I attended the Friday, June 28 performance at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco. The San Francisco Symphony played Mahler's
Symphony No. 3. Esa-Pekka Salonen conducted. The soloist was mezzo-soprano Kelley O'Connor. The San Francisco Symphony Chorus was led by Jenny Wong. The Pacific Boychoir Academy was led by Kevin Fox or Andrew Brown – I'm not quite sure which from the program. The symphony was the only thing on the program and it was played straight through with no intermission.
This is my favorite of all the Mahler symphonies. If I were to play the game of ranking them in order of preference my top three would probably be No. 3, No. 1, and No. 6, followed by No. 4 and No.5, and then by No. 9, and then No. 7 and No. 8 (which I don't know well). No. 2 has never appealed to me. I do, however, like what we have of No. 10. It was a treat to hear Symphony No. 3 live. I think this is the first time, unless I'm forgetting a performance.
Salonen was his usual reliable self and I really liked O'Connor's voice, although she had a habit of slightly over-emphasizing the final syllables of the German she was singing. A weak soloist can ruin the whole thing, but, overall, this was a very enjoyable performance. The audience was very appreciative giving the ensemble an extended standing ovation. Salonen looked exhausted at the end but touched by the outpouring of support, including calls for him to re-think his decision to leave at the end of next season. After the last notes had died away, the conductor walked back to the brass section and gave the principal trombone a big hug before returning to the podium to acknowledge other brass players, the woodwinds, the percussion, the harps, and others. Afterwards, dinner at Monsieur Benjamin, which, sadly is closing down. The following night was the last service. I guess it's back to Absinthe for after-concert dining.
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