featuring Günther Herbig, conductor; 陳美玲, soprano; 石易巧, mezzo-soprano Mahler’s second, for me, is just one of those pieces. It was the first piece of Mahler’s that really, I don’t know, ‘spoke to me,‘ at the risk of sounding cliché. It’s a … Continue reading NSO’s Mahler 2
Songs of Destiny and the Night In contrast with last week’s meagre turnout, depending on who you ask, due to Bartók and/or Sibelius, we had a packed concert hall tonight for Mahler’s seventh symphony, preceded by Brahms’ Schicksalslied. Nearly as fascinating … Continue reading NSO’s Mahler 7
performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Carl Maria Giulini (cover image by Tao Wen) 600 Well, here we are, my 600th music post. For my long-time readers, I’m sure you’re both tired of hearing me explain how not ALL … Continue reading Mahler Symphony no. 9
featuring Yuja Wang, piano It seems like the last year or two we haven’t had as many of the big-name, super famous ensembles come through Taipei. The Lucerne Festival Orchestra decided (last minute?) not to come to Taipei, and the … Continue reading New York Philharmonic in Taipei
performed by the RSO Berlin, Dunn, Fassbaender, Baur, Hollweg, and Schmidt under Riccardo Chailly, or below by The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and lots of people under Sir Simon Rattle (cover image by Roman Mavrin) We got around to … Continue reading Mahler: Das klagende Lied
performed by Thomas Hampson and David Lutz, piano (cover image by Joanna Kosinska) These three songs are Mahler’s earliest surviving works, dating from 1880. They were originally to be part of a set of five songs, but work on this … Continue reading Mahler: Three Lieder
featuring Lan Shui and Charlotte Hellekant O Mensch! Gib acht! Was spricht die tiefe Mitternacht? Mahler, oh Mahler. His symphonies really are worlds, are they not? Tonight we got to hear, down in Taichung (台中) the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra’s … Continue reading NTSO’s 關於世界: Mahler 3
with the NSO under Kahchun Wong It’s all Mahler tonight. Another performance of Mahler’s first. But that wasn’t the only first on the program. The terribly charming, famous, and very talented Thomas Hampson made his very first visit to our … Continue reading Thomas Hampson in Taiwan
performed by the Taipei Symphony Orchestra and National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra under Lan Shui, with: Emma Bell, soprano 左涵瀛 (Hanying Tso), soprano 黃莉錦 (Li-Chin Huang), soprano Charlotte Hellekant, alto 陳珮琪 (Pei-Chi Chen), alto Barry Banks, tenor 巫白玉璽 (Wu Bai-Yu-Hsi), baritone … Continue reading Mahler’s Eighth in Taipei
featuring Igor Levit “If you’re ever in that part of town, you should try…” It’s a small world, but it isn’t that small. You probably won’t accidentally find yourself in Taipei anytime soon, but if you were to, you might learn that … Continue reading Bayerisches Staatsorchester in Taipei
featuring Karl-Heinz Schütz, flute; Tamás Gál, guest conductor Another Mahler 7! It’s my second so far, and is, at least to me, by far the weirdest of his symphonic output. This performance took place in the same city as Mahler 1, by the … Continue reading NTSO’s Mahler 7th Symphony
performed by Violeta Urmana, Michael Schade and the Vienna Philharmonic under Pierre Boulez With one stroke, I have lost everything I have gained in terms of who I thought I was, and have to learn my first steps again like … Continue reading Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde
performed by the Vienna Philharmonic under Pierre Boulez Es gibt doch nur eine VI. trotz der Pastorale. Alban Berg The sixth is a collection of questions, an enigma, a knot to be untied by repeated listenings and the development of your … Continue reading Revisit: Mahler Symphony no. 6 in Am
performed by the Vienna Philharmonic under Pierre Boulez From the order of the movements (where the usual first movement now comes second) it is difficult to speak of a key for the ‘whole Symphony’, and to avoid misunderstandings the key … Continue reading Revisit: Mahler Symphony no. 5
performed by the Saito Kinen Orchestra and the Shinyukai choir under Seiji Ozawa, Emiko Suga, soprano; Nathalie Stutzmann, contralto; or below, with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra under Claudio Abbado, Eteri Gvazava, soprano; Anna Larsson, mezzo-soprano The music that can change … Continue reading Revisit: Mahler Symphony no. 2, ‘Resurrection’
performed by the Chicago Symphony orchestra under Pierre Boulez Here we are, beginning a whole new journey sort of all over again. I started listening to Mahler’s symphonies not in any real order, and more out of curiosity or fascination than actual … Continue reading Revisit: Mahler Symphony No. 1 in D major
in a land far, far away… Because Mahler. In a burst of relative spontaneity, I went to this concert, and was sure to bring someone along for the ride, and we enjoyed a last-minute (ish) concert (as much as an … Continue reading NTSO’s Mahler First Symphony
… in which the audience voted for at least part of the program. The voting process for this evening’s program was announced last summer and began some months ago. Among the options included Bernstein’s overture to Candide, a Respighi piece, … Continue reading NSO’s New Year Concert
We’re quite spoilt here in Taipei. I won’t go on again about having seen the world-famous ensembles from Berlin, Vienna, Chicago, and Munich come visit, along with the likes of the Concertgebouw and Philharmonia, and on and on, but we … Continue reading Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in Taipei
Mahler, Mahler, Mahler! Performances of Mahler symphonies aren’t rare, nowadays, by any stretch of the imagination, but locally, in one area, it may not be so often to be able to walk in on a performance of such a mammoth work as Mahler’s … Continue reading NSO’s Titan Arise
featuring tenor Stephen Gould and mezzo soprano Dana Beth Miller under Okko Kamu The list of Mahler symphonies left to see live is narrowing, and tonight’s program showcased the two (one and a half? quarter?) pieces of Mahler’s that I’m … Continue reading NTSO: Kamu’s Mahler
Fugue for Thought 