Philharmonia
Conductor: Marin Alsop
Mezzo-soprano: Sasha Cooke
Royal Festival Hall
24 October 2024
An all Mahler concert – both Gustave and Alma – makes an interesting programme. Mahler famously didn’t want Alma to compose but eventually gave in and her four songs (1910) orchestrated by David and Colin Matthews, sung here by Sasha Cooke, formed a fascinating centrepiece.
Cooke is adept at “acting through song”, to borrow an expression often used in musical theatre, and her vocal sound is richly arresting. The gentle ending and control in Die stille Stadt was striking as were her legato notes in Bei dir ist es traut. And I enjoyed the story telling in In meines Vaters Garten which came complete with yawns, stretches and finger wagging.
The concert had begun with a piece new to me: Blumine which was originally conceived as a symphony movement which got dropped. It’s gently lyrical piece, played at this concert with some fine string work – both that pianissimo quivering, which is so hard to bring off, and the lush sound towards the end. The trumpet melody then picked up by the flute was pleasingly brought off too.
And so, after the interval, to the real meat: Mahler’s mighty fifth symphony at the end of which I imagine Alsop and all players were exhausted because it’s a long and demanding piece given, on this occasion, exceptionally energetic treatment. There were times when both Alsop’s feet left the podium at once.
The many high spots included the contrast between the brooding passages in the first movement and the grandiose drama, followed by the richness of the lower strings in the second movement especially in the beautiful passage launched by the cellos and then picked up by the violas. The shift into 3|4 melodies and the rather otherworldy ambience of the scherzo was impressive too.
There is a film of Edward Elgar, late in life, conducting his Pomp and Circumstance March number 1. “Play this as if you’ve never heard it before please” he says, briskly, setting a cracking pace. Well, the fourth movement of Mahler 5, the famous adagietto, faces similar challenges. Alsop rose to them well in this performance coaxing some lovely harp and double bass work from the orchestra and controlling the recap with tight sensitivity. It sounded really quite fresh. Then we got a rousing resolution in the Rondo finale with especially fine work from tuba, bass trombone and timps.
All in all it was a rather rewarding concert.