PROGRAM NOTES
MAHLER AND KLEZMER closer to absolute music than in any previous work . One new factor in Mahler ’ s musical thinking was counterpoint , triggered by a study of Bach ’ s music . The Bach influence arises directly in brief fugal passages , and more generally in the careful layering of simultaneous motives . On a larger scale , the work reflects the epic tradition of Beethoven ’ s Fifth and Ninth Symphonies , which , like Mahler ’ s Fifth , journey from minorkey openings to major-key conclusions .
The somber opening movement of the Fifth Symphony , labeled Funeral March , begins with a trumpet theme of three fast notes leading into an accented downbeat , a figure that echoes Beethoven ’ s “ fate ” motive from the Fifth Symphony , as well as a related snippet from Mahler ’ s Fourth Symphony . The fragment builds to a climactic ascent , joined by a thunderous chord .
Much of the movement dwells in permutations of that opening figure or in a contrasting lament from the strings . The greatest departure comes in an episode with a new tempo characterized as “ Plötzlich schneller . Leidenschaftlich . Wild .” (“ Suddenly faster . Passionate . Wild .”) The music is somehow sincere and grotesque at the same time , illuminating an inner facet of the slow dirge that eventually regains its hold .
Mahler grouped the symphony ’ s five movements into three larger parts , with Part I containing the Funeral March along with its ferocious counterpart , marked Stürmisch bewegt , mit größter Vehemenz (“ Moving stormily , with the greatest vehemence ”). The fervent opening passage , saturated with braying brass and winds and impassioned string melodies , dissipates into a slow and nostalgic theme that echoes aspects of the Funeral March . Near the end , a brilliant brass chorale flirts with a noble resolution , but the chaotic and despairing music wins out — for now .
Part II of the symphony consists of a single movement : an enormous Scherzo . The vigorous horn calls and three-beat sway evoke the rustic atmosphere of a Ländler dance in the Austrian countryside . Other passages turn more intimate and urbane , closer in spirit to a Viennese waltz . In a letter he sent to Alma after the symphony ’ s first rehearsal , Mahler seized on the multifaceted Scherzo as presenting a particular conundrum for conductors and audiences alike . “ The Scherzo is the very devil of a movement ,” he wrote . “ I see it is in for a peck of troubles !”
Part III of the symphony begins with the iconic Adagietto , which drapes a simple , singing melody over poignant harmonies enunciated with angelic flecks of harp . A friend of the Mahlers , conductor Willem Mengelberg , indicated that the Adagietto was a musical love letter from Gustav to Alma ; others have recognized an elegiac tint to its beauty , including Leonard Bernstein , who conducted it at a memorial service for Robert Kennedy .
The Rondo-Finale once again gives the horn a prominent role , joined at the beginning by other pastoral woodwind solos . Then , in a sign of Bach ’ s influence , a fugue works its way through the strings as the finale gathers momentum . A variant of the same bright chorale that offered false promise in the second movement returns at the end , and this time it delivers the symphony to a triumphant conclusion , completing the strange and scenic journey from C-sharp minor to D major .
Even Mahler himself seemed overwhelmed by the perplexing depth and range of this symphony . “ Oh , heavens ,” he wrote in that same
PEABODY
2022 – 23 CONCERT SEASON
Peabody ’ s FREE in-person and online performance season continues this spring , with programs from classical to contemporary , from jazz to dance .
Highlights this season include : April 15
May 12 letter to Alma , “ what is the public to make of this chaos in which new worlds are forever being engendered , only to crumble into ruin the next moment ? What are they to say to this primeval music , this foaming , roaring , raging sea of sound , to these dancing stars , to these breathtaking , iridescent , and flashing breakers ?”
Instrumentation Four flutes including two piccolos , three oboes including English horn , three clarinets including E-flat clarinet and bass clarinet , three bassoons including contrabassoon , six horns , four trumpets , three trombones , tuba , timpani , percussion , harp , and strings .
Musical Terms Klezmer : an instrumental musical tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews of Central and Eastern Europe .
Peabody Symphony Orchestra and Peabody-Hopkins Conservatory Choir Beth Willer , conductor
Peabody Symphony Orchestra Marin Alsop , conductor
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MAR-APR 2023 / OVERTURE 19