Mahler Epicness in Dallas

For the second weekend in a row, I drove to Dallas. Before it was for an epic performance of The Rite of Spring, and this time it was for a truly epic performance of Mahler's Symphony no. 6. Yet again, things don't get better than what I heard on Saturday night.

The joys, my friends, of seeing Mahler 6 live are endless. You get a HUGE orchestra---violins seeming to spill out of an entire side of the stage, percussion instruments everywhere, and two harps sticking out, instead of the usual one. There's the joyous spectacle of the winds with their bells up, along with the french horns. Then there's horns again, only this time they are quickly emptying their instrument of spit/condensation/whatever, then going back to playing some amazingly intense line. I almost enjoy seeing the spectacle of this symphony as much as I enjoy hearing it.

The level of playing this weekend was off the charts. Talk about everyone being on their toes! Oh the glorious brass section!! The winds!! The strings!! If I could have hugged each and every musician, I would have.

I would have hugged Maestra van Zweden first though, of course. Yet again, he steps up to the plate with an intense vision and directs his orchestra to achieve that vision with precision. There seems to be no struggle whatsoever for his ideas to get across to the orchestra--they are in sync together, from beginning to ending.

This performance was sizzling with electricity; it knocked you back with its power, and it left you breathless with its tenderness as times as well. I should say that is also did a brilliant job of terrifying me, with the two hammer blows in the fourth movement. This is the fifth time I've heard this piece live, and I've been listening to Mahler 6 since I was 16---I KNOW the hammer blows are coming up, yet they still terrify me each time. (it's a good kind of terror though, the kind you dread, yet can't wait to experience all at the same time)

Joining the Dallas Symphony Orchestra for the first time together, were the new co-concertmaster designates, Alex Kerr and Nathan Olson. Having these two men as co-concertmasters is truly genius, for about a billion reasons--a few of which I will go in to.

Alex Kerr has been concertmaster of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and also a co-concertmaster at the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra (where I first heard him play--he is GOOD). So here we have a concertmaster with some serious experience, who knows what he is doing, and who is working under a conductor who ALSO used to be a concertmaster, who is now a genius conductor. All sorts of amazingness is going on there, obviously. Then you have Nathan Olson, who is ridiculously talented (he was under the tutelage of the famous William Preucil, concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra.) Nathan is....wait for it... 24 YEARS OLD. 24!!! He has chops galore, and is sitting with Kerr, so he'll be in the best possible position to really solidify his skills. Being concertmaster isn't just about playing all the notes right and playing some solos here and there---it's about leading an orchestra. The concertmaster basically does everything his power to help get the vision of the conductor across, and that is no small job. I have no doubt, especially after hearing Kerr several times in Indy, and seeing both he and Olson on Saturday, that they are valuable assets to the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.

The DSO, as I've said before, is an excellent orchestra, led by an excellent conductor. Now they have two excellent co-concertmasters! This orchestra is going to explode, seriously. I mean that in the good way--excellent leadership all around, musicians of integrity and talent, a management team that really seems to support its orchestra, and from what I've seen and been a part of, an audience that deeply loves its orchestra. Success is theirs for the taking.

I cannot being to explain what a thrill it is to be able to hear an orchestra like this, during such an incredible period of growth and success. You hear people complain that classical music may be dead, but I tell you no way---just look at the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Look at the standing ovation they always seem to get, the truly glowing reviews from critics, and the sold out seats. Classical music is alive and well in Dallas, and I can't wait to go back to hear them again!