Epic. Joyous. The marmite of music.
Who’s on stage
London Philharmonic Orchestra sold out Sage One last time they visited, so we fully expect they’ll do the same again. This time they’re joined by conductor Robin Ticciati and pianist Francesco Piemontesi.
What they’re playing
Robert Schumann’s one and only Piano Concerto opens the show, Gustav Mahler’s legendary Fifth Symphony closes it.
What’s happening in the music?
There are a few composers that reliably split opinion. Some people are devoted fans of their music, even obsessive about it. Other people can’t stand it. Mahler is one of those, maybe because his style is so distinctive, unlike anything else written. His Fifth Symphony probably gets respect even from the haters though. Written during a period of happiness and success for the composer, it contains moments of joy and beauty that contrast with episodes of simply ferocious music, and then there’s the famous Adagietto – music that is like fragile velvet; irresistibly beautiful.
Like Marmite
We mentioned that people have strong reactions to Mahler. But why?
We’ve trawled the recesses of the internet (ok, Reddit) and the most often given reasons for not liking him include the sheer length of some of his pieces, there being something ‘monolithic’ about his music, a feeling that the music never quite reaches a climax (but see below…), and being ‘too romantic’. The favourite comment we found was ‘I HATE Mahler. My husband loves him and it honestly makes me love him a little less’.
What about the fans? The kind of obsessive love some people have for his music is summed up by this comment: ‘Mahler’s symphonies are sacred to me, I’m kind of afraid to even talk about them.’
More specifically, people love the emotional intensity of the music and the huge climaxes (that according to others don’t exist). His music is described as being ‘transformative’ and ‘hitting that sweet spot between romanticism and experimentalism’.
Take a listen
Here’s that famous Adagietto from Mahler’s Fifth Symphony, performed by the Vienna Philharmonic with legendary conductor Leonard Bernstein at the helm.
