Symposium at the Bar*
Saturday, August 28, 2021 | 9:30AM – 3:30PM | FREE
License No. 1, 2115 13th Street (under Hotel Boulderado), Boulder
Masks are required at all indoor events.
Registration, Streaming, & Lunch
This is a free event and no reservations are required. Reservations were available but that system is now closed. We encourage walk up attendance as we expect there to be plenty of space.
Because of the limited capacity, we are planning to livestream the Symposium to our YouTube channel.
License No 1 is located in the lower level of the Hotel Boulderado. It is walking distance to many restaurants of all types. The schedule provides enough time to go offsite and get lunch. However, we are making a lunch available for purchase so that you can stay and engage in conversation with the speakers and other guests. If you would like to order lunch, please visit this site. Please order early. We expect to have a few extra sandwiches but cannot guarantee availability at the symposium.
Speakers
David Rahbee
David Rahbee – Senior Artist-in-Residence at the University of Washington School of Music in Seattle
Jay Reise – Professor Emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania
Philip Sawyers – Visiting Composer
Kenneth Woods – MahlerFest Artistic Director
Schedule
9:30 AM | Philip Sawyers | Mahler and the Modern Symphonist
Composer Philip Sawyers speaks with Artistic Director Kenneth Woods about why the symphony remains an essential genre for him, and how the symphonic tradition, from Haydn to Mahler, continues to influence the music of our own time. Due to COVID traveling restrictions, we are now expecting Philip Sawyers to particiapte digitally.
10:30 AM | Ken Woods | Interpreting Mahler
Conductor Kenneth Woods shares one musician’s perspective on how musical analysis, study of performance practice, biography, knowledge of musical traditions, and the technical challenges of different instruments all feed into the mysterious process of “interpretation.”
11:45 AM | Lunch
License No 1 is located in the lower level of the Hotel Boulderado. It is walking distance to many restaurants of all types. The schedule provides enough time to go offsite and get lunch. However, we are making a lunch available for purchase so that you can stay and engage in conversation with the speakers and other guests. If you would like to order lunch, please visit this site. Please order early. We expect to have a few extra sandwiches but cannot guarantee availability at the symposium.
12:45 PM | David Rahbee | How did Mahler’s activity as a conductor influence his symphonies?
The music of Gustav Mahler is not only influenced by the sounds of the many musical genres that surrounded him during his formative years, such as ethnic, folk, dance and military music, but also significantly by the music that he was conducting in opera houses and concert halls throughout his career. This study focuses on tracing specific influences from Mahler’s repertoire directly to his symphonies; this is made possible through a detailed and thorough study of Mahler’s repertoire combined with a comprehensive knowledge of his works. This does not intend to call into question the originality of Mahler’s music or to render him less original than other composers. Being aware of these direct influences on Mahler’s music helps us better understand it, and brings us closer to it.
Jay Reise
1:45 PM | TBA
2:15 PM | Jay Reise| Mahler’s Song of Himself – Why Has Mahler’s Music Become So Easy to Understand?
Mahler’s music was considered difficult in his time. Compare that to his enormous popularity now. What are some of the elements that have brought about such an extreme change?
License No. 1
The MahlerFest XXXIV symposium is in a new location! License No. 1 is a swanky lounge with comfortable chairs and booths. With the intimate intellectual atmosphere of a European salon, this symposium will be one to remember.
*Details subject to change