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Best Seat In The House

February 9, 2012 | Posted by Ron Andersen in Los Angeles

Editor's note: Ron Andersen traveled from Alaska to Los Angeles to see Gustavo, the LA Phil and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela perform The Mahler Project in its entirety. He was kind enough to contribute this for our Mahler Project Blog.

Several measures before the last chord of Mahler 8, I can no longer hold back. Tears come and my body shakes with emotion. The emotive power of hundreds of voices combined with the large orchestra is gripping. When the music is so soft I can barely hear it, I almost stop breathing. As the music swells with the great crescendo to the powerful conclusion, my breathing gets faster and deeper until the emotions generated are too much for me, and I fall apart, somewhat like Mahler’s music does between hope and despair. Finally I gain enough control and join in the clamorous standing ovation.

The “Madness of Mahler’s Scores” – An Assessment

February 8, 2012 | Posted by LA Phil Staff in Los Angeles

Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Phil

With a moment or two to breathe before the whirlwind that will be the Venezuela leg of The Mahler Project begins, it seems like a good time to look back on the project's course here in LA. And who better to do it than the cheeky West Coast Sound blogger for the LA Weekly?

With a title like "Mahlerpalooza: Gustavo Dudamel Makes L.A. the Mahler Capital of North America," It sounds to us like the LA Weekly approves of a town like Los Angeles being overtaken by Mahler Madness. Here's our favorite part of their assessment:

"I love the music of Gustav Mahler. Very close to my photostudio, there is one of the homes of Gustav. It is at Auenbruggergasse 2, in Vienna's third district just across from the Belvedere castle. There he lived with Alma when he was the director of the Vienna Opera.

I am passing by almost every day on my way to my studio, looking up to his apartment and being thankful for all the great music he gave us. I went to see Gustavo Dudamel's Mahler 9 with the LA Phil at the Musikverein last year - one of the best moments in my life!

Wishing you all the best for your Mahler Project and all the concerts in LA and Venezuela. Many greetings from Vienna!"

Via email from fan Claudia P.

Thanks to Chris F. for showing us the place of honor that his Mahler books take on his bookshelf.

Via Twitter from @incantations1

LA Phil violinist and TED Senior Fellow Robert Vijay Gupta knows Mahler Madness when he sees it.

Via Twitter from @guptaviolin87

Mahler 8 – One Down, One To Go

February 6, 2012 | Posted by LA Phil Staff in Los Angeles

Saturday, FEB 4 will be a day that goes down in history for the LA Phil.

It's not just that The Mahler Project was an ambitious undertaking - it was that, for sure. After all, a single conductor leading two orchestras through nine (and a half, by some estimates) symphonies in three weeks is no walk in the park.

And it's not just that the spirit of Gustav Mahler made his namesake, LA Phil Music Director Gustavo Dudamel, take him at his word when he named his Eighth Symphony the "Symphony of a Thousand." He did. After all, when the final count was in, just over 1,000 musicians crowded onto the stage at the Shrine Auditorium to produce a concert so grand in scale that it's unlikely to be replicated in the near future. Right?

Wrong. Because it WILL be replicated - in less than two weeks, from another country, on another continent. But, thanks to LA Phil LIVE, we'll all be able to see it - here in the U.S., in Canada, in Europe and Asia.

LA Phil

Mad About Mahler

Best Seat In The House

The “Madness of Mahler’s Scores” – An Assessment

Mahler 8 – One Down, One To Go

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