Kitschy, bombastic, virtuosic: the LA Phil and Dudamel’s Mahler 8

By Néstor Castiglione, 04 June 2019

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“an epic cinematic symphony, part David Lean, part Ed Wood”

Reviewed at Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles on 30 May 2019

Mahler, Symphony no. 8 in E flat major "Symphony of a Thousand"

Tamara Wilson, Soprano

Leah Crocetto, Soprano

Joélle Harvey, Soprano

Mihoko Fujimura, Mezzo-soprano

Tamara Mumford, Mezzo-soprano

Joseph Kaiser, Tenor

Ryan McKinny, Bass-baritone

Morris Robinson, Bass

Gustavo Dudamel, Conductor

Los Angeles Philharmonic

Los Angeles Master Chorale

Grant Gershon, Artistic Director

Pacific Chorale

Robert Istad, Artistic Director

Los Angeles Children's Chorus

Luke McEndarfer, Artistic Director

A cerebral bacchanalia: Young's bold, brainy Messiaen at Disney Hall

Néstor Castiglione, 10th April

Simone Young's take on Messiaen's Turangalîla with the Los Angeles Philharmonic proves a night to remember.

*****

Dudamel and Catalan choirs dazzle in Beethoven’s Missa solemnis

Néstor Castiglione, 20th February

In Los Angeles, Gustavo Dudamel conducts Beethoven's Missa solemnis for the first time... and it proves worth the wait.

*****

Shock, spectacle and endurance: Yuja Wang and Thomas Adès at full tilt

Laurence Vittes, 8th February

If Prokofiev’s original intention in his Second Piano Concerto was shock and awe, Yuja Wang gives exactly the right performance with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

***11

John Adams leads Americana, past and present, with LA Phil

Néstor Castiglione, 23rd January

Compelling as a composer and conductor, Adams restored Roy Harris' Third Symphony to the Los Angeles repertoire, alongside one of his most recent works.

*****

Salonen and the LA Philharmonic take on the forces of nature

Néstor Castiglione, 9th January

Reflections of nature and humanity's place within it in Salonen's 2026 return

****1

Winter Daydreams and a Jazz Age Nutcracker at Disney Hall

Néstor Castiglione, 18th December

A feast of Tchaikovsky with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under guest conductor Thomas Wilkins.

****1

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Néstor Castiglione

Néstor Castiglione is a freelance music critic, program note annotator, translator, and lecturer born and raised in Los Angeles. Aside from classical music, he also writes and lectures on the culture and popular music of early Shōwa Japan (1925 – 1945). His website is Echorrhea and you can also follow him on Instagram @echorrhea.