Toledo Symphony

Description:

“It should be one’s sole endeavor to see everything afresh and create it anew.”

Rustling harmonics conjure a vision of a forest sunrise.  Birdsong intermingles with hunting horns calling to each other in distant fanfares.  In the opening moments of Gustav Mahler’s mesmerizing first symphony, a world is about to awaken.  

And what a world it is – the first symphony in one of the most influential symphonic cycles of the last two hundred years.  For Mahler, every symphony was a world – and every note pulses with life: the sounds of the forest, a funeral march drawn from a child’s song, the refrains of riotous street musicians, rustic Austrian folkdances.  Most impressively, even in this work of a composer under thirty years of age, we hear the forging of a bold, individual, instantly recognizable voice – one that is often seen as the culmination of the German symphonic tradition.

Stefan Sanderling opens the Toledo Symphony’s sixty-fourth season with Mahler’s First.  The TSO is joined by the characteristic American cellist Julie Albers.  She makes her Toledo Symphony debut with Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations, highlighting both her graceful musicianship and sparkling virtuosity.


Points of interest:

• Though Julie Albers was born in Colorado, she is no stranger to Ohio.  She moved to Cleveland to pursue musical studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music, and made her major orchestra debut with the renowned Cleveland Orchestra.
• Mahler’s First is often known as the “Titan.”  An earlier version of this piece drew inspiration from an 1802 novel of the same name by Jean Paul.  Mahler originally had programmatic titles for each of the movements, but he removed the titles after early performances of the work.  
• With parts for seven horns, four trumpets, quadruple winds and two sets of timpani, Mahler’s First calls for a much larger orchestra than most symphonic works.  However, it pales when compared to his monumental Eighth Symphony, scored for double chorus, boys’ chorus, eight vocal soloists, eight horns, eight trumpets, seven trombones, organ, mandolin, quintuple winds, and a massive string section.  Its nickname, Symphony of a Thousand, is only a mild exaggeration.

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Program:

Rogers                          Agatha Overture*    3’

Tchaikovsky               Variations on a Rococo Theme for Cello and
                                       Orchestra    20’

Intermission

Mahler                          Symphony No. 1 in D Major    61’
                                            I. Langsam, Schleppend – Immer sehr gemächlich
                                                (slowly, dragging – very restrained throughout)
                                            II. Kräftig bewegt, doch nicht zu schnell, Recht
                                                gemächlich
                                                (Moving strongly, but not too quickly, restrained)
                                            III. Feierlich und gemessen, ohne zu schleppen –
                                                Sehr einfach und schlicht wie eine Volksweise –
                                                Wieder etwas bewegter, wie im Anfang
                                                (Solemnly and measured, without dragging –
                                                Very simple, like a folk-tune, –
                                                Stronger, as at the start)
                                            IV. Stürmisch bewegt – Energisch
                                                (Stormily agitated, energetic)

                                        *This piece is a Toledo Symphony premiere.


WGTE – FM 91 broadcasts the Toledo Symphony on FM 91 In Concert.  Tonight’s concert will be rebroadcast Thursday, January 3, 2008, at 8:00 p.m. through the generosity of the Edward H. Schmidt Musical Arts Fund.

A preconcert lecture with Principal Conductor Stefan Sanderling will be held at 7 p.m. onstage at the Peristyle both nights.