8rd Philharmonic Concert

Maurice Ravel Piano Concerto in G major
Gustav Mahler Symphony No. 9 in D major

Alexander Krichel, piano
Brandenburg State Orchestra Frankfurt
Conductor: Steven Sloane

After conducting the "American" 7th Philharmonic Concert, Steven Sloane now returns to Europe. Under his direction, the Brandenburg State Orchestra Frankfurt performs Gustav Mahler's 9th Symphony. Mahler uses a small orchestra by his standards and avoids late-Romantic masses of sound. Instead, he deploys the instruments in cool, often unusual sound combinations. Also striking are the sighing motifs and the fragile, chamber-music-like passages. Ravel's Piano Concerto in G major is, so to speak, its extroverted counterpart. He said he wanted to prove that the music of a concerto can be cheerful and brilliant without drowning in profundity and dramatic effects.