Stürmisch bewegt: Mahler's Fifth at Teatro alla Scala With Staaaaaaaaatskapelle Berlin

Tonight OC was chillaxing @ la Scala for the Staatskapelle Berlin + Daniel Barenboim = awesome concerto of Gustav Mahler's 5th. Tomorrow night OC probably won't be there for the conclusion of the double-header: the Mahler 6th under the baton of Boulez, but we don't have any doubt the the Staatskapelle will perform with any less finesse than they had demonstrated tonight.

An oppressively humid afternoon, everyone arrived at the theater 20 minutes before a torrential rain hit (how appropriate a greeting for Mahler's 5th), which thankfully chased away the hot grody polluted winds that greeted us walking down to the theater. In an Ann Demeulemeester cream cotton wife-beater tank, a Paul Smith printed cotton cardigan (green and olive mini diamonds), a pair of lightweight stretch & cropped denim Seven capris, sage alligator Tod's driving shoes, and trusty LV speedles bag (and a black metro Burberry compact umbrella inside), OC arrived just as the first big drops were beginning to fall.

Barenboim was in modified summer frac, and instead of white shirt and tie, he wore a plain black nehru shirt beneath his tails. Thankfully, there was no scolding of the audience this time, and the evening unfolded without incident. The audience was mostly seniors, with full loggione intact. 

Ultimately, from the trumpet to the gigantic climax, I wasn't moved. But it was nevertheless brilliant, and I was duly impressed. Barenboim led a bright, moody, and very Mahlerian orchestra. They were immense, from the bassoons to the violas with a giant and dynamic sound. 

The first two movements (Trauermarsch and Stürmisch bewegt), about 15 minutes each, were constant conflicts between light and dark, turbulence and calm. The Adagietto was angst-ridden like a surly teen, and the Rondo-Finale was well-paced for the awesome climax. At the end of the concerto, the applause was insane, with constant shouts of bravi. Barenboim must have come out to acknowledge his fans like 8x. But he gave no encore, despite the audience breaking-out in hisses of ‘bis’ for his final curtain call.

On the way to the theater, there were two giant transport buses on Via Verdi from Gerhard Kanitz Orchester und Theatertransporte, stamped with line drawing representations of the Skaatskapelle that would make any fanboy cry.

Wir fahren die Gastspielreise der Skaatskapelle Berlin!!! Maybe they were transporting mountains of Eisbein and Berliner Weiße...

Comments

[mostlyopera]

I agree! Heard Barenboim in Mahler´s 5th in Berlin in april and it was brilliant! I would strongly recommend going for Pierre Boulez as well (I heard him conduct the 2nd, 3rd and 4th there - the grip he has on the orchestra - the way he dissects Mahler´s score without loosing the overall picture is excellent!)

[deadtenors]

i was fortunate enough to hear all of the mahler zyklus in berlin. Pierre Boulez! What a master of balance and tempi - such clarity in his (frustratingly?) understated gestures. And how entertaining to watch maestro barenboim get excited during those galloping crescendi, bend his knees, hitch up his trousers and pretend to be riding a horse through sherwood forest. Or, during refined passages, to watch him stand tall, (relatively) lean back a touch and purse his lips, conducting with small, gentle hands, as though they were holding the reigns of a show horse. If only there were a refined galloping crescendo, i believe we might get to see how danny boy looks when playing polo. Maybe Pierre could compose such a moment for his buddy. My friend, who has conducted Mahler's symphonies, (which means nothing) declared boulez a genious and barenboim a clown. gotta love sweeping appraisals. a number of the players were frustrated by pierre's detatched facade. "He needs to give us something!" was heard more than once. perhaps they needed to concentrate more on his hands and less on his face? regardless, in my ignorance, i had fun. db's 5th was probably his most secure. does this accessable symphony almost conduct itself? Certinly, many of the others do not. of course, the symphony of 875 was a triumph with pb out front. treat yourself to the sixth! come on pierre, give us a smile. can't decide whether katherine jenkins looks more vacuous or inflatable in those shots.

[ricky]

I prefer boulez and will be there tonight for sure... well there was always bernstein's mahler amd of course szell's and solti's...