Juan Arturo Brennan: Mahler for Boston

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An unusual incident: last weekend, five performances of Gustav Mahler's enormous and complicated Sixth Symphony were scheduled in Mexico City and its surrounding areas: two with the National Symphony Orchestra, two with the State of Mexico Symphony Orchestra, and one with the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. I dare say it's the first time this has happened in this city, in this country, and probably in the entire world.

On paper, and given the background, the performance of this Sixth Orchestra by the young Bostonians seemed particularly attractive, and the concert, held in the Nezahualcóyotl Hall, was as musically interesting as it was in the details of its context. Important, first and foremost, was the presence of Benjamin Zander on the podium, a veteran conductor of age and experience, with a genuine vocation for education and development, which contrasts with the cases of other youth orchestras or school orchestras that have had to deal with improvised conductors, lacking a didactic vocation and lacking any passion. An interesting fact: Zander is 86 years old, and the youngest member of his youth orchestra is 14. The Boston Youth Philharmonic has a multinational and multiethnic roster, which gives its work a special brilliance and depth. And, as should be the norm (and not the condescending exception) in a youth orchestra or for any age group, there is a healthy female presence in the ensemble, even in unusual sections: that night, for example, the five flutists, three horn players, three double bass players, a trumpet player, and a trombonist, in addition to several instrumentalists from other regions of the orchestra. From what I heard that night and from what I was able to find out about the orchestra, this is a true inclusion, largely based on excellence, unlike similar projects elsewhere in which diversity is merely lip service, a mere numerical calculation, and serves only to enhance the respective annual report.

This rugged and robust Mahlerian symphony was conducted with great skill by Benjamin Zander, employing a traditional, clear, precise, and emphatic baton technique for his young musicians in training. Thus, it was possible to hear a highly differentiated orchestra, not only between sections but also between individual instruments. As a direct consequence, it was possible to appreciate new things, unusual balances, and a healthy attitude of not being afraid to vigorously highlight sound elements that in other versions remain in the shadows of Mahlerian's dense texture. Faced with a Sixth that is relatively uncontrasted in its dynamics and textures, Zander and his young musicians achieved a good variety of moods, not only between movements but also within individual movements; the latter was particularly noticeable in the different sections of the Scherzo, alternately feisty and dance-like.

After this interesting and fiery version of Mahler's Sixth, the orchestra extended the obligatory gesture of courtesy to their hosts, performing Arturo Márquez's Danzón No. 2 under the baton of their assistant conductor, Alfonso José Piacentini, and, finally, Nimrod from Edward Elgar's Enigma Variations, with the artistic director. Benjamin Zander himself explained that in choosing this piece as a farewell to the two-week tour he undertook in Mexico with his youth orchestra, he wanted to refer above all to the deep bond of friendship between Elgar and August Jaeger, to whom Nimrod is dedicated. And he elaborated, in simple words with a profoundly humanistic intention, on his unwavering belief in the power of music to build bridges where others build walls.

A final fact of undeniable interest is the fact that the instrumental mass of the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra included 17 carefully selected members of the Eduardo Mata University Youth Orchestra, now conducted by José Areán. It is these acts of collaboration and exchange that give the work of youth orchestras its true meaning, not only musical but also social: let's make music together, while our petty leaders fall apart .