Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra Makes Statement--Mahler 9

APO Makes Artistic Statement with Mahler 9

Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra is giving audiences a rare opportunity to hear Gustav Mahler’s last completed symphony, the 9th.

The work, which is performed on Thursday 3 November as part of the orchestra’s APN News & Media Premier Series, is the second of the composer’s symphonies to be played by the APO in 2011, following the February performance of Mahler’s Symphony No.1 (‘Titan’). Both concerts mark the 100th anniversary of Mahler’s death.

Unusually for an APO concert, which normally features two, three or even more works, Mahler’s symphony makes up the entire programme. That’s not really surprising, says Ronan Tighe, the APO’s Manager of Artistic Planning, since Mahler’s 9th lasts about 80 minutes.

If the symphony’s length seems daunting at first, a free pre-concert, plain-English talk from 7.00pm offers ticket holders the opportunity to learn more about the work.

To let the piece be heard as its composer intended, the APO again departs from concert protocol by electing not to break for an interval.

“It’s not appropriate to have an interval in the middle of a symphony,” explains Tighe. “An interval would break up the drama, and disrupt the concentration of both the orchestra and the audience.”

One of the enduring masterpieces of the classical repertoire, Mahler’s 9th repays that concentration.

APO Music Director Eckehard Stier, who conducts the concert, describes the symphony as “life changing”, and claims that it “takes us through Mahler’s very existence”.

Ronan Tighe goes further still, calling it “one of the most profound artistic statements of mortality and life’s journey. When you think about it in those terms, it’s impressive that Mahler managed to pack everything into just 80 minutes.”

WHO: Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Eckehard Stier
WHAT: APN News & Premier Series 10: Mahler 9
WHERE: Auckland Town Hall
WHEN: 8pm, Thursday 3 November
BOOKINGS: The EDGE, www.buytickets.co.nz, ph 0800 BUY TICKETS

Quick Facts
- Mahler never heard his 9th Symphony, which was first played in June 1912 (Mahler died in May 1911). The debut performance was by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra under the great Bruno Walter.

- Mahler was an obsessive tinkerer and continually revised his work. However, because he died before the symphony’s first performance, it did not undergo the major rewrites much of the composer’s other music was subject to. The APO uses the Critical Edition of the score, which corrects errors that were introduced in the first edition.

- The 9th Symphony uses a standard four-movement structure, but it is unusual in that the first and last movements are slow, rather than having the more conventional quick outer movements.

ENDS

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