Name: Festival Orchestra: Spano Leads Mahler's Third Symphony
Start: 2023-07-30T16:00:00
Location: Aspen Meadows Resort

Kelley O'Connor

Robert Spano

Emily Crile

Patrick Summers

Aspen Festival Orchestra

Colorado Children's Chorale

AOTVA Chorus

Aspen Music Festival

In a list of works exemplifying the season theme of “The Adoration of Nature,” Mahler’s 3rd Symphony would be near the top. This gigantic and glorious six-movement hymn to Nature is the longest symphony in the standard repertoire. It’s also one of Mahler’s most optimistic, extroverted works. For Mahler, Nature wasn’t just the natural world; it was the entire world. Just as Nature overflows with astonishing colors and breathtaking beauty, Mahler’s universe of a symphony teems with brilliant orchestration and stunning melodies. It’s a 99-minute visceral and emotional rollercoaster with shifts of mood and surprising contrasts. The first movement, “Pan Awakens – Summer Marches In” bursts into life with a confident march. The second, “What the Flowers and Meadows Tell Me’’ is a charming minuet. Next comes the bustling scherzo, “What the Animals of the Forest Tell Me,” followed by the dark stillness of “What the Night Tells Me.” This movement features mezzo-soprano Kelly O’Connor, known for her “ravishingly velvet vocal tone” (San Francisco Chronicle). Night breaks into sunshine with “What the Morning Bells Tell Me,” opening with the angelic sound of a children’s chorus. The final movement, “What Love Tells Me” is a gorgeously grand slow movement expressing Mahler’s belief that “God can only be comprehended as Love.”