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© Jesse Willems

Antwerp Symphony Orchestra

Jaap van Zweden conducts Mahler
International top orchestras
Sun 29 Oct ’23 14:15 uur


Jaap van Zweden, conductor

Programme:
Mahler - Symphony no. 6 'Tragic'

Sun 29 Oct ’23
14:15 uur

Two very loud wooden hammer blows sound at some point. The Hero being felled by Fate? Mahler himself did not really know. What he did know was that cowbells should sound elsewhere as a counterpoint, as reminiscences of a peaceful alpine meadow. Tragic or not, Mahler prescribed one of the largest orchestral settings ever: eight horns, six trumpets and an enormous amount of percussion! The Antwerp Symphony Orchestra puts itself to it with relish. Their name may not sound very familiar to you, previously it called itself the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Flanders and then simply deFilharmonie. The name changed, the quality remained the same.

There will be a free introduction at 1:30 PM, co-sponsored by the Muziekgebouw Eindhoven Friends Association.

'He was pacing the dressing room, sobbing, wringing his hands and unable to control himself.' Just moments ago, the dress rehearsal of his Sixth Symphony hsd finished. Gustav Mahler, extremely emotional in 1906. And his wife Alma observes, "No work came so directly from his heart as this: we shed tears, that day, so deeply did we experience this music." A passionate piece, but also a very tightly constructed one. For all its emotional extremes, this is one of Mahler's most balanced symphonies. 'Tragic' is its nickname. But whether anyone goes down in it?

Part of
Jaap van Zweden (© Brad Trent)



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