As we begin our rehearsals and preparation for our May 14 and 15 concerts, I thought you might be interested in why we think this music is so special, and what you can look forward to at this concert.
We chose the Mahler "Titan" Symphony and the ever-popular Rachmaninoff "Third Piano Concerto" to bring our Symphonic Vistas Season to a climactic conclusion because, to reference Mahler, one can experience in these masterpieces entire vistas and worlds of emotion and feeling. We are honored that our featured artist for this special finale concert will be the living legend Garrick Ohlsson who is famous for his spellbindingly poetic interpretations and his superhuman virtuosity. His is the kind of spine-tingling playing that takes your breath away. When you experience his playing you will swear that in the fantastic blur of hand movements not two, but four or five hands are playing!
We are so fortunate to have world-class musicians sitting in every chair of our beloved ASO and Mahler demands their very best in his "Titan" Symphony. When experiencing the seven horn players (usually four) raising their bells exuberantly in the air to triumphantly announce the transcendent climax of the "Titan" Symphony, it feels as if the heavens themselves are opening! This is one of the most thrilling moments in all of music! The musicians and I so love performing this symphony and I think you will see it in our body language!
Another reason that we have programmed these two masterpieces for our Season Finale is because they anticipate the theme and music of our upcoming 2011-2012 Music of Dreams Season. Mahler lived in Sigmund Freud’s Vienna and ushered in a music that explored the subconscious and the realm of dreams. Next season’s Music of Dreams highlights range from Gustav Holst’s The Planets to a historic week-long residency by the phenomenal Midori, who is one of the greatest violinists of our time.
I believe that this will be an extraordinary season finale concert. You can purchase your tickets for this one-weekend only event on the ASO website, www.alexsym.org, or by calling 703-548-0885.
I’ll see you at the concert!
<tgl>— Kim Allen Kluge
<bt>Music Director/Conductor
Alexandria Symphony Orchestra
www.alexsym.org