Mahler’s “Titan” Preview (Voice of OC)

Voice of OC editor and contributing writer Paul Hodgins wrote a preview of our upcoming 18-19 Classical season finale, “Mahler’s Titan,” a concert which begins with Mozart’s beautiful Sinfonia Concertante. (Find the full article here.)

Pacific Symphony is capping its 2018-19 season with a suitably ambitious work: Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 1, often called the “Titan,” will be performed Thursday through Sunday at the Segerstrom Concert Hall. It’s the kind of big, emotional barnburner that music director Carl St.Clair really likes to sink his teeth into.

Hodgins sets the stage for Mahler’s reputation in the classical word: a composer-conductor whose greatness and brilliance, like many great artists, wasn’t truly solidified until after their death.

But it took another prominent conductor-composer, Leonard Bernstein, to recognize and champion Mahler’s achievements. When he led the New York Philharmonic (Mahler’s last job) in the 1960s, Bernstein began a concerted effort to program and record his music, imbuing it with a passion, verve and solemnity that perhaps had been missing from most previous interpretations. Other conductors were part of the Mahler resurrection movement, too, notably Pierre Boulez.

Chapman isn’t surprised that Bernstein and Boulez were Mahler champions. “They’re both conductor-composers. That’s a very rare breed, especially at their level. You can understand the affinity they would have for him.”

Make sure to check out the whole piece for some great background on one of classical music’s most interesting and curious composers, exclusively on Voice of OC. Check out this concert on our website here, taking place June 6-8, with a special matinee performance of the Mahler on Sunday, June 9, and spread the word on Facebook by sharing!