Philadelphia Mahler 8th Performances

Prelude

I started off my trip with the Philadelphia Orchestra performing Bruckner’s 6^th Symphony under Christoph Eschenbach on April 26, 2008. I thought the performance rather good, one of the better Eschenbach performances I’ve heard. There was an odd tempo change though at the start of the first movement. Violins were divided to both sides of the podium. The strings still have a unique sound and the chordal balances were beautiful. The first half featured an occasionally intonation challenged Vadim Repin doing the Sibelius Violin Concerto in a clear sound. (Personally I’d like a warmer sound like Anne Sophie Mutter had with MTT and the LSO back in the 90’s)

Fan or Fanatic?

This is the second time I’ve heard the entire run of a Mahler symphony in Philadelphia (with an additional Carnegie performance). I don’t know if I’ll ever do it again. While interesting and fulfilling (since we almost get to hear no Mahler in Honolulu), it is a bit of an overdose.

Miscellanea:

There were 4 rehearsals & 5 concerts for the Mahler's 8th Symphony. The Philadelphia Verizon Hall concerts were on April 30, May 1, 2, & 3, 2008. The Carnegie Hall concert was on May 6, 2008. The Philadelphia Orchestra last played the 8^th during the summer of 1977 at the Robin Hood Dell under James Levine according to the program notes. Some of the old timers in the orchestra couldn’t remember playing the work there and a number of the newer members I spoke to said they had never played the 8^th before. The Dell looked a bit small to hold a large orchestra and chorus, though I’ve been told that they do rock concerts there now. Orchestra and Chorus totaled over 300. The Mater Gloriosa, Marisol Montalvo was once Miss New York in the Miss American Pagent. New York area fans will note that the 8^th will be done at least on two occasions next season, once with Boulez and the Staatskapelle Berlin and with Maazel ending up his New York Philharmonic tenure with subscription performances.

Stage Layout

Mater Gloriosa (in the 2^nd tier on left) Organist in 2^nd tier

Chorus Chorus Chorus

Boy’s Chorus (on Risers)

Percussion Tuba Trombones Horns Trumpets Timpani

Clarinets Bassoons

Flutes Oboes Mandolins

Celli Violas Keyboards

Basses 1^st violins 2^nd violins Harps

Female soloists Podium Male soloists

Female Chorus II on the left & right of stage (in 1^st Tier boxes)

Off stage brass in 2^nd Tier boxes toward the opposite end of the hall.

Performances Verizon Hall

IMO, Thursday and Saturday’s performances were the most impressive of the Philadelphia performances. Wednesday’s performance had a kind of opening night jitters where I thought the ensemble was not as tight as it could be. For example the opening choruses of Part I seemed shaky.

Eschenbach doesn’t seem to be someone concerned with precision or consistency. His was not a sharp edged reading (like Solti), but one more interested in the musical line. Eschenbach’s reading, especially of Part II seemed to get longer each night. However, from after the Mater Gloriosa sings to the end, Eschenbach brought an impressive finish to the work.

Eschenbach does an odd thing with the Chorus II sopranos and altos at RN 213 where he holds over the B flats from the previous measure through the barline before having everyone come in on a delayed downbeat.

Balances were pretty good, though sometimes I got the impression that James Morris didn’t project as well as the other male singers. The Philadelphia Singers Chorale, Westminster Symphonic Choir, Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia, and The American Boychoir were most impressive. The choral signing was far superior to what I heard in San Francisco when the San Francisco Symphony did the 8^th some 10 years ago. Christine Brewer, soprano Michaela Kaune, soprano Marisol Montalvo, soprano Stephanie Blythe, mezzo-soprano and Charlotte Hellekant, mezzo-soprano were an excellent female solo section. Montalvo, whose vibrato was criticized in the past had it mostly under control for the Philadelphia performances. Brewer & Blythe were the standouts, though Kaune & Hellekant were also excellent. On the male side of the stage, tenor Anthony Dean Griffey was a last minute replacement for an indisposed Vinson Cole. This was a major coup. His Dr. Marianus was beautiful. Baritone, Franco Pomponi was very good. Only the usually incomparable James Morris seemed off his game. (intonation problems.) Intonation of sopranos Brewer and Kaune was dead on. Montalvo’s vibrato was in better control the last three nights than the first night. James Morris sounded a bit flat on occasion. The off stage brass was placed in the 2^nd tier to stage right away from the stage and the coordination with the main orchestra was good. The on-stage orchestral work was good with horn soloist Jennifer Montone standing out. The high points were the incredible orchestral playing, the stunning choral work & the solo vocalists.

Carnegie Hall

Vinson Cole was the tenor soloist at Carnegie but he did not sound as good as Anthony Dean Griffey did at Verizon. Even the female vocalists weren’t as good as at Verizon. I thought Christine Brewer’s high notes spread unlike at Verizon where she sounded more focused. Montalvo’s vibrato was more pronounced from the left balcony. Choruses didn’t sound as good on a very cramped stage. The layout meant that the singers had very little breathing room. There was more tension at Carnegie and the work unfolded better, but I thought that ensemble was not as tight. The coordination between chorus and orchestra was a bit off at the beginning of Part I. However, Part I was faster than at Verizon. At least in the Center Balcony, there was a tendency for the sound to turn into a bassless mess when everything was going full tilt. The strings also didn’t seem to project as well into the hall. I don’t know if this was because much of the string section was way out into the hall on the extended stage.

Recording?

According to pre-concert announcements, the concerts were recorded for possible issue. It might be hard to edit with Eschenbach’s varied tempi. I don’t know how the editors will be able to do it. Thursday’s performance of Part II was the best IMO, but there were numerous coughs throughout the performance. Saturday had the best Part I, but some dummy yelled something at the end, which might be hard to edit out. If the Ondine crew can capture the sound of the choruses, it may be one of the better ones on disc as far as the chorus goes. The soloist group may also be one the best on disc since the Solti recording. There were a lot of microphones, presumably to compensate for the live recording. The Saturday night concert was broadcast via closed-circuit TV (and presumably recorded). There were no touch-up sessions, so Ondine had to work from the 4 concerts.

Closing comments

These Mahler 8th symphony performances were the last in Eschenbach's tenure as Music Director of the Philadelphia Orchestra. I think his cycle with the orchestra remained incomplete as the 7th symphony scheduled for earlier this season was cancelled. Eschenbach returns next seasons as a guest in subscriptions and on tour, but with no Mahler scheduled. His last subscription concert with the orchestra took place on May 17, 2008 in a program of Schubert's b minor and C Major symphonies.