Special Concert — July 27, 2019

Concert at: 8 p.m.
Pre-concert lecture at 7 p.m.

San Mateo Performing Arts Center
600 North Delaware Street, San Mateo
parking map (PDF)

• Edvard Grieg: Peer Gynt Suite excerpts (conducted by Bryan Baker)
• Johannes Brahms: Academic Festival Overture (conducted by Sanford Dole)
• Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 (retouched by Gustav Mahler)
  Soloists:
      Raeeka Shehabi-Yaghmai, soprano
      Theresa Cardinale, mezzo-soprano
      Stephen Guggenheim, tenor
      Steven Goodman, baritone
  with the
      Redwood Symphony Festival Chorus
  

Presented in cooperation with Bay Choral Guild and Masterworks Chorale.

Mahler has loomed over Redwood Symphony's 34 seasons; we are now in our third cycle of all eleven of his symphonic works. Over the last decade we have also introduced Mahler's "retouchings" (Retuschen) of Beethoven's Third, Fifth and Seventh symphonies to our repertoire. This performance of the Ninth will mark the completion of this project.

Mahler's treatment of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in 1900 reflects his considerations bringing the work to the stage some 70 years after its premier. The orchestral instruments themselves had advanced technologically, expanding the sound world, and Mahler saw an opportunity to fill spaces of that expanded universe. This resulted in super-sized woodwind and brass sections and a few counter-melodies blended with Beethoven's. While many criticized him for a perceived egotism in these retouchings, Mahler claimed that he was only working in service to Beethoven, the master. Let the audience judge!

Finally, the performance will aspire to Beethoven's many controversial metronome tempo indications, which are often quite faster than customary. (Mahler did not follow these indications!)

Online sales end midnight before the concert.