Mahler Festival Amsterdam 2025 Blog
This is the blog start
01-01-2025 Happy New Year!
New Year’s Eve party on the Museumplein. Amsterdam celebrates its 750th anniversary this year. The images were taken from the side of the Concertgebouw in the direction of the Rijksmuseum:
02-01-2025 Mahler Again and Finally
Translation Mahler NRC 02-01-2025:
Mahler Again and Finally
A Mahler Festival? Yes and no. Yes, because the first Mahler Festival was in 1920, the second in 1995 and the third actually in 2020. But corona. In May 2020 will be made up for: all of Mahler’s symphonies, with a rich side programme. In 2020, in addition to the Concertgebouw Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Wiener Philharmoniker and the Berliner Philharmoniker would come to do parts of the programme. Absolute top orchestras that Mahler himself conducted. Now the programme with the Budapest Festival Orchestra, the NHK Symphony Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is a little less exciting, although the music remains of course just as great. Fortunately, the Berliner Philharmoniker will come for the Ninth and Tenth Symphonies, and Das Lied von der Erde. In 2020, the concerts would be shown for free on a large screen on the Museumplein. The Concertgebouw cannot yet say whether that will happen this year.
EXPECTED:
09-05-2025 Day 1 (Friday)
- Day 1 (vrijdag)
- Program summary: Ruckert, Symphony No. 1, RCO, Mäkelä.
- Program details: Mahler Festival Amsterdam 2025 Program.
- New composition by Anders Hillborg (1954). Commissioned by Mahler Foundation and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (RCO).
10-05-2025 Day 2 (Saturday)
- Day 2 (zaterdag)
- Program summary: Wunderhorn, Symphony No. 2, BFO, Fischer.
- Program details: Mahler Festival Amsterdam 2025 Program.
- 10-05-2024 Mezzo-soprano Ema Nikolovska had to cancel for this concert. Guest programmer and accompanist Julius Drake has found a worthy replacement in mezzo-soprano Beth Taylor (small hall).
11-05-2025 Day 3 (Sunday)
- Day 3 (zondag)
- Program summary: Piano quartet, Symphony No. 3, NHK, Luisi.
- Program details: Mahler Festival Amsterdam 2025 Program.
12-05-2025 Day 4 (Monday)
- Day 4 (maandag)
- Program summary: Wunderhorn, Symphony No. 4, NHK, Luisi.
- Program details: Mahler Festival Amsterdam 2025 Program.
13-05-2025 Day 5 (Tuesday)
- Day 5 (dinsdag)
- Program summary: Kindertoten, Symphony No. 5, BFO, Fischer.
- Program details: Mahler Festival Amsterdam 2025 Program.
14-05-2025 Day 6 (Wednesday)
- Day 6 (woensdag)
- Program summary: Das Lied von der Erde, Symphony No. 6, CSO, Zweden.
- Program details: Mahler Festival Amsterdam 2025 Program
15-05-2025 Day 7 (Thursday)
- Day 7 (donderdag)
- Program summary: Lieder und Gesange, Symphony No. 7, CSO, Zweden.
- Program details: Mahler Festival Amsterdam 2025 Program.
16-05-2025 Day 8 (Friday)
- Day 8 (vrijdag)
- Program summary: Symphony No. 8, RCO, Klaus Mäkelä.
- Program details: Mahler Festival Amsterdam 2025 Program.
17-05-2025 Day 9 (Saturday)
- Day 9 (zaterdag)
- Program summary: Alma, Symphony No. 9, BPO, Petrenko.
- Program details: Mahler Festival Amsterdam 2025 Program.
18-05-2025 Day 10 (Sunday)
- Day 10 (zondag)
- Program summary: Adagio Symphony No.10, Das Lied von der Erde, BPO, Barenboim.
- Program details: Mahler Festival Amsterdam 2025 Program.
- Last concert of the Mahler Festival Amsterdam 2025.
*** End of Mahler Festival Amsterdam 2025 Blog ***
The art of conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or choral concert. It has been defined as “the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture.” The primary duties of the conductor are to interpret the score in a way that reflects the specific indications in that score, set the tempo, ensure correct entries by ensemble members, and “shape” the phrasing where appropriate. Conductors communicate with their musicians primarily through hand gestures, usually with the aid of a baton, and may use other gestures or signals such as facial expression and eye contact. A conductor usually supplements their direction with verbal instructions to their musicians in rehearsal.
The conductor typically stands on a raised podium with a large music stand for the full score, which contains the musical notation for all the instruments or voices. Since the mid-19th century, most conductors have not played an instrument when conducting, although in earlier periods of classical music history, leading an ensemble while playing an instrument was common. In Baroque music, the group would typically be led by the harpsichordist or first violinist (concertmaster), an approach that in modern times has been revived by several music directors for music from this period. Conducting while playing a piano or synthesizer may also be done with musical theatre pit orchestras. Communication is typically mostly non-verbal during a performance. However, in rehearsals, frequent interruptions allow the conductor to give verbal directions as to how the music should be played or sung.
Conductors act as guides to the orchestras or choirs they conduct. They choose the works to be performed and study their scores, to which they may make certain adjustments (such as in tempo, articulation, phrasing, repetitions of sections), work out their interpretation, and relay their vision to the performers. They may also attend to organizational matters, such as scheduling rehearsals, planning a concert season, hearing auditions and selecting members, and promoting their ensemble in the media. Orchestras, choirs, concert bands, and other sizable musical ensembles, such as big bands are usually led by conductors.