Glioblastoma multiforme is one of the most aggressive forms of brain cancer; the average survival rate is just over one year at diagnosis. Three years after his own diagnosis, it’s remarkable that Michael Tilson Thomas is still with us, let alone conducting Mahler to open the New York Philharmonic’s season. But there was no sense of this being a valedictory tour – Tilson Thomas retains the mental and physical vigour of someone half his age.
There was, in fact, a distinct childish glee in his partnership with soloist Emanuel Ax. Mozart’s Piano Concerto no. 14 in E flat major is the first of his mature concertos, full of lighthearted lyricism. Ax married a carefree improvisatory spirit with brilliant precision, especially in the spirited counterpoint of the Rondo finale. The whole performance had the feel of a lively conversation, Tilson Thomas drawing crisp, responsive playing from his orchestra.
The composed elegance of the Mozart couldn’t be further away from the sprawling emotions of Mahler's Fifth Symphony. It’s a work that the Philharmonic has in its blood: they first performed it in a memorial concert for the composer and former Music Director, played it extensively during Leonard Bernstein’s reign, and it was on the programme the first time incoming music director Gustavo Dudamel conducted the orchestra.
Tilson Thomas’ approach is worlds away from these extrovert conductors – rather, he impressed with his understatement and clarity. Despite its expansiveness Tilson Thomas’ Mahler 5 was carefully paced, nicely balancing the arching structure of the work with small moments of orchestral colour. This paid off especially in the contrapuntal Rondo-finale, which in the wrong hands can come across as bombastically cheerful. His deliberate pacing of tempo and volume led the symphony to a coherently rousing finish. Similarly, the sprawling central Scherzo can come across as disjointed and wandering – in Tilson Thomas’ hands the structure of the movement was always clear. The famous Adagietto, too often milked into melodramatic excess, stood out for its simplicity and naturalness.
The finest playing, though, came in the opening movement. The orchestra’s brass section was on exceptional form, anchoring the emotional turmoil of the movement. Throughout, Tilson Thomas drew rich, liquid tone from his players with a rhythmic flexibility that gave the monumental movement a sense of blazing anticipation. “What next?”, Mahler seems to ask, propelling the symphony towards an even more exciting, vigorous future. One could say the same for Tilson Thomas.
