Mahler 3 at Jones Hall: Valchua/Houston Symphony Represent

HOUSTON, TX -- I was recently invited to Gustav Mahler’s Third Symphony this past Sunday, June 1st, which the Houston Symphony at Jones Hall labeled as ‘Go Big, or Go Home,’ and so right they were; with Mahler 3 generally being the longest of the ‘big boy’ performances. Of course those in the know are right in that respect, and by George (or Gustav); if it were any longer I’d demand a tea service. But I find it a fitting tribute by the Houston Symphony to hold as its trump card for the end of the concert season, and we are already looking forward to 2025-26 and Mahler 9 next year. Houston Symphony Music Director Juraj Val?uha, the quick-draw baton specialist, was a wonder to see on stage, and I doubt he even broke a sweat. Youthful conductors bring a sense of purpose to an orchestra, meaning you get to grow with the leader, thus becoming a more cohesive unit, being able to finish each other’s sentences and the such, and having uncanny abilities to learn about his musical interpretations, pacing, his vision of what the music is to be, and pass that along to newcomers in the next seat over, as well as the audience itself.

I had been to a Mahler Symphony prior, No. 2, the ‘Resurrection,’ which I thought fitting, seeing as I had only been returned to Germany a few months earlier from Iraq and Operation Desert Storm. The lady who graced my company at the time, a grad student in the mental health field, wanted my knowledge on multiple realms, and it was on one level; how music affected my psyche, seeing as I was a newly christened war veteran, and had seen things, that had, best been better remained, unseen. She wanted to know what I was feeling while listening to Gustav Mahler, so in early July 1991, we drove 90-minutes from Friedberg (Hessen), northeast to Kassel, Germany, for their Mahler Festival. I was still processing my desert experience, still unaware of the mental and physical harm it would cause before the end of the century.

In 1991, with M2, right from the start, a stressor, of course. Which wasn’t good for someone who was trying to heal. My girlfriend Sophia, insisted on holding my hand throughout the performance. It was her way of gauging my response to what I was feeling during Mahler 2, unintentionally noting the tension and ease in the course of the performance; she was able to detect my frustrations as well as my joy. I needed no explanation in lessons in Mahler 2’s death themes, nor in the Adantante of melancholic representations of lost loves and the grief entailed. And again in the Rondo-Burleske, which raised the stakes of uncertainty amongst the forces of evil we face. It was in the Adagietto that Sophia overcame the numbness in her hand, when my melancholy began to lift, and the Auferstehung, completely lifted my spirits offering a life renewal with the promise of hope. The chorals helped very much trending me to solace with nature and hopeful for a productive future. Yeah right.

In 2025, now a Score and 14 years later, more than half-a-lifetime ago for me. Supposedly, much healthier (most certainly), wealthier, and wise, I was distraught that Mahler's Symphony No. 3, had no label. No moniker to display its true meaning. But after much thought on the drive back to Conroe facing dangerous winds and a cloudburst, I thought and thought on M3, and I’d like to suggest, ‘A Spark of Divinity,’ for its soothing and healing tones, and the spirituality that it sets upon listeners. Granted, Mahler 2 was a nailbiter until the fourth movement, when some semblance of hope arrived. M3 brought me back to those misty mid-a.m. mountain clouds of Bavaria, or the peace of a morning view of the Grand Canyon, standing on top of the Berlin Wall, or kneeling in the cold wet sand of Iraq, hands raised praising God; or even sitting outside my garage in Pearland as a kid, watching thunderheads pass by, wishing I would be able to view and feel the mist of mountaintops someday. All goals achieved.

In ‘Pan Awakes—Summer Marches In,’ or some say, ‘Pan’s Procession,’ still others ‘Procession of Bacchus,’ you get the sense of a summer storm approaching (something Godly happening), and the calm before it. The building winds and rain, with the all encompassing lighting and thunder, cause tension, but the result is a new awakening. You appreciate the French Horns and muted trumpets, and their representations in the lightning and torrents rained down. The flutes and oboes, violins and clarinets, announce the business of nature rebuilding afterwards, the trombone solo, representative of the animals, both four and two legged, the big and small, coming back to life after hunkering down. It’s a wonderful tale of life and how nature bounces back from what life has to throw at it, the hardships of winter are over, and it's time to enjoy the summer. The flurry of activity, the summer marches, the near end reprisal of the French Horns, to re-announce the introduction and summers ends in a thunderstorm and the busy preparations that announce the fall. Of course PA-SMI is M3’s longest movement, and it's the busiest and most important season for man to commune with nature, since survival of all species is dependent upon it, as a source of nourishment for the remaining seasons. I made a mental note, “I heard with my eyes, as much as I saw with my ears.” The power of the premier trombonist was a profound statement. Each segment brought new wonders. Birds chirping, kids pretending to be marching as soldiers, bees busy at their sweet work. The romance of summer, thanking God for a bountiful harvest to come, the festivals, the pageantry. The timely reprisal of the introduction, a reminder that summer can’t be all fun and play. One can understand Mahler’s peace in his composition hut on the lake and the other beyond, writing what he sees; an approaching storm, viewing the shoreline come alive with differing situations, and let’s not forget the wondrous colors that summer offers, or the new animals following their mothers learning how to survive, all of it representing visions in his work. The trombone's emergence is appreciated, and we should be thankful to M3 for its inclusion, and its standout capabilities to lead an orchestra in play. We can all appreciate that summer goes out with a bang! Very nicely done, and it makes you appreciate the stamina of the Houston Symphony players over the abilities of a standard community band or orchestra. And the show had just barely begun.

Mahler’s ‘What the Flowers in the Meadow Tell Me,’ allows for rest, and recovery, the grand entrance has taken its leave. A glass of wine with a most majestic view. The pace is more subdued, lyrical movement representing the beauty and tranquility of nature. It’s a country pace, no big city in site with its hustle and bustle, allowing for a longer way of absorbing everything M3 has to offer. Imagine a ballroom dance in a meadow, with the flowers dancing in triple time to simple, unsophisticated music, yet with a sensual beauty about them. No doubt that Mahler took into account the peace of the fields, hills, and mountains that he resided nearby, he listened to what they were telling him, and he translated on paper for all of us to listen, trusting his ability to tell us what he saw and heard through his music. It must have been a beautiful sight, and fragrant too, seeing as the busy bees have done their part in the blooming. Again, Mahler wrote what he saw, with flowers reacting to its surrounding forces, the winds swaying them this what or that.

M3’s third movement ‘What the Animals in the Forest Tell Me,’ has a carnival like atmosphere with a back and forth going from day to night. It’s gypsy-like, carefree in every direction, letting the cards fly in any which way. All that before fading into a peaceful solitude, trying not to wake from your dream of dreams. And that’s the deal with wild animals. They’re playful, their movements are fun, whimsical, and the music should reflect what Mahler viewed, and it indeed sounds folky with animal-like sounds. I believe that Gustav enjoyed the birds, the critters that wandered the fields and forest floor, the deer, as well as the creatures of the night. But of course the daylight, well, it wins the day. The trumpetal fanfare at the end yields the return of the animals to their habitat, ready for a new day.

With ‘What Night (Man) Tells Me,’ the mezzo-soprano Marina Prudenskaya was entrancing. “Oh Man!” “I slept!" Her soft and delicate penetrating voice filled the rafters. “Pain says: Perish.” I almost felt she was singing to me, for I’ve had enough pain for 3 or 4 lifetimes. Her message was somber and a most telling episode of the suffering we undertake unto our deaths, and the loss that those who survive us must endure. The alluring Ms. Prudenskaya pulled us into a new realm, where time stops, and we get hints of Pan’s return.

The fifth movement, ‘What the Morning Bells (Angels) Tell Me’ with the Houston Symphony’s Children’s and Adult choirs, with its ‘Ding, Dong,’ etc. Truly, it has a momentary Christmas-like aire to it, and the unmistakable feeling you had just been to a Sunday service, minus the communion and wine of course, but still a very churchy, angelic feel. I appreciate all efforts when the Heavenly Realms are promoted in plays, musicals, and symphonies. I laud it, wholeheartedly. For it’s better to have a back-up plan in the need for a higher power, than to have no plan at all. I shuddered at the thought of M3 being finished in 1996 rather than 1896, would it have the same star power that the 129 year old version has. I believe unfortunately, no, but Hope Remains Eternal.

M3’s finale ‘What Love Tells Me,’ we find ourselves in the magic woods thus asking to be brought to a certain majesty, yearning for an audience with God and his Angels. In the introduction, Mahler gives us an example of the Music of Angels, with everything before losing its relevance. It represents home, not our Earthly place of residence, but with that sign that says, ‘HEAVEN 5;’ then it builds slowly from the whisper of the strings, with the woodwinds, followed by the heavenly horns (along with the light and magical Timpani) symbolic in the Bible as images of strength and victory.

I was impressed with the Houston Symphony, and Juraj Val?uha. Their stamina, their ability, their staying power, made for a most excellent presentation. The boldness to impress upon God in a Day and Age, when so many do not believe, I Congratulate The Houston Symphony for their Willingness to Believe enough in Gustav Mahler, who Believed in a Supreme Being. Bravo I Say! Bravo!!!

The next concert is ‘Stravinsky’s Firebird,’ to be performed on September 19 - 21.

The HS website is: houstonsymphony.org Please consider donating to this wonderful organization.

Ruben can be reached at: ruben@montgomerycountynews.net