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Today 100 years ago: New York Times Article from 1909
Gustaf Mahler Unveils a New Philharmonic
By William S. Niederkorn
Friday, Nov. 5, 1909
Gustav
Mahler, the new conductor of a wholly reorganized New York Philharmonic Society,
opened the orchestra’s 68th season last night at Carnegie Hall with works by
Beethoven, Richard Strauss and Franz Liszt. In appreciating the new maestro’s
qualities, the Times critic writes that he is “a man of great and established
reputation as a musician, as a drill master and as an organizer.” Either the
writer does not know that Mahler is a composer, or he considers his work not
important enough to mention. The review shows how Mahler has already revamped
the orchestra: “Upon him has fallen the difficult task of reorganizing the
personnel of the orchestra, and of unifying it, and getting it into shape. He
has by no means started from a clear field. There are very many familiar faces
in the orchestra that have been known to the frequenters of its concerts for
years. Most of the changes are among the wind instrument players, and in this
department there is a great improvement. Scarcely within the memory of man have
the wind choirs played so nearly in tune and with such brilliancy and precision
as was the case last evening. There has been a diminution in the number of the
stringed instruments, a change in the proportion: the greatest reduction has
been in the double basses, and there are now only eight instead of the fourteen
that for years stood in a half circle behind the other players. The result is a
loss of the preponderating string tone, the thick and solid quality that was one
of the characteristic features of the Philharmonic’s playing.” Ugh. Good
riddance. The reviewer again shows both enthusiasm and some disappointment in
the opening-night performance: “There was a splendid rhythmical quality in Mr.
Mahler’s reading everywhere [in Beethoven's Symphony 'Eroica'] that was never
lost, and there were many beautiful and expressive details in all four of the
movements, especially in the last, the series of variations in which there is
much opportunity for plastic modeling, of which he took the fullest advantage.
There was perhaps too much insistence on the loudest things, on the strokes of
the kettledrums, the blasts of trombones and trumpets. This was the case with
Strauss’s ‘Till Eulenspiegel,’ which, of course, endures it much better, even if
it does not require it. But the performance of this extraordinary work was an
extraordinary one. Never has there been a more clear and brilliant setting forth
of its complications and complications, with such fluency and dexterity: it
seemed more than ever possible to believe that such cleverness could really
exist. The wind instruments, beginning with the new first hornist, covered
themselves with glory that was shared by the rest of the orchestra.” The
Philharmonic Gives First Concert; Ancient Society Begins Its 68th Season by
Radical Changes in Its Methods; Mahler New Conductor; Has Secured a Greater
Homogeneity and Blending of Different Choirs and Instruments of Each
Choir.
5:42 PM
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