Vancouver Symphony Orchestra opens season with Mahler's monumental Sixth, September 15 and 16
Maestro Otto Tausk pairs the “Tragedy” with the emotional power of Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s CATAMORPHOSIS
Maestro Tausk Conducts Mahler’s Sixth is at the Orpheum on September 15 and 16
GUSTAV MAHLER himself is said to have nicknamed his Symphony No. 6 in A minor the “Tragic”, and it’s true the orchestral work—which opens Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s 105th season—reaches into the darkest corners of the human psyche.
Look no further than the 1904 piece’s famous ominous, hammering blows of fate that sound out in the finale.
But Mahler once said "A symphony must be like the world. It must contain everything." And so, too, does the “Tragic” encompass a range of swirling, tumultuous emotions—including joy. Listen for the constant conflict of major against minor keys – happiness versus melancholy, and good versus evil.
No experience of it compares to witnessing it live, which Vancouverites will have a chance to do two nights this weekend, under the able baton of VSO music director Otto Tausk.
The maestro has paired it with an intriguing new work by Anna Thorvaldsdottir, one of Iceland's most celebrated contemporary composers. CATAMORPHOSIS promises to match the emotional power of Mahler, but in textural, layered ways.
It's a pairing that should make for a dramatic start to the season.
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