Composers from Beethoven to Shostakovich wrote symphonies and other orchestral works that span their careers, but no set of such pieces more revealingly chronicles the life of their creator than those of Gustav Mahler.
“I like to say that it’s the longest and biggest musical autobiography,” said Jeffrey Kahane, music director of the Colorado Symphony.
“It really does tell a single story, and, if you follow it chronologically, you can see and hear specific philosophical questions that Mahler grappled with not only recurring but evolving and being explored in an ever deeper fashion.”
Because of Kahane’s deep regard for Mahler (1860-1911), whose music capped the Romantic era and set the stage for the upheavals of the 20th century, the CSO is embarking on a plan to present all the composer’s orchestral works.
The multiyear project will begin this weekend in Boettcher Concert Hall, with Kahane leading three performances of a program that includes Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 in D, “Titan.”
Kahane’s love affair with Mahler began when he was 14 and heard conductor Zubin Mehta lead a Los Angeles Philharmonic performance of the Symphony No. 2, “Resurrection,” helping set him on the path to becoming a conductor.
“It was a seminal, life-changing experience,” he said.
There is no music that symphony musicians enjoy playing more than that of Mahler, Kahane said. But more important, he is convinced it will be deeply rewarding for attendees no matter how much or how little they know about the composer.
“You don’t have to know anything about the narrative content, the symbolic content or the philosophical content to have an amazing experience,” he said.
Kahane loosely compared hearing all of Mahler’s 10 symphonies (if the final unfinished one is included) and six orchestral song cycles to reading the complete set of Harry Potter novels, in which the young wizard evolves and matures.
“By the time you get to the last book, this is not a kid’s book anymore,” Kahane said. “It’s very serious, intricate and perplexing — wrestling with very challenging philosophical questions.”
While the conductor acknowledges that none of Mahler’s orchestral works were conceived for children, there is nonetheless a similar notion of a central protagonist growing and changing over time.
“Mahler talks about the hero of the First Symphony, who is, of course, himself,” Kahane said. “And that symphony is very much a story of a heroic quest.”
In the “Resurrection” Symphony, the hero dies and is reborn, and, then, his journey continues.
“So, not only does that figure of the hero, the protagonist of the symphony, evolve and grow throughout the cycle, but many of the other themes — nature and philosophical issues — recur,” Kahane said.
The conductor sees Mahler and his contemporary, Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, as the heirs of different facets of Beethoven’s symphonic legacy. The latter focused on the earlier composer’s musical logic and coherence while the former responded to Beethoven as seeker and philosopher.
During a concert tour to Finland in November 1907, Mahler explained his approach to Sibelius in what has become a famous quotation: “The symphony must be like the world. It must contain everything.”
At first, it seemed only natural that the CSO’s Mahler project would be completed during Kahane’s tenure, but his announcement this summer that he would step down after the 2009-10 season has made that impossible. The conductor is unconcerned.
“I always saw this as launching something that was open-ended,” he said.
Before Kahane’s departure, at least six Mahler works will be performed, though the orchestra is not yet prepared to release details about its schedule for 2009-10.
In addition to the Symphony No. 1, performances of the Symphony No. 2, with Kahane on the podium, are set for June 5-7. Principal guest conductor Douglas Boyd will lead Mahler’s “Das Lied von der Erde” on Jan. 30-31.
While the first two symphonies are being performed chronologically because they are intricately interconnected, the rest of the orchestral works will not be presented in any particular order. They will be slotted into programs where they make sense.
“There is plenty of material to fill out comfortably four or even five seasons,” Kahane said.
The orchestra plans to save the Symphony No. 8, nicknamed “Symphony of a Thousand,” because of the huge forces it requires, for the reopening of Boettcher Concert Hall. It is slated for an overhaul, perhaps as early as 2010.
But this weekend, the orchestra starts at the beginning — Symphony No. 1.
Kyle MacMillan: 303-954-1675 or kmacmillan@denverpost.com
Jeffrey Kahane’s recommended Mahler recordings
The music director of the Colorado Symphony picks his favorite recordings of the three Mahler works that the orchestra will perform during the 2009-09 season:
Symphony No. 1, “Titan.” New York Philharmonic: Bruno Walter, conductor (Sony). San Francisco Symphony: Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor (Avie).
Symphony No. 2, “Resurrection.” New York Philharmonic: Walter, conductor; contralto Maureen Forrester; soprano Emilia Cundari (Sony). San Francisco Symphony: Thomas, conductor, mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian (Avie).
“Das Lied von der Erde.” Vienna Philharmonic: Walter, conductor; soprano Kathleen Ferrier; tenor Julius Patzak (Decca). Philharmonia Orchestra: Otto Klemperer, conductor; tenor Fritz Wunderlich; mezzo-soprano Christa Ludwig (EMI Classics).
Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 1, “Titan.”
Symphonic music. Boettcher Concert Hall, Denver Performing Arts Complex, 14th and Curtis streets. Music director Jeffrey Kahane and the Colorado Symphony begin a long-term initiative to perform Mahler’s principal orchestral works. The program also features Jonathan Biss as soloist in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21. 7:30 p.m. today and Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday; pre-performance talks by Kahane, one hour earlier. $15-$73. 303-623-7876 or .
