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SCRUTINY | TSO Move Mountains With Mahler Symphony Three

By Joseph So on September 29, 2016

The TSO Perform Mahler's monumental Third Symphony with soloist Jamie Barton and conductor Peter Oundjian (Photo: Jag photography)
The TSO Perform Mahler’s monumental Third Symphony with soloist Jamie Barton and conductor Peter Oundjian (Photo: Jag Photography)

Toronto Symphony Orchestra performs Mahler’s Third with mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton and conductor Peter Oundjian. Wednesday, Sept. 28. (Repeats Thursday, Sept. 29). Tickets available at www.tso.ca

For classical music lovers — and Toronto Symphony Orchestra fans in particular — the cup truly runneth over. In the span of one week, we’ve had a Renee Fleming star turn, followed by Henning Kraggerud and his fabulous Sibelius. Now we have a real biggie, the rarely performed Mahler Third. I say ‘rare’ not because it’s under-appreciated or unworthy. Like the Mahler Eighth, the huge resources required in the Third is nearly as great — an immense orchestra, a soloist and three choirs, a real artistic challenge, not to mention a financial risk. So any performance is an occasion, and when it’s as superb as the one last evening, it was an unalloyed pleasure.

Mahler Third is said to be the longest symphony in the standard repertoire. Depends on the tempo, the first part (Movement 1) is nearly 40 minutes and the second part (Movements 2 to 6) is a good hour if not slightly over. Usually performed without an intermission, surprisingly there was one last night, between parts 1 and 2. I won’t be a snob and say there shouldn’t have been one, but it does break the overall impact of the work. In any case, the Third bears a strong kinship to Mahler Fourth in terms of melodic inspiration, sharing the commonality of Des Knaben Wunderhorn. It’s also reminiscent of the Eighth as well in the orchestration since Mahler “recycles” some of his musical ideas.

The Third is sometimes called “program music,” not surprising as it was all the rage in the late 19th century when Mahler composed this. He was very specific in his story telling, with titles for the movements. — 1) “Pan Awakes, Summer Marches In’” 2) “What the Flowers in the Meadow Tell Me,” 3) “What the Animals in the Forest Tell Me” 4) “What Man Tells Me” 5) “What the Angels Tell Me” and 6) “What Love Tells Me.” It represents, in essence, Mahler’s worldview, a sort of evolutionary scheme of things, from a chaotic, unpredictable and sometimes violent universe gradually giving way to nature, the arrival of mankind, and finally the composer’s vision of heaven at the conclusion.

TSO with mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton and conductor Peter Oundjian (Photo: Jag photography)
TSO with mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton and conductor Peter Oundjian (Photo: Jag Photography)

Much have been written about the meaning of all of it, and this short review is not the place to open this can of worms. That said, I think his worldview, his vision of nature and mankind and God reflects his 19th century, Mitteleuropa Judeo-Christian upbringing. As concert attendees, what really matters is the musical values of the performance, and I can say unequivocally that the TSO under Peter Oundjian gave a marvellous, overwhelming, and ultimately very moving reading of this monumental piece. The recurring melodies in the 5th and 6th movements were so transcendentally beautiful that it took my breath away – kudos to the TSO for playing so beautifully.

I wouldn’t be truthful if I say I love everything about this piece of music. I do find it a bit too brass-heavy, especially in Part 1, and really it’s a bit too long, pace Mahler addicts! But as a performance, it was about as fine as one could expect. The mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton gave a luminous performance in the alto solo of the 4th movement. Her beginning words, “O Mensch! Gib Acht!” sent chills up and down my spine. I don’t think I was imagining it, but her dark tone was eerily reminiscent of the young Maureen Forrester. The choral forces, made up of the women of the Amadeus Choir and Elmer Iseler Singers, the Oriana Women’s Choir, and the Toronto Children’s Chorus, were fantastic. This season being Peter Oundjian’s second last with the TSO, I have to say this performance represents one of his crowning achievements.

[Update: Sept 29, 4:30 EST: A previous version stated this was Peter Oundjian’s final year with the TSO. In fact, the 2017–18 season will be his last.]

#LUDWIGVAN

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Joseph So

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