“Festival Finale: Mahler’s Fifth Symphony”
Stan Ruttenberg Memorial Concert at Macky
Saturday, August 28, 2021 | 7PM, Pre-concert talk at 6PM | $5-45
Macky Auditorium, 1595 Pleasant Street, Boulder
Masks are required at all indoor events.
- SAWYERS Symphony No. 5 (2021) – WORLD PREMIERE
- MAHLER Symphony No. 5 (1902)
Philip Sawyers
The Colorado MahlerFest Orchestra with Artistic Director Kenneth Woods returns to the Macky stage for the first time in 27 months. Mahler’s fifth symphony, composed in 1901-02, is one of Mahler’s most famous and features the “Adagietto” movement. This famous movement, used in over a dozen films incluing Death in Venice, was a love letter to Alma Schindler, whom he met after beginning work on the symphony and married in early 1902 before the symphony was completed later that summer. The concert will also include the world premiere of a new symphony written during the pandemic by leading British symphonist, Philip Sawyers. Sawyers is the visiting composer of this year’s festival after having been scheduled for the canceled 2020 festival.
What to Expect
Macky Auditorium is a very cool building. It’s on the CU-Boulder campus’ quad and is part of the School of Music. It’s history begins with Andrew J. Macky, a Boulder pioneer, gold rush settler, carpenter, and founding director of the First National Bank of Boulder. A primary figure in Boulder’s history until his death in 1907, Macky bequeathed $300,000 to the University for an auditorium. It took 13 years to build, delayed due to legal issues, and was completed in 1922. Since then, it has been home to everything from commencement ceremonies to the Conference on World Affairs and music from the Boulder Philharmonic and Yo-Yo Ma to Chick Corea and Trey Anastasio.
Parking can be difficult so we’ll let the Unviversity tell you about it here: https://www.colorado.edu/macky/your-visit/parking.
Unless you approach it from the quad, you will most likely walk up the hill from the back side. You will need to walk around the front to the rather grand entrance. There is a small outer lobby where you can purchase tickets if you still need them. The inner lobby is warm and spacious and opens into the main hall which is large and beautiful. It’s truly a magnificent place to see and hear a concert.
The concert will be over two hours, Mahler was never one to write short pieces. There will be a pre-concert talk at 6pm to which you are all invited. Artistic Director Kenneth Woods will discuss the two Fifth Symphonies. Unfortuantely, Philip Sawyers will not be able to attend due to COVID travel restrictions. There will be a break to use the facilities, stretch your legs, and get settled again for the emotional roller coaster ahead.
On a Saturday night, this will be a fancier affair than some of our other events… but it’s still Boulder. There may be some ties in the audience (long not black!) but there will certainly be some jeans and t-shirts as well.
