Houston Symphony Orchestra– 02/12/23

This afternoon was the third performance at Jones Hall of Gustav Mahler’s “Song of the Earth” with the Houston Symphony conducted by music director Juraj Valčuha. Mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke and tenor Clay Holley were the vocal soloists. The program included  “Itinerary of an Illusion” by Qigang Chen.

Composer Chen is best known for the music he wrote for the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China. “Itinerary of an Illusion” (Orchestral Variations) was initially composed in 2017 but entirely reworked into its current form. In three parts, it begins with shifting tone colors between sections of the orchestra that join seamlessly, creating a watercolor effect. The middle section is based on a five-note figure that repeats, sometimes intact and other times in stretto (new figures interrupting). This has been described as like a chaconne (a set of variations based on a repeated figure). The motif repeats with increasing volume and goes on long enough to become irritating. The listener is held prisoner by this repetition, which may represent, subconsciously, the composer’s confinement for three years in 1966 during the Cultural Revolution when he underwent “ideological re-education.” Finally ceasing, the piece continues with a jazzy piano cadenza before returning to music similar to the first part. The work is expertly crafted in terms of orchestration and form. It received a very fine performance by Valčuha and the HSO.

Mahler’s “Song of the Earth” is his next-to-last complete work. It was written between 1908 and 1909, a time of profound unhappiness in his life. He was forced to resign as Director of the Vienna Court Opera, his daughter died from scarlet fever and diphtheria, and he was diagnosed with a congenital heart condition. He died six months before the first performance of the work in 1911. He decided to subtitle the work ‘A Symphony for Tenor, Alto (or Baritone) Voice and Orchestra’ rather than name it Symphony No. 9, thereby avoiding the superstition regarding a ninth symphony, the so-called “curse of the ninth.” Even so, he composed his 9th Symphony shortly after. With text drawn from eighth-century Chinese poetry, the 1909 work joined other classical pieces with a far-east or Asian reference, such as Debussy’s La Mer (1905) and Puccini’s opera Madame Butterfly (1907). The tenor songs all feature drinking, while the alto’s songs describe beauty, young love, and peace.

Tenor Holley made his HSO debut. Having an imposing stature with volume to match, he physically demonstrated the words he was singing. Given the addition of costumes and scenery he could have been singing opera. Holley’s vocal clarity and pitch security was impressive. He managed to cut through the first movement’s deliberately heavy orchestration and found irony in the drinking songs. Sasha Cooke is a Houston favorite and an international star. Her range of dynamics and emotional sensitivity made the text come alive.

Valčuha led a taut, balanced, and emotionally complete performance, with a bit more nervous energy than recent Houston Symphony concerts. Curiously, he did not recognize the numerous solo musicians featured in the work. While it would be a virtual role-call, among the many lovely solos were those given by the principal woodwinds, English horn, French horn, trumpet, and cello. The added one minute’s time would have been expected and appropriate. Nobody would have been late for the Super Bowl kickoff.