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Florida Orchestra journeys into Mahler's Third
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Published: October 24, 2009
TAMPA - Gustav Mahler said of his Third Symphony, "The whole of nature finds its voice in it and tells of secrets so deep as might be grasped in a dream."
Indeed, the Third is broad and complex and also, more than any other of Mahler's works, is a true journey – up from mindless nature to the joy of Heavenly love.
On Friday night, the journey was undertaken by the Florida Orchestra for the first time in Stefan Sanderling's tenure as music director. The orchestra continued to demonstrate its mastery of Mahler's challenging works, though this demonstration occurred before an only partially filled Carol Morsani Hall at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center.
In both of the pillar-like outer movements, the playing was superlative. The choir of French horns shattered the calm with perfect ferocity to start the first movement's aural warfare, and the brass playing was generally precise and powerful throughout.
The final slow movement, at its beginning a note-for-note retelling of the Lento assai from Beethoven's final string quartet, unfolded at a perfect pace. In this movement, as well as in the second movement variations, the strings, alternately stinging and soothing, showed great balance and energy.
Longtime orchestra fans will probably remember two performances of the Third under Sanderling's predecessor, Jahja Ling, both of which included exquisite performances by mezzo-soprano Janice Taylor.
Friday's soloist, Susanne Mentzer, gave an exceptional performance of her own, providing an emotionally telling center to the proceedings with her work in the fourth movement's setting of the "Midnight Song" from "Thus Spake Zarathustra."
The Tampa Bay Children's Chorus played its part with panache in the fifth movement, with "bimms" and "bamms" ringing around the hall like the bells they imitated. The Women's Chorus of the Master Chorale of Tampa Bay gave life and luster to their angelic choruses in the same movement.
In all this was a fine performance of what is always a transformational work to hear live. The performance repeats at 8 p.m. today at St. Petersburg's Mahaffey Theater and at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Clearwater's Ruth Eckerd Hall, and should on no account be missed.
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