Chile Symphony: Mahler’s Fifth Symphony

The National Symphony Orchestra of Chile closes its cycle of Great Fifths with Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 5. Under the direction of Rodolfo Saglimbeni, the program will include an arrangement by the Bohemian composer of Aria from Orchestral Suite No. 3 by Johann Sebastian Bach. The concerts will be at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, April 26 and Saturday, April 27, at the Teatro Universidad de Chile, Providencia 043, with tickets

“Without a doubt it is one of the high points of the 2024 season of the National Symphony Orchestra of Chile,” comments maestro Rodolfo Saglimbeni, principal baton of the cast.

Positioned as one of the main figures of post-romanticism, Mahler was a composer and conductor, being in his time most valued for the latter role. However, today he is considered one of the greatest composers in the history of the symphonic genre. He defined himself as a summer composer, the only period in which he could dedicate himself entirely to the creation of his great works.

Along with composing his own works, he also arranged other works. Thus, in 1910 he made a Suite for string orchestra, harpsichord and organ, consisting of a re-orchestration and arrangement of the Orchestral Suites No. 2 (BWV 1067) and No. 3 (BWV 1068), written by Johann Sebastian Bach. around 1730. From this work, the National Symphony Orchestra of Chile will perform the Aria (or third movement) on this occasion, to begin the program, which will then give way to its Fifth Symphony.

Written between 1901 and 1902, a time when Mahler was the highest musical authority in Vienna and a time when he met Alma Schindler, whom he would later marry, the Symphony No. 5 in C-sharp minor, Op. 64 It was premiered in Cologne in 1904, under the direction of the composer himself, an event that almost coincided with the birth of his daughter María Ana. However, Mahler was not satisfied with the original orchestration, so he made several subsequent revisions, until 1909. The Symphony is the composer’s first that does not use the human voice and the first of a trilogy of these characteristics. An attempt at purely musical expression that makes it present greater complexity than his previous symphonies, with brief quotes from other works of his authorship. The intensity and variety of emotions that the work evokes led it to become one of the great classics of the orchestral repertoire, and was also brought to the big screen in the film Death in Veniceby Luchino Visconti.

“It is a symphony that has everything very clear, everything very well laid out,” says Saglimbeni. He adds that the composer “was a really very emotional person, with many strong feelings,” and that he began writing this work at a time when he was having serious health problems. “It seems that the first movement is written in some way with that door of death. A second movement that is closely related to the first, which also has that pessimistic force of death, of not accepting it. And suddenly we find a scherzo with a great horn solo, which is based above all on the Ländler, a German dance from that area of ​​Europe.” He adds that then “we come to the Adagietto, which is one of the best-known movements, one of the most beautiful pages of Mahler, which is really the love letter that he wrote to his later wife.” The conductor concludes his description by indicating that the final movement is one of great happiness, going from the pessimism of the first movement, from being at death’s door, to living a great life, “which was really a bit of what Mahler lived in that moment,” he points out.

Education and Mediation

On Thursday, April 24, from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., Rodolfo Saglimbeni will offer a talk on orchestral conducting where he will share with music students, young professionals in the area and interested people, while on Friday, April 26, from 6:15 p.m. to 6:45 p.m., a new meeting with the public will be held in “La Preview” of the concert, a discussion that seeks to generate a close space for dialogue with the audience, addressing the context and main characteristics of the works included in the program. Both activities are free, with registration at email [email protected].

After this concert, the National Symphony Orchestra of Chile will move to the Municipal Theater of Las Condes, where it will perform together with the Camerata Vocal Universidad de Chile, under the direction of guest teacher Christian Lorca, and the soloists Andrea Betancourt, soprano; Fernanda Carter, contralto; Leonardo Navarro, tenor; and Javier Weibel, bass.

The program includes the works Solemn Vespers of the Confessor K.339 by Mozart and Pictures from an Exhibition by Mussorgsky in an arrangement by Ravel. There will be two performances, on Friday May 3 and Saturday May 4 at 7:30 p.m., at Apoquindo 3,300 and with tickets for $20 thousand and $25 thousand.

CEAC Information | University of Chile.