[LJ2ME] Titan-ic-ky
Which came first? The chicken or the egg? Wait, to be impartial, let me say that again. The egg or the chicken? This train of thought surfaced at this evening's SSO concert. Did my concentration lapse because the performance lagged or did I lack in attention to start off thus the lull in composure?
It's almost asking for the impossible, but one can't help but compare and draw reference from the recent New York Philharmonic reading of the same Mahler Titan. While that was overwhelming in its impact and refreshing in its interpretation, this one was a hole-ridden vessel from the opening.
I can't attribute it to listener fatigue for I haven't had this on my playing list since the last concert, but everything sounded different today. Different bad. It was almost like waking up from a bad dream to find yourself in a nightmare.
The sound was strangely muddled and muffled, the various layers and textures of the score hardly coalescing as a united whole, but as disjointed and separate entities that struggled to keep and catch up with one another.
There were moments when the in-your-face music reared its head to make its presence felt and known. These precious moments were to be treasured for at least some semblance of the masterpiece you know and love called out to you. But these were unfortunately few and far between.
By the evening's close, I found my mind wandering (wondering?) and the anti-climax was a wet blanket to cover the embarrassment of riches that were not to be found. Still, the house erupted. Mahler's genius. Yes. The SSO's state-of-affairs? No. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for next week's Ode to Joy.
It's almost asking for the impossible, but one can't help but compare and draw reference from the recent New York Philharmonic reading of the same Mahler Titan. While that was overwhelming in its impact and refreshing in its interpretation, this one was a hole-ridden vessel from the opening.
I can't attribute it to listener fatigue for I haven't had this on my playing list since the last concert, but everything sounded different today. Different bad. It was almost like waking up from a bad dream to find yourself in a nightmare.
The sound was strangely muddled and muffled, the various layers and textures of the score hardly coalescing as a united whole, but as disjointed and separate entities that struggled to keep and catch up with one another.
There were moments when the in-your-face music reared its head to make its presence felt and known. These precious moments were to be treasured for at least some semblance of the masterpiece you know and love called out to you. But these were unfortunately few and far between.
By the evening's close, I found my mind wandering (wondering?) and the anti-climax was a wet blanket to cover the embarrassment of riches that were not to be found. Still, the house erupted. Mahler's genius. Yes. The SSO's state-of-affairs? No. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for next week's Ode to Joy.