampsters!
