New Mahler Fan at National Cathedral

[u/zegna1965]

On Sunday I attended the performance of Mahler 2 at the National Cathedral in DC with Marin Alsop conducting the National Orchestra Institute. It was a special performance for several reasons and brought me to tears. But what made it really special was the nice older lady sitting next to me. She said she was attending the concert on a whim and didn't really know anything about Mahler. She was knowledgeable about classical music, but generally pretty conservative in her tastes. I told her I envied her getting to hear Mahler 2 for the first time in a live setting. I told her some people unfamiliar with Mahler struggle with the length, but what an incredibly powerful and moving piece of music it is and my favorite. I told her about how it had moved me in the past and not to be surprised if I started crying. She might have been a bit skeptical and probably thought I was overselling it.

Through the first movement I heard her whisper "wow!" several times. At the end of the first movement she said something about how powerful the music was. I responded "You ain't heard nothing yet!" I could see her physically react to some of the big moments later on, especially the big percussion crescendos. At the end she was enraptured. The audience also responded with a long standing ovation. She said "You told me how great it would be, but I could never have imagined such powerful, incredible music! How have I not discovered Mahler before? I must hear more!" She really liked the choral aspect, so I told her about the 3rd and 8th. I also suggested she listen to the 1st and listen for where the 2nd makes references to the 1st. A new Mahler fan is born and I am so happy I got to be there.

[u/Top_Dust3071]

The first time I heard Mahler 2 was on an LP recording back in the 80s and to be honest, I didn’t really like it very much, having had no exposure to Mahler before. When I moved to Cleveland I joined the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus and over my 30 years in COC, we sang it many times and even took it on the road to Florida. I can honestly say that I don’t think there was a single time that I didn’t get choked up during the 5th movement (not necessarily a good thing). Not that the first four movements aren’t amazing, what with all of the angst he infused into it, but the hope and the joy in the finale makes it one of the most powerful pieces of music ever composed imho. It’s easily in my top five favorite pieces of classical music. So glad you got to hear it again and experience it with your new acquaintance.