Mahler

Exactly 100 years ago - June 9, 1902 (it was a Monday) - in the German city of Krefeld, Gustav Mahler conducted the premiere of his epic-length Symphony No. 3. The concert hall overflowed with curious listeners, including such notable composers as Richard Strauss, Engelbert Humperdinck and Eugen d'Albert; now legendary conductor Willem Mengelberg traveled from Holland to be there, too. When the last of the symphony's six movements ended, Mahler biographer...

For some of us, there's no such thing as too much music; its regenerative power is addictive. I was reminded of that over the weekend, attending four concerts in the span of 27 hours. The first was a stunner - the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam performing Mahler's Resurrection Symphony Saturday at the Kennedy Center, presented by the Washington Performing Arts Society. Under the galvanizing leadership of Riccardo Chailly, the symphony's emotional journey was made palpable, from uncertainty and fear to fervent belief that all things will be born anew.

For many years, Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 7 was viewed as the problem child among his orchestral output, a sprawling mass of sounds that refuse to behave. While the other eight completed symphonies gradually gained intense admiration, or at least respect, during the second half of the 20th century, the Seventh stood in the corner, craving attention. Today, the situation seems much brighter. A look at a major music retailer's online catalog finds nearly 30 different recordings of the Seventh currently for sale, a plethora once unthinkable.

Any time a composer is taken from this world prematurely, there is an automatic tendency to attach great significance to his last notes. Mozart's case is particularly touching, since he died so young (only 35). The question, then, is not only how would he have completed the "Requiem" he was working on, but also how much more incomparable music died with him. Here are a few other notable examples of musica interruptus. Anton Bruckner knew he was dying when he feverishly tried to complete his Symphony No. 9, which the BSO will turn to later this season.

Gustav Mahler was only 48 when he began to compose his Ninth Symphony in 1908. He should have had a long, creative life ahead of him, but his days were already numbered by a heart ailment; he would be dead within three years. Was he conscious of that fate? In the original manuscript of the Ninth, on the last pages of the opening and closing movements, Mahler wrote the words "Farewell! Farewell!" The average age of the musicians in the Peabody Symphony Orchestra who played this valedictory Thursday must be around 20, much too young to have to think about death.

The Annapolis Symphony Orchestra has not gone in for any laurel-resting during its 40th anniversary season. Musical challenges have been the rule, with ambitious programs that stretch limitations and an imaginative composer-in-residence venture that will culminate in April with the world premiere of work by Stephen Paulus. Over the weekend, there was a double challenge - the orchestra not only tackled Mahler's rather daunting Symphony No. 1, but had to do so without benefit of a final rehearsal, scrubbed due to snow.

When the great Franz Joseph Haydn retired in 1803 from his longtime post as chief musician for Austrian Prince Nicholas Esterhazy, he recommended his friend and former student Johann Nepomuk Hummel as a replacement. A virtuoso pianist and a composer, Hummel (1778-1837) jumped at the chance for the money, security and fame that he would accrue as the great Haydn's successor. As an audition piece for the new job, Hummel composed a concerto for the trumpet that he submitted for a performance on New Year's Day, 1804.

When the great Franz Joseph Haydn retired in 1803 from his longtime post as chief musician for Austrian Prince Nicholas Esterhazy, he recommended his friend and former student Johann Nepomuk Hummel as a replacement. A virtuoso pianist and a composer, Hummel (1778-1837) jumped at the chance for the money, security and fame that he would accrue as the great Haydn's successor. As an audition piece for the new job, Hummel composed a concerto for the trumpet that he submitted for a performance on New Year's Day, 1804.

Psychoanalysis might best be done privately, just doctor and patient. On Wednesday evening at the Kennedy Center's Concert Hall, it took place in full view of a large, attentive audience. On the couch, so to speak, was composer Gustav Mahler. Doing the mental probing was Giuseppe Sinopoli, with the help of the Dresden Staatskapelle, one of Europe's oldest orchestral institutions (453 years and counting). It was quite a session - alternately depressing, exhilarating, hopeful, angry, loving, scary.

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra offered alliteration and allure Friday evening - Yura and Yuri, Mendelssohn and Mahler. The Mendelssohn half of the program put the spotlight on 15-year-old Korean violinist Yura Lee, who seemed determined to avoid familiar prodigy trappings. No cutesy dress with puffy sleeves, no demure, little-girl demeanor, either. Lee strode confidently onto the stage of Meyerhoff Hall, wearing a grown-up gown and carrying a grown-up fiddle - a 1720s Stradivarius, previously owned by the Earl of Spencer (yes, that Earl of Spencer)