Review: NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC MAHLER 6TH SYMPHONY at David Geffen Hall

Mahler 6th Symphony "The Tragic"

New York Philharmonic / Semyon Bychkov Conductor

Geffen Hall - 2/16/16

Semyon Bychkov is possibly the most underrated conductor before the public today and yet whenever he stands before the New York Philharmonic, he brings forth fire and magical playing.

The New York Philharmonic's performance of the Mahler Symphony No. 6 Tuesday evening at David Geffen Hall was no exception. Bychkov's brisk but not overly-brisk tempo for the Allegro felt like a sprite military march with a powerful and steady pulse. He brought forth tremendous energy from the players and paid careful attention to every small detail - particularly the well balanced distribution of a single melody, as it was passed between instruments.

The standard sonata form of the first movement, which even contains an exact repeat of the primary exposition, is unusual in Mahler, but Bychkov brought a different level of intensity to the second pass, making it unusually interesting.

Bychkov choose to perform the work in its original sequence of movements, with the Scherzo second and the Andante third. This is the preferred configuration of this critic, both because it speaks to the traditional origins of the symphony and because the Scherzo is a variation on the material from the first movement. When the Scherzo is place third, after the Andante, that thematic link is broken.

The magical "Alma Theme" was introduced at a slightly slower tempo, setting it off nicely from the more pulsating rhythmic structure of the 1st movement. In a stroke of brilliance, the legendary cowbells were placed offstage, creating a distance and mystical sound. They spoke of the mountains and the pastures where Mahler sought and found his inspiration. In many performances of the 6th, the cowbells are an annoying rattling noise, breaking the flow. The placement of the cowbells offstage added a multi-dimensional quality to the sound, an evocative nostalgic and natural element that fit the music perfectly.

The second movement can be a sluggish scherzo recapitulation of themes established in the 1st movement, but Bychkov continually found new colors and in the sound and pulled forward instrumentation often buried in the score.

The ravishing Andante was the evening's highlight. The conductor had minimized portamenti and sentimentality throughout the evening, so the great build to the soaring major theme of the Andante was a miraculously cathartic and life-affirming power moment.

The mysterious and epically-long final movement was replete with nail-biting tension and massive explosions of sound. To his credit, the conductor navigated the irregular fluctuations of tempo and dynamics with a minimum of histrionics. He managed to dig deep into the orchestra and bring forward a sound that was chamber-like at some moments and Wagnerian in others.

The orchestra's playing was nothing short of outstanding. Particular kudos must be handed out to the multitude of marvelous soloists featured over the course of the evening: concertmaster Frank Huang, first French horn, Phillip Meyers, bass clarinetist Dean Le Blanc, oboeist Liang Wang, tuba, Alan Baer, and timpanist Markus Rhoten, who took great pleasure in delivering his massive and punctuating hammer blows!

Maestro Bychkov continually delivers extraordinary performances with the New York Philharmonic. His thoughtful and idiomatic Mahler was certainly one of the season's highlights. One wonders if he was given any consideration to lead the orchestra during the philharmonic front office's search for a new musical director to replace Alan Gilbert. Either way, this writer is hopeful for many return appearances of Maestro Bychkov in the future.

Peter Danish

Classical Music Editor

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