Boston Classical Review

Benjamin Zander conducted the Boston Philharmonic in Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with soprano Miah Persson (left) and Sarah Connolly as soloists Friday night at Symphony Hall. Photo: Hilary Scott

A sold-out Symphony Hall witnessed a moving performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 in C minor (“Resurrection”) by the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Benjamin Zander Friday night. Though not unfamiliar in the ensemble’s repertoire, the work remains a monumental undertaking, and this performance revealed not only Zander’s seasoned command of Mahlerian drama but also the score’s personal, reflective spirit.

Marina Mahler, granddaughter of the composer and an ardent advocate for the arts, offered brief yet poignant opening remarks, emphasizing the “creative impulse” that underlies this music and its performance. She dedicated the evening to children recently lost to violence, a reminder that Mahler’s vision—of life, death, and renewal—retains piercing relevance.

Zander, who has lived with this symphony for most of his long life, described Friday’s concert (in a pre-concert video) as possibly his final time conducting the work. That sense of farewell lent the performance an added pathos and urgency. 

From the epic storytelling of the opening movement, Zander shaped a reading of impressive clarity and emotional scope. The ensemble’s playing was focused and responsive throughout, with unique interpretive choices in balance, color, and pacing that were often striking in their specificity.

The opening dirge was aptly heavy and ominous with the dotted rhythms dark and brooding. The first theme gained traction when it returned numerous times, each with a renewed sense of purpose. The second, sweeter rising theme brought lyrical balm. What was unique in this movement was the methods to attain certain dynamic goals, such as using rubber mutes on strings, pointing oboes’ bells upwards of their stands, and restricting the number of players in certain passages. Textural contrasts provided a fresh perspective as well: a sharper, cutting harp line distinct from the larger ensemble and an unnerving rattle in percussive spicatti in the strings, with cello strings slapping against each other.

After the almost five-minute pause, the Ländler breathed air into the hall, a sigh of relief. The bowed articulation reflected the light and cheerful quality, a refreshing contrast to the opening movement; the later guitar-like pizzicati were strummed sideways in a compelling contrast. The first minor section wasn’t ideally coordinated, however. Similarly, the cello countermelody in the main dance floated but was partially submerged under the violins.

The creeping third movement featured dizzying  figures after strong timpani strokes surprised the audience back to chromatic darkness. Shrill woodwinds were effective outbursts, and the sinister C in the lower instruments propelled the music into the next movement.

Mezzo-soprano Dame Sarah Connolly unfolded the “Urlicht” solo  with the intimacy of the lied it originated as, her warm tone richly communicative even as it easily filled the hall. The orchestra supported her sensitively, with sparse instrument parts adding gentle commentary in colors that seemed drawn directly from the text.

From hushed mystery to blazing affirmation in the final movement, Zander guided the massive forces with assurance and a deep understanding of Mahler’s architectural vision. Brass playing was uniformly strong, whether in the gentle chorale, mysterious offstage echoes, or the apocalyptic outbursts that punctuate the score.

Photo: Hilary Scott

Chorus pro Musica, prepared by Jamie Kirsch, entered with an almost miraculous blend, the initial pianissimo emerging with intense contrast to the orchestral cacophony preceding it. While diction was sometimes indistinct with fuzzy consonants and murky German vowels, the emotional intent remained unmistakable. Soprano Miah Persson’s gleaming instrument rose from within the ensemble to soar above the orchestral texture, matching Connolly’s rich timbre with elegance and resolve. Their duet in the final movement was beautifully matched, the two soloists phrasing independently yet with distinctly complementary cores to the sound. 

Standing up from the declarations of the “O glaube” section, the chorus’s powerful resonance delivered “Bereite dich” lines convincingly, while Connolly’s majestic richness enveloped those convictions with strength. The closing pages—a truly grand, befitting finale of organ, chorus, orchestra, and bells united in Mahler’s vision of resurrection and redemption—unfurled with overwhelming power and sincerity. A single percussionist, elevated above the ensemble, rang the tubular bell strokes with precision, the sound resonating in the hall.

Mahler’s Second Symphony remains significant in the lives of the audience and the musicians not only because of the new, exciting interpretations of the present: the timelessness of the piece’s messages and their portrayals hold true no matter the era. If this indeed proves to be Zander’s final traversal of the “Resurrection,” it was a valedictory of rare eloquence and a fitting portrayal of the transcendent everlasting.

The Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra presents works by Debussy, Walton, and Rachmaninoff 8 p.m. May 1 in Symphony Hall. bostonphil.org

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