Performer: Christianne Stotijn

The Seattle Symphony, under the outstanding leadership of guest conductor Giancarlo Guerrero, overcame the absence of their maestro and gave a worthy reading of the monumental work.

Paired with some overly serious Mahler, Eivind Buene's melodrama Blue Mountain did not quite convince, its ironic self-awareness getting in the way of itself.

Thomas Adès conducts three pieces on the subject of death, concluding with his own Totentanz. Despite the lugubrious subject matter there was a great sense of joy in the music making.