Concluding their splendidly inspired first season together in grand manner, the Tampere Philharmonic and Chief Conductor Matthew Halls delivered a formidable reading of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 in C minor (1888-94/1897-1910) at Tampere Hall on Thursday. Sharing the stage, the Tampere Philharmonic Choir, well prepared by Ruut Kiiski and Jouni Rissanen, joined the orchestra in full capacity, alongside two wonderful solo singers, soprano Anu Komsi and mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly.
Given its massive scoring, calling forth an onstage orchestra quadruple winds doubling piccolos, English horns, E-flat clarinet, bass clarinet and contrabassoon, sextuple horns and trumpets, four trombones and tuba, two sets of timpani, two bass drums, snare drums, cymbals, two tam-tams, triangle, rute, deep bells, glockenspiel, organ, two harps and strings, augmented with offstage ensembles of four horns, four trumpets, timpani and triangle, appearing in the concluding movement, not only the full line-up of the Tampere Philharmonic but extra players from other orchestras as well were summoned together in order to make the performance happen.
One of the most staggering pieces in the repertoire, the ca. eighty-five-minute symphony in five movements was premiered in its entirety by the Berlin Philharmonic under the composer in December 1895, preceded by their preliminary outing for the first three movements some nine months earlier. Interestingly, Mahler’s first two endeavors into the symphonic realm were both initially conceived as symphonic poems. What eventually became to bear the title of his Symphony No. 1 (1887-88/1893-94/1896-99) was first introduced as two-part symphonic poem in five movements called Titan after Jean Paul. Its successor, Symphony No. 2, was begun in 1888 as Totenfeier (Funeral Rites), a single-movement postlude to the previous work, which Mahler then recast as the opening of his new symphony, revising the orchestration in 1894. The second and third movements were added in 1893, ensued by the vast choral and orchestral finale in the following year. To complete the symphony, the composer went on to include his Des Knaben Wunderhorn setting of Urlicht (1892-93) for an alto soloist and orchestra in the score as the penultimate movement.
Thus, picking up where Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony (1822-24) had left some seventy years earlier, Mahler came up with a symphonic scheme hitherto unsurpassed in scope and scale. The Allegro maestoso first movement presents us with a solemn processional in sonata form, more or less, marked Mit durchaus ernstem und feierlichem Ausdruck. An awe-inspiring orchestral tableau, heralded by tremolo figurations in the upper strings, answered by an ardent motif on celli and basses, the movement unfolds around an unyielding march subject, recurring throughout the arch, interspersed by passages of memorial and delicate mourning, alongside pre-echoes of Judgment Day.
With Halls at the helm, the orchestra processed through Mahler’s nightly soundscapes following firmly devised blueprints of tempi and dynamics. One or two jittery onsets notwithstanding, the Tampere Philharmonic laid down a gorgeous reading, paying heed to detail and color, their unyielding commitment enduring even the loudest ad lib. offstage ringtone imaginable – an unintended homage to Charles Ives, perhaps.
Two dance movements ensue. Echoing pastoral overtones of a gentle Ländler, the blissful open skies of the Andante moderato second movement are soon darkened by ominous cloud formations, preparing us for the full-on phantasmagoria of the central Scherzo, which shares its main material with the Wunderhorn song Des Antonius von Padua Fischpredigt (1893). Primed by timpani, the In ruhig fließender Bewegung third movement builds up to ghastly danse macabre, culminating in hair-raising full orchestral scream, gazing straight into the fiery chasm of Hell, no less.
Delivered with pristine character and finesse by the orchestra under Halls, the two choreographic scenes were awash with minutiae sounding psychology, encompassing Mahler’s emotional kaleidoscopes with keen-sighted precision and craft. Be it those subtle expressive nuances of light and shadow embedded in the Andante moderato or the grandest gestures at the center of the Scherzo, the orchestra and conductor provided idiomatic takes on the dance idioms embedded.
Setting all infernal premonitions aside for a moment, as the alto soloist and strings introduce the Urlicht fourth movement, marked Sehr feierlich, aber schlicht, their opening remarks entering into prayer-like conversation with low reeds and brass, providing some fleeting reassurance before the headlong plunge into the Land of the Dead.
A time-stopping outing from Connolly, Halls and the orchestra, Urlicht was a masterclass in meditative expressivity.
Announced by immense tutti preamble, Mahler’s thirty-five-minute finale sets forth to climb the Mount of Purgatory, its overwhelming aural vistas further expanded by offstage fanfares and chorales, mounting to tremendous sounding fresco of apocalyptic proportions. An hour into the symphonic quest, bridged by cadential solo flute and distant brass, the orchestra falls silent, and the chorus enters, a cappella, introducing Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock’s poem Die Auferstehung into the dramaturgy, combined with further stanzas penned by the composer, set to thematic material introduced on the first half of the finale. Soprano and alto soloists join, with orchestra, turning the music into quasi-operatic staging of resurrection and afterlife, wrought of riveting vocal and instrumental music.
Reaching the summit, the full ensemble bursts into immense sonorous elation, until orchestra alone is allowed to enter the gates and cross the threshold into Paradise beyond verbal descriptions, sounding out majestic symphonic postlude, where time and space merge into pure music.
A milestone affair, the performance of the finale was one of those occasions where everything just clicked, giving rise to musical moments to be treasured in memory. Sung with immaculate articulation and clarity by the Tampere Philharmonic Choir, Mahler’s choral passages were sung with dedication and artistry. In the solo vocal parts, Komsi and Connolly responded in equal measure, their contributions ranking among the finest in recent – and more distant – memory.
Regarding the offstage ensembles, rarely have their contributions succeeded in creating such spatial vastness as in Thursday’s performance, their substantial canvases being immaculately interlocked with the onstage orchestra’s top-tier performance by Halls’s ever-observant direction.
A mighty conclusion to a wondrous musical season, one looks forward to the next joint endeavors by Halls and the Tampere Philharmonic with eager joy.
Tampere Philharmonic
Matthew Halls, conductor
Anu Komsi, soprano
Dame Sarah Connolly, mezzo-soprano
Tampere Philharmonic Choir
Ruut Kiiski and Jouni Rissanen, choral directors
Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 2 in C minor (1888-94/1897-1910) for soli, mixed choir (SATB) and orchestra
Tampere Hall, Tampere, Finland
Thursday 23 May 2024, 7 pm
© Jari Kallio
AIM - Adventures in Music 
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