Symhony no. 4

Manfred+Honeck%26rsquo%3Bs+remark+on+the+Mahler%26rsquo%3Bs+4th+symphony+%28from+CD+booklet%29%3A+Mahler%26%2339%3Bs+Symphony+No+4+is+especially+dear+to+my+heart+as+although+this+work+has+a+neo-classical+structure+and%2C+due+to+the+reduced+orchestra+size%2C+offers+a+seemingly+simple+and+naive+sound+world%2C+on+closer+inspection+it+seems+even+more+enigmatic+and+grotesque+than+Mahler%26%2339%3Bs+previous+symphonies.+The+interplay+of+the+eerie+and+the+idyllic%2C+that+famous+Mahleresque+ambiguity%2C+leaves+its+distinctive+stamp+on+this+symphony+like+on+none+of+the+others+composed+earlier.+%3Cbr+%2F%3E%3Cbr+%2F%3EMy+starting-point+for+the+understanding+of+this+work+is+the+fourth+movement+which+was+originally+intended+as+final+movement+for+the+third+symphony+and+hence+was+written+a+few+years+earlier.+Originally%2C+Mahler+had+given+it+the+title+%26quot%3BWhat+the+child+tells+me%26quot%3B.+The+description+of+life+in+paradise+is+interrupted+by+biting%2C+razor-sharp+figures.+You+might+possibly+perceive+these+passages+as+faster+than+usual+but+actually+Mahler+himself+explicitly+demanded+in+a+footnote+a+faster+tempo+than+at+the+beginning+of+the+symphony.+Accordingly%2C+the+grotesque+is+supposed+to+sound+even+more+demonic+and+the+idyllic+even+more+innocent+and+childlike.+For+this+reason+it+was+also+of+great+importance+to+me+to+choose+a+soloist+with+a+notedly+lyrical+and+childlike+voice+%28it+is%2C+after+all%2C+%26quot%3BThe+YOUTH%26%2339%3Bs+Magic+Horn%26quot%3B%29+in+order+to+corroborate+this+innocence+and+purity.%26nbsp%3B+I+think+I+found+her+in+soprano+Sunhae+Im.%3Cbr+%2F%3E%3Cbr+%2F%3EThe+second+movement+likewise+lives+on+this+interplay.+Altogether%2C+I+did+not+consider+it+necessary+to+have+the+solo+violin+%28called+%26quot%3Bfiddle%26quot%3B+by+Mahler%29+play+even+more+grotesquely+as+the+instrument+is+already+tuned+a+whole+tone+higher+than+standard%2C+but+it+was+important+to+me+to+highlight+elements+such+as+the+dance+parts+borrowed+from+traditional+Austrian+folk+music+with+their+typical+offbeats+and+short+standstills.%3Cbr+%2F%3EA+further+challenge+for+me+was+the+rubato+playing+which+is+an+essential+ingredient+of+Austrian+folk+music+and+which+is+essential+to+me+for+the+performance+of+Mahler%26%2339%3Bs+music.+This+work+demands+a+special+measure+of+rubato+playing+similar+to+the+music+of+Johann+Strau%26szlig%3B.+%3Cbr+%2F%3E%3Cbr+%2F%3EFor+me+this+symphony%2C+requiring+a+combination+of+chamber+music+discipline+and+orchestral+virtuosity+with+the+earthiness+of+folk-music+and+surprisingly+classical+form%2C+unites+central+European+traditions+stemming+directly+from+spirit+of+Joseph+Haydn.+%28by+Manfred+Honeck%29+%3Cbr+%2F%3E