Last night we went to hear the American Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Leon Botstein, in a program of Ives' 4th Symphony and Mahler's 8th. Either one of the pieces is an incredibly complex undertaking for both orchestra and listeners that would normally be the centerpiece of any evening. Sadly to say, Botstein and his orchestra would never be mistaken for the NY Philharmonic, and there were numerous flubs throughout the evening, including 2 false starts for the second movement of the Mahler. That said, it was a treat to hear Ives 4th, which is rarely performed, and one of the landmark pieces of the 20th century. I last heard it performed by the NY Phil. with Boulez conducting in the 1970's. All of Ives' crazy juxtapositions and startling dissonances were there, and it is inspiring to hear his way of hearing music, which is very different. We don't get expressionist climaxes of angst; things clash and then they stop. The Mahler had so many people on stage that parts of the chorus were on the second tier balcony, about 3 seats over from us. What the orchestra and chorus lacked in cohesion they made up for in sheer quantity of sound. It was a pleasure to hear Vancouver's Tyler Duncan as one of the singers, though they were not clearly audible as Botstein placed them in the back of the stage among the chorus.
It was the 50th anniversary of the orchestra's first concert, so all tickets were priced at their original price, as in 5 or 7 dollars.
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