deFilharmonie olv. Pinchas Steinberg

The chance of hearing Mahler's Sixth Symphony, a titan of a piece, in a concert hall is an opportunity not to be missed. You get to see and hear a gigantic orchestra that fills the entire evening with just one work. A piece that combines the dramatic with the grotesque, the sublime with the popular. A symphony that is perfectly representative of Mahler's oeuvre. Even for an experienced orchestral conductor like the Israeli Pinchas Steinberg, the Sixth remains a daring challenge. The nickname for this symphony is 'the tragic', and the opening immediately demonstrates why. In an almost expressionist manner, Mahler sketches a stern march with threatening accents that chase restlessly and hauntingly through the entire first movement. Not only is this evident in the first movement, but these threatening accents also return in a three-part dance rhythm later in the third movement too. Such cyclical treatment characterises the whole symphony, especially the impressive finale where elements from everything that has gone before are reintroduced. The finale represents the resolution to the musical drama introduced in the first three contrasting movements. Contrary to Mahler's other symphonies, it is not happiness or hope that triumphs, but fate. This is literally expressed by using three heavy hammer blows. This finale is the longest fully composed piece of music Mahler ever wrote. The 'Gustav Mahler' listening course is organised by the Davidfonds Free Time University. The teacher will be Kamiel Cooremans and it begins on 7 March 2007.