I attended last Saturday's Grant Park concert with Carlos Kalmar conducting the Mahler Fifth. I hadn't been to a GP concert since long before Millennium Park. The facility is impressive.
I'm pleased to say Maestro Kalmar has Mahler in his blood. I think the framework of a good Mahler performance is found in a contrapuntal approach, an understanding of Mahler's rhetorical gestures, and faithful and attentive observation of tempo changes, the latter two being closely related. Kalmar handled all these beautifully.
Kalmar led with a narrative sweep that built on those virtues and made the Fifth seem, in its way, conversational. The orchestra played at a high level, and I can honestly say that this was as good as any Fifth I've heard.
At the risk of sounding like a snob, I'm still not convinced that an outdoor concert is really appropriate for this music. Aside from the incongruity of a casual setting, ambient noise tends to swamp the quieter passages. Even so, all concerned deserve high praise for bringing such an accomplished performance to a free public setting.
My favorite Mahler symphony is probably the Sixth, but I declined to hear Conlon conduct it at Ravinia because I think it's just ridiculous to play this grim, intense music in a picnic setting.
Happy listening!
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Guest (not verified) | Sat, 08/18/2007 - 8:17am
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