“Mahler and Musgrave”
Sunday, May 21, 2023 | 3:30 PM | $5-70
Kenneth Woods will give a pre-concert discussion at 2:30 PM
Stan Ruttenberg Memorial Concert
Macky Auditorium, 1595 Pleasant Street, Boulder
April Fredrick, Soprano
- MUSGRAVE Phoenix Rising
- MAHLER Symphony No. 2
Kenneth Woods, conductor
April Fredrick, soprano
Stacey Rishoi, mezzo-soprano
Boulder Concert Chorale – Dr. Vicki Burrichter, Artistic Director
Colorado MahlerFest Orchestra
Thea Musgrave
The Colorado MahlerFest Orchestra, led by Artistic Director Kenneth Woods, will open this concert with Phoenix Rising by Scottish-American composer Thea Musgrave. This single movement work was written in 1996-97 and fits the theme of our season, Rise Again, as the phoenix rises from the ashes with the promise of hope and rebirth. But there is also a more direct connection to Mahler. Musgrave studied at the University of Edinburgh with Hans Gál , the Austrian composer who attended Mahler’s rehearsals of the Vienna opera as a boy before fleeing the Nazis.
Mahler’s Second Symphony is simply one of the most powerful pieces of music ever created. Nearly 90 minutes long and scored for an enormous orchestra, choir, and soloists, it embraces the full breadth of human experience and emotion, from high tragedy to satire, from tender hope to the end of the world, and ends in Mahler’s vision of a post-Apocalyptic utopia in which all humanity shall rise again, without fear of judgement.
What to Expect
Macky Auditorium is a very cool building. Its 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. The orchestra will be about 100 musicians! There will be a pre-concert talk at 2:30pm to which you are all invited. Artistic Director Kenneth Woods will discuss the program. There will be a break to use the facilities, stretch your legs, and get settled again for the emotional roller coaster ahead.
As the final concert of MahlerFest XXXVI, 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.