Just in: The next Mahler cycle will be in … Liverpool
mainAmsterdam is noisily preparing a big Mahler shebang in 2020, but Liverpool has got in first with a cycle of the complete Mahler symphonies next season, conducted by the departing music director Vasily Petrenko.
Liverpool was the first city in England to perform Mahler on a regular basis in the 1950s and 1960s, well ahead of London. The audience, I can testify, really knows its Mahler.
Other highlights: the Royal Wedding cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason will be Young Artist in Residence for a second season, performing with both the RLPO and the Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, and in recital with his sister Isata Kanneh-Mason.
Oh, and there will be a spot of Beethoven with Andrew Manze.
They’ve already recorded all the Mahler symphonies except numbers 8, 9 and 10 with Gerard Schwarz. They’re fairly good too. Libor Pesek made a very fine Mahler 9 and 10th symphony Adagio with Royal Liverpool for Virgin Classics. I gather their hall should be quite adequate for the 8th symphony. Do you know what record label their Petrenko led Mahler will be on?
Hi Barry,
Got to disagree with you about Gerard Schwarz. The orchestra plays well enough, but the conducting is strictly bog-standard, as the Brits say.
Pesek is on a different level entirely.
As always, some are better than others. I think the 7th is pretty good. I’m not a huge fan of Schwarz either, except maybe for his series of American composers.
Wonderful news! Now looking forward to it so much! I visit the Concertgebouw almost every month but the 2020 Mahler Fest is too expensive to attend.
Btw, I think I saw you in the first half last night? How brilliantly Petrenko/RLPO did throughout last night! (I didn’t like Giltburg’s Beethoven though.) They can compare to any other orchestras, even the RCO (especially in size of Rosamunde) or BRSO. We’re so lucky to have them in Liverpool! But look at the half-empty stalls… Such a shame! They absolutely deserve a better market and support.
The worst (most dull) performance of Mahler 5 I ever heard was Petrenko conducting the NZSO.