A magnificent Mahler 3

Mahler’s Third Symphony finally had its Malaysian premiere on 11 October 2014. Venerated Dutch conductor Edo de Waart also made his debut with the MPO together with award-winning American mezzo-soprano Susan Graham. Though much Mahler has been played at the DFP since the opening 1997 season, the Third had never been performed before in Malaysia.

Maestro de Waart led a most impressive performance of the Third. The massive opening movement had clearly a defined musical structure and its sonata form was patently delineated. The solo tenor trombone as well as the eight horns had a field day with their solos.

There was a nice lilt to the Minuet-like second movement, with some intermittent stormy episodes in between. The clarinets were in their element in the playful third movement (a scherzo which quotes extensively from Mahler’s song Absolung im Sommer). In the trio, the posthorn made its appearance, supported by shimmering upper strings. Unfortunately, this pastoral moment was not entirely secure intonation-wise. In the fourth movement, regular NY Met star and mezzo-soprano Susan Graham delivered the “O Mensch” solo with gravitas and golden tones.

In the fifth movement, the Malaysian Institute of Arts Ladies Chorus and the Kuala Lumpur Children’s Choir sounded a touch sleepy having sat through about 70 minutes of the preceding four movements. They sounded as if they were just waking up and rubbing their eyes rather than proclaiming their song of positive reaffirmation of life, youth and life after death.

In the moving sixth and final movement (the Adagio), de Waart and the MPO excelled in the various strands of expressive, reverent and spiritually uplifting music. The end was particularly beautiful, achingly emotional and exultantly played. The capacity audience applauded de Waart and the MPO with prolonged bravos.