MAHLER
Beginnings & Endings

A festival featuring Mahler’s First and Last Symphonies

David Bernard

Music Director, Massapequa Philharmonic
Music Director, Park Avenue Chamber Symphony

OCTOBER 27th and NOVEMBER 24th, 2024

Two Concerts, Discussions, Seminars and InsideOut. Through a series of performances and seminars, BEGINNINGS AND ENDINGS explores the powerful parallels/synergies between Mahler’s First and Last Symphonies, which cohere to create a portal into Mahler’s transformation over time. We begin with the Massapequa Philharmonic’s performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 1, “Titan” on October 27th, including a pre-concert seminar, and conclude with the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony’s InsideOut Concerts Event where you will experience Mahler’s Symphony No. 9 from your seat inside the orchestra, including a pre-concert seminar and a post-concert reception.

PRESS

Symphony Magazine: One Conductor, Two Orchestras, Much Mahler

Mahler’s Musical Legacy: An In-Depth Interview with Maestro David Bernard on the ‘Beginnings and Endings’ Mahler Festival

An inside look at ‘Beginnings and Endings’ Mahler Festival coming to LI

LISTEN/STREAM

Listen to Mahler’s Fifth with David Bernard and the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony

TICKETS AND INFORMATION

Purchase special discounted tickets to one or both festival events.

Symphony No. 1

Massapequa Philharmonic
Sunday, October 27th @ 3PM
Berner Auditorium, Massapequa

Features for Festival Participants

Pre-Concert Seminar (at 2PM)
Discounted Tickets to Performance
Post-Concert Reception with David Bernard and the Orchestra

Symphony No. 9

Park Avenue Chamber Symphony
Sunday, November 24th @ 5PM
DiMenna Center, NYC

Features for Festival Participants

Pre-Concert Seminar (at 4PM)
Discounted Tickets to InsideOut Seats inside the orchestra
Post-Concert Reception with David Bernard and the Orchestra

Purchase Discounted Tickets to Mahler Symphony No. 1

Purchase Discounted Tickets to Mahler Symphony No. 9

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MAHLER MOMENTS

Thoughts on Mahler and his music from Maestro Bernard

MAHLER’S JUNGIAN REVEAL: THE NINTH SYMPHONY’S “PAVANE”

It is telling to compare Mahler's First and Ninth Symphonies through the primary themes of their first movements. They are both “walking” themes, in the same key (D), that portray a young Mahler. Yet while the earlier version in the First has an innocent simplicity, the later version in the Ninth has more self-awareness and maturity. And in the Ninth, each time this theme returns, it brings more sophistication and complexity, leading to its breathtaking final statement at measure 353/#16. At this point the older, mature Mahler reveals the full picture of his younger self, with the Jungian Archetypes of his youth parading proudly to a version of the walking theme morphed into a “pavane,” with multiple layers laced through the full orchestra. What is extraordinary about this moment is how the difficult and awkward persona of his youth is portrayed with absolute clarity through an intense chromaticism that borders on the grotesque, yet that also feels at peace—as though Mahler has achieved a kind of acceptance of himself.

MAHLERBeginnings & Endings