Mahler

Yesterday as we were describing the proposed itinerary to folks we had just met, one of them asked what the theme song for the trip was.
I replied, “Mahler.”
He asked which piece, and I said “the complete symphonies.”
Then conversation ensued about what msuic would be good road music.
We are now on the road, listen to the Mahler symphonies in order, and I have to say, it’s pretty good road music. And not just classical or symphonic music, but Mahler’s symphonies in particular.
An additional benefit is that I’m in the back seat listening to K-Os who teaches music composition at Duke University and THE RECORDER who knows the entire Mahler symphony set extremely well doing what is basically a director’s commentary (like in DVDs) of the music as it’s going on. It’s not all fawning or academic. For example, a recent comment as we’re listening to a gratuitous passage, “That dude had too much time on his hands.” For people who even understand a little bit of music, it’s stand up comedy-worthy material.

Even more important, THE RECORDER has heard these pieces so many times that he is able to point out important passages with going into the formal “theme one, theme two” tedium of the academics. This is especially important with Mahler since he tends to ramble. In fact, these passages are pointed out by THE RECORDER as the “corn syrup of Mahler, nothing but filler.”

K-Os: “If you ain’t cryin’ during the adagietto of the Fifth Symphony, you ain’t human.”

K-Os: “Dude, you need to hear Berio, who took the third movement of the Mahler Second note for note, and wrote more parts around it. Classical remix.” THE RECORDER: “Can’t touch this.”

THE RECORDER: “I never knew that the sledgehammer was an instrument until I saw the Mahler’s Sixth live and I thought to myself, does that guy have a sledgehammer in his hand? The score calls for 3 sledgehammer strokes on a reinforced part of the floor, but the NC Symphony used a table.”

THE RECORDER: “He liked to recycle. The main melody in the 6th, 7th, and 8th — all the same. It was like he didn’t think he would be recorded and listen to all at the same time.”

K-Os: “Dudes, we are going to make the Badlands the WORSTlands.”

I’m going to post this for now, but more Mahler quotes are forthcoming. Count on it.