ConcertPulse
Gewandhausorchester, Andris Nelsons Dirigent
Gewandhaus Leipzig, Großer Saal (Leipzig)
A lively hunting king scares away the game with his boastful pelvic roar, but demands a solitary violin beauty, beginning a tale of murder, percussion-slaying, grave desecration, miraculous revival through brass chorales, gruesome revenge, and a pompous wedding. Dvořák's music expresses the full spectrum of emotions from thrilling rhythms and orchestral colors to tender harp-woodwind love episodes, dramatic fortissimo fury, dark bass abysses, and uplifting melodies. Mahler's 4th Symphony leads into a hellish heaven three years later, with diabolical otherworldly scenarios humorously conjured by the Wunderhorn song "Das himmlische Leben". While hypocritical saints merrily slaughter, Death grabs a detuned violin from the fiddle-filled sky. After experiencing these fable purgatories and hellish heavens, you might conclude Earth is quite comfortable, especially as it's blessed with Mahler and Dvořák's music.
