Many conductors have a passion for the work of composer Gustav Mahler. Leonard Bernstein, Michael Tilson Thomas and Alfred Tennstedt are considered amongst the best. Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Gustavo Dudamel has proven to be a formidable conductor of the composer’s music. Of course, the Shrine Auditorium was the home for Dudamel’s performance of the Mahler 8th (also known as the Symphony of a Thousand) in 2012. This weekend his relationship with the composer continues as he leads the LA Phil in four performances of Mahler’s #9. Performances begin on Thursday with additional performances Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
This is not the first time Dudamel has conducted Mahler’s 9th. He and the LA Philharmonic performed this mammoth work in 2011 while on tour in Europe. The subsequent performances at Walt Disney Concert Hall in 2012 were recorded and released by Deutsche Grammophon. They later performed it again in 2016 prompting Mark Swed of the Los Angeles Times to say it “felt like the most impressive performance Gustavo Dudamel has yet given with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.”
The history of this piece is somewhat marked by tragedy. The composer died before ever hearing a performance of the symphony. Mahler had started work on a tenth symphony which was unfinished at the time of his death.
Mahler’s 8th Symphony will be performed by the LA Philharmonic at Walt Disney Concert Hall in late May and early June.
Mahler photo by Adolph Kohut/Courtesy of Wikipedia Commons