Momentum And Mahler's First Symphony Poem by gershon hepner

MOMENTUM AND MAHLER’S FIRST SYMPHONY


When you have got strong feelings, vent ’em,
fill up each moment with momentum,
and don’t stop it with concessions
which are based upon repressions.
Your life should be like Mahler’s First,
played as if you’ve not rehearsed,
because you cannot with rehearsals
prevent unfortunate reversals.

Mark Swed reviews a performance of Mahler’s First Symphony by the LA Philharmonic, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel (LA Times,1/21/12) :

Thursday night at Walt Disney Concert Hall, in what may have been Dudamel’s most stirring and satisfying performance here thus far, it was clear that relationship has reached full maturity. The performance also provided excellent evidence of just how much Dudamel has refashioned the sound of the Los Angeles Philharmonic in the little more than two years since he became its music director. Dudamel did, after all, conduct Mahler’s First in the fall of 2009 to conclude his debut Disney Hall gala. The huge event attracted international attention, was televised and released on DVD. The excitement of the occasion and the exuberant performance were contagious.
Back then the orchestra, however, was on edge –- not accustomed to the media attention. And Dudamel, who had been conducting the Mahler First since he was 16, was not willing to sacrifice vitality for overly careful ensemble playing. The symphony didn’t entirely hang together. Dudamel cared more about the moment than momentum. The next spring he got beat up for that by several American critics when he took the score on his first national tour with the L.A. Phil.
1/21/12 #9085