MAHLER symphonies Live

The CompLeTe

LORIN MAAZELNEw YoRk PhILhaRmONIc

symphony5

MAHLER SymPhONy NO. 5 (1901–02) 72:25

PaRt ONe1 Funeral march: With measured step. Strict. Like a cortege 13:322 Stormily. With greatest vehemence 14:56

PaRt tWO3 Scherzo: Vigorously, not too fast 17:39

PaRt thRee4 adagietto: Very slow 10:565 Rondo-Finale: allegro giocoso. Lively 15:22

REcoRdEdLivESeptember 18–23, 2003, avery Fisher hall at Lincoln center for the Performing arts

LoRiNMAAZEL conductor

New York PhilharmoNic aNd loriN maazel: The comPleTe mahler SYmPhoNieS, live is released in celebration of mr. maazel’s seven-year tenure as music Director of the New york Philharmonic, 2002–2009.

Visit nyphil.org/maazelmahler for bonus content including a score with mahler’s own notes, video interviews with Lorin maazel, and audio samples from the complete series.

cover photo: Chris Leeunless otherwise noted, additional imagery:new york phiLharmoniC arChives

vinCe Ford executive ProducerLarry roCk Producer, Recording

and mastering engineer

SymPhONy NO. 5 By GUStaV mahLeR (eRWIN RatZ eDItION) cOPyRIGht © 1964 By c.F. PeteRS cORPORatION.

BoRNJuly 7, 1860, in Kalischt (Kaliste), Bohemia, near the town of humpolec

diEdmay 18, 1911, in Vienna, austria

woRkcoMposEd1901–02, with revisions following for atleast five years

woRLdpREMiEREOctober 18, 1904, in cologne, the composerconducting the Gürzenich Orchestra

NEwYoRkpHiLHARMoNicpREMiEREDecember 2, 1926, Willem mengelberg,conductor

Throughout his career Gustav Mahler balanced the competing demands

of his dual vocation as a composer and conductor. Responsibilities on the

podium and in the administrative office completely occupied him during

concert seasons, forcing him to relegate his composing to the summer months,

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which he would spend as a near-hermit in the Austrian countryside. When he came to write his Fifth Symphony, during the summers of 1901 and 1902, he was escaping a Vienna that had become a source of inordinate stress. On April 1, 1901, he was ousted from his position as Director of the Vienna Philharmonic following a three-year tenure in which the normal roller coaster of Viennese musical politics was rendered even more intense by the anti-Semitic sentiments that often dogged Mahler. He was hanging on to his other principal position, as Director of the Vienna Court Opera, but that job was stress-ful, too, and Mahler’s anxiety at work led to frequent medical problems.

Fortunately he had his composing to look forward to. His summer getaway was now at Maiernigg, a bump on the map on the south shore of the Wörthersee (known sometimes as Lake Worth to English speakers, to the extent that English speakers know it at all), a

ListENFoR...

the adagietto of mahler’s Fifth is surely the most famous movement from any mahler symphony. the conductor Willem mengelberg claimed that the movement was an encoded love-letter from Gustav mahler to alma — a fact he insisted both had confirmed to him. Scored for only strings and harp, it stands apart from the rest of the symphony in its basic sound; and its character — pensive, soulful, nostalgic, more resigned than mournful — renders it unique and memorable. this movement has often been extracted for stand-alone performance in concert or as a ballet score. It was used to set the mood in Luchino Visconti’s film Death in Venice, and it has been played at funerals or memorial services for many great figures from the worlds of music and politics, including Serge Koussevitzky, Robert Kennedy, and Leonard Bernstein.

the material of the adagietto makes a second appearance in the Fifth Symphony, in an entirely different character, in the work’s Rondo-Finale.

bucolic spot in the region of Carinthia in southern Austria. Mahler was in the process of building a villa on the lake, and the construction would be completed while this symphony was in progress. Another impor-tant event occurred while he was working on this symphony: in November 1901, at a dinner party, he met Alma Schindler, who was just then ending her liaison with her composition teacher, Alexander von Zemlinsky. Gustav and Alma were smitten with one another and they married a few months later, on March 9, 1902, having already set about making their first child, Maria, who arrived on November 2. It would be a complicated and often unhappy marriage, although they stayed together until Mahler’s death in 1911. After that Alma would marry and divorce the architect Walter Gropius, marry and survive the novelist Franz Werfel, and enjoy romantic adventures with several other overachievers in the arts. Back in 1902, when the Fifth Symphony was being completed, the Mahlers were newlyweds and already there were problems, not least of which, so far as Alma was concerned, were the frequent visits paid by one of their neighbors, a Wagnerian soprano with whom Gustav had had an affair years earlier.

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At Maiernigg Mahler had constructed a tiny, sparsely furnished composing hut on the hill behind his villa, and every morning he would meander up along a forest path to work in splendid seclusion. The seclusion

was mandated: a servant-girl, for example, would leave the villa moments after him on a more direct trail so she could deposit his breakfast at the hut and make her getaway before he arrived.

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What Mahler achieved during those two summers marked his return to the purely instrumental symphony. His First Symphony had been strictly orchestral, but the three that followed it all expanded the forces by using singers, whether as soloists or in chorus or both. But if Mahler’s

Fifth Symphony is not unusually radical in the forces it requires (extensive though they be), his use of those forces is profoundly imaginative. On top of that, its structure is curious indeed. The piece unrolls over five movements (rather than the classic four of most symphonies), and those movements

tHEwoRkAtAGLANcEBruno Walter, who would lead the New york Philharmonic from 1947 to 1949, was mahler’s assistant in both hamburg (1894–96) and Vienna (beginning in 1901). he wrote:

thus the Fifth Symphony is born, a work of strength and sound self-reliance, its face turned squarely towards life, and its basic mood one of optimism. a mighty funeral march, followed by a violently agitated first movement, a scherzo of considerable dimensions, an adagietto, and a rondo-fugue form the movements. Nothing in any of my conversations with mahler and not a single note point to the influence of

extramusical thoughts or emotions upon the composition of the Fifth. It is music, passionate, wild, pathetic, buoyant, solemn, tender, full of all the sentiments of which the human heart is capable, but still ‘only’ music and no metaphysical questioning…interferes with its purely musical course.…

It was the Fifth whose intensified polyphony demanded a renewal of its style of instrumentation. thus, with the instru-mentation of the work a new phase begins in the growth of mahler, and in the Fifth the world has now a masterpiece which shows its creator at the summit of his life, of his power, and of his ability. bruno waLTer

tHENEwYoRkpHiLHARMoNiccoNNEctioNGustav mahler was the conductor (the equivalent of today’s music Director) of the New york Philharmonic from 1909 to 1911, but his connection to the Orchestra would extend beyond his tenure, which ended with his death. his successors would include his favorite conductor, Willem mengelberg, the Philharmonic’s conductor from 1922 to 1930, who led the first Philharmonic performance of the Fifth Symphony in 1926, and of whom mahler had written, “there’s no one else I could entrust a work of mine to with entire confidence.”

iNstRuMENtAtioN four flutes (two doubling piccolo), three oboes and English horn, three clarinets and bass clarinet, three bassoons and contrabassoon, six horns, four trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, cymbals, two bass drums (one with cymbals attached), snare drum, triangle, orchestra bells, tam-tam, slapstick, harp, and strings.

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are grouped into three overriding sections: the first and third sections both comprise two movements, while the Scherzo stands in the middle as a section unto itself. From its opening, ominous trumpet fanfare through to its majestic conclusion an hour and a quarter later (and a semitone higher), the Fifth Symphony traces a panorama of human emotions. In 1911 Mahler remarked that his Fifth Symphony had come to represent “the sum of all the suffering I have been compelled to endure at the hands of life.” For us, too, it may convey suffering, but also joy, hope, and 100 other signs of the human condition.

—JAMEsM.kELLERPROGRam aNNOtatOR

wiLLem mengeLberg

chris Lee

LoRiNMAAZELmusic Director

RobertoMinczukassociate conductor

LeonardBernsteinLaureate conductor, 1943–1990

kurtMasurmusic Director emeritus

vioLiNsGlenn Dicterowconcertmasterthe charles e. culpeper chair

Sheryl StaplesPrincipal associate

concertmasterthe elizabeth G. Beinecke chair

michelle Kimassistant concertmasterthe William Petschek Family chair

enrico Di ceccocarol Webbyoko takebe

emanuel BoderKenneth Gordonhae-young hamNewton mansfieldKerry mcDermottcharles RexFiona SimonSharon yamadayulia Ziskel

marc GinsbergPrincipal

Lisa Kim*In memory of Laura mitchell

Soohyun KwonOscar Ravina

Duoming Bamatitiahu Braunmarilyn Dubowmartin eshelmanJudith Ginsbergmyung-hi KimLisa Gihae Kimhanna LachertSarah O’Boyleanton Polezhayevanna RabinovaDaniel Reedmark SchmoocklerVladimir tsypinelizabeth Zeltser

vioLAscynthia PhelpsPrincipalthe mr. and mrs. Frederick P. Rose chair

Rebecca young*Irene Breslaw**Dorian Rence

Katherine GreeneDawn hannayVivek KamathPeter KenoteBarry LehrKenneth mirkinJudith NelsonRobert Rinehart

cELLoscarter BreyPrincipalthe Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels chair

hai-ye Ni*Qiang tuevangeline Benedetti

eric BartlettNancy Donaruma+elizabeth DysonValentin hirsumaria Kitsopoulosavram Lavineileen moonBrinton Smith

BAssEseugene LevinsonPrincipalthe Redfield D. Beckwith chair

Jon Deak*Orin O’Brien

William BlossomRandall ButlerDavid J. GrossmanLew NortonSatoshi Okamotomichele Saxon

FLutEsRobert LangevinPrincipalthe Lila acheson Wallace chair

Sandra church*Renée Siebertmindy Kaufman

piccoLomindy Kaufman

oBoEsJoseph Robinson

Principalthe alice tully chair

Sherry Sylar*Robert Botti

ENGLisHHoRNthomas Stacy

cLARiNEtsStanley DruckerPrincipalthe edna and W. Van alan clark chair

mark Nuccio*Pascual martinezForteza

Stephen Freeman

E-FLAtcLARiNEtmark Nuccio

BAsscLARiNEtStephen Freeman

BAssooNsJudith Leclair

Principalthe Pels Family chairKim Laskowski*Leonard hindellarlen Fast

coNtRABAssooNarlen Fast

HoRNsPhilip myersPrincipalthe Ruth F. and alan J. Broder chair

Jerome ashby*L. William Kuyper**R. allen Spanjer

erik Ralskehoward Wall

tRuMpEtsPhilip SmithPrincipalthe Paula Levin chairRobert Sullivan*+thomas V. Smith

acting associate Principal

Vincent Penzarella

tRoMBoNEsJoseph alessi

Principalthe Gurnee F. and marjorie L. hart chair

James markey*David Finlayson

BAsstRoMBoNEDonald harwood

tuBAKyle turner++

tiMpANiRoland KohloffPrincipalthe carlos moseley chair

Joseph Pereira**

pERcussioNchristopher S. LambPrincipalthe constance R. hoguet Friends of the Philharmonic chair

Daniel Druckman*Joseph Pereira

HARpNancy allenPrincipal

kEYBoARdIn memory of Paul Jacobs

HARpsicHoRdLionel Party

piANothe Karen and Richard S. LeFrak chair

harriet WingreenJonathan Feldman

oRGANKent tritle

LiBRARiANsLawrence tarlowPrincipal

Sandra Pearson**thad marciniak

oRcHEstRApERsoNNELMANAGERcarl R. Schiebler

stAGEREpREsENtAtivELouis J. Patalano

AudiodiREctoRLawrence Rock

* associate Principal ** assistant Principal + On Leave ++ Replacement/extra

the New york Philharmonic uses the revolving seating method for section string players who are listed alphabetically in the roster

NEwYoRkpHiLHARMoNic 2003–2004 SeaSON 8

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ndrew

Garn

LoRiNMAAZEL, who has led more than 150 orchestras in more than 5,000 opera and concert performances, became Music Director of the New York Philharmonic in September 2002. His appointment came 60 years after his debut with the Orchestra at Lewisohn Stadium, then the Orchestra’s summer venue. As Music Director he has conducted nine World Premiere–New York Philharmonic Commissions, including the Pulitzer Prize– and Grammy Award–winning On the Transmigration of Souls by John Adams; Stephen Hartke’s Symphony No. 3; Melinda Wagner’s Trombone Concerto; and Steven Stucky’s Rhapsodies for Orchestra. He has led cycles of works by Brahms, Beethoven, and Tchaikovsky; and he conducted the Orchestra’s inaugural performances in the DG Concerts series — a groundbreaking initiative to offer downloadable New York Philharmonic concerts exclusively on iTunes.

Mr. Maazel has taken the Orchestra on numerous international tours, including the historic visit to Pyongyang, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, in February 2008 — the first performance there by an American orchestra. Other recent tours have included Europe 2008 in August–September; Asia 2008 — to Taipei, Kaohsiung, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Beijing in February; the May 2007 Tour of Europe; the November 2006 visit to Japan and Korea; the Philharmonic Tour

of Italy in June 2006, sponsored by Generali; the two-part 75th Anniversary European Tour to thirteen cities in five countries in the fall of 2005; and residencies in Cagliari, Sardinia, and at the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival in Colorado.

In addition to the New York Philharmonic, Mr. Maazel is music director of the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia in Valencia, Spain. A frequent conductor on the world’s operatic stages, he returned to The Metropolitan Opera in January 2008 for the first time in 45 years to conduct Wagner’s Die Walküre.

Prior to his tenure as New York Philharmonic Music Director, Mr. Maazel led more than 100 performances of the Orchestra as a guest conductor. He served as music director of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (1993–2002), and has held positions as music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (1988–96); general manager and chief conductor of the Vienna Staatsoper (1982–84); music director of The Cleveland Orchestra (1972–82); and artistic director and chief conductor of the Deutsche Oper Berlin (1965–71). He is an honorary member of the Israel and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestras, and a Commander of the Legion of Honor of France.

A second-generation American, born in Paris, Mr. Maazel was raised and educated in the United States. He took his first violin

lesson at age five, and first conducting lesson at seven. Between ages 9 and 15 he conducted most of the major American orchestras. In 1953 he made his European conducting debut in Catania, Italy.

Mr. Maazel is also an accomplished composer. His opera, 1984, received its world premiere on May 3, 2005, at London’s Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. It was revived in the 2007–08 season at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, and has been released on DVD by Decca.

The NEwYoRkpHiLHARMoNic, founded in 1842 by a group of local musicians led by American-born Ureli Corelli Hill, is by far the oldest symphony orchestra in the United States, and one of the oldest in the world. It currently plays some 180 concerts a year, and on December 18, 2004, gave its 14,000th concert — a milestone unmatched by any other symphony orchestra in the world.

Lorin Maazel began his tenure as Music Director in September 2002, the latest in a distinguished line of 20th-century musical giants that has included Kurt Masur (Music Director from 1991 to the summer of 2002; named Music Director Emeritus in 2002); Zubin Mehta (1978–91); Pierre Boulez (1971–77); and Leonard Bernstein, who was ap-pointed Music Director in 1958 and given the lifetime title of Laureate Conductor in 1969. In September 2009 Alan Gilbert will become the Orchestra’s next Music Director.

Since its inception the Orchestra has championed the new music of its time, commissioning or premiering many impor-tant works such as Dvorák’s Symphony No. 9, From the New World; Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3; Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F; and Copland’s Connotations. The Philharmonic has also given the U.S. premieres of works such as Beethoven’s Symphonies Nos. 8 and 9 and Brahms’s Symphony No. 4. This pioneering tradition has continued to the present day, with works

of major contemporary composers regularly scheduled each season, including John Adams’s Pulitzer Prize– and Grammy Award winning On the Transmigration of Souls; Stephen Hartke’s Symphony No. 3; Augusta Read Thomas’s Gathering Paradise, Emily Dickinson Settings for Soprano and Orchestra; and Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Piano Concerto.

The roster of composers and conductors who have led the Philharmonic includes such historic figures as Theodore Thomas, Antonín Dvorák, Gustav Mahler (Music Director, 1909–11), Otto Klemperer, Richard Strauss, Willem Mengelberg (Music Director, 1922–30), Wilhelm Furtwängler, Arturo Toscanini (Music Director, 1928–36), Igor Stravinsky, Aaron Copland, Bruno Walter (Music Advisor, 1947–49), Dimitri Mitropoulos (Music Director, 1949–58), Klaus Tennstedt, George Szell (Music Advisor, 1969–70), and Erich Leinsdorf.

Long a leader in American musical life, the Philharmonic has over the last century become renowned around the globe, appear-ing in 425 cities in 59 countries on five conti-nents. In February 2008 the Orchestra, led by Music Director Lorin Maazel, gave a historic performance in Pyongyang, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea — the first visit there by an American orchestra, and an event watched around the world and for which the Philharmonic received the 2008 Common

Ground Award for Cultural Diplomacy. Other historic tours have included the 1930 Tour to Europe, with Toscanini; the first Tour to the USSR, in 1959; the 1998 Asia Tour, the first performances in mainland China; and the 75th Anniversary European Tour, in 2005, with Lorin Maazel.

A longtime media pioneer, the Philharmonic began radio broadcasts in 1922 and is currently represented by The New York Philharmonic This Week — syndicated nationally 52 weeks per year, and available on nyphil.org and Sirius XM Radio. On television, in the 1950s and 1960s, the Philharmonic inspired a generation through Bernstein’s Young People’s Concerts on CBS. Its television presence has continued with annual appear-ances on Live From Lincoln Center on PBS, and in 2003 it made history as the first Orchestra ever to perform live on the Grammy Awards, one of the most-watched television events worldwide. The Philharmonic became the first major American orchestra to offer downloadable concerts, recorded live, and released by DG Concerts exclusively on iTunes. Since 1917 the Philharmonic has made nearly 2,000 recordings, with more than 500 cur-rently available. On June 4, 2007, the New York Philharmonic proudly announced a new partnership with Credit Suisse, its first-ever and exclusive Global Sponsor.

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PeRFORmeD, PRODUceD, aND DIStRIBUteD By the NeW yORK PhILhaRmONIc© 2009 NeW yORK PhILhaRmONIc