Mahler as Advocate and Interpreter of Bach at the New York Philharmonic

Date/Time
Fri, Apr 16, 2027
3:00 pm EDT - 4:30 pm EDT


Panelists: Gabryel Smyth and Paolo Bordignon

In some of his first performances as music director of the New York Philharmonic, Gustav Mahler emerged as an unlikely Bach apostle. Adapting movements from the second and third orchestral suites, Mahler premiered his new suite at Carnegie Hall in 1909, conducting from the podium while playing the continuo himself on a specially adapted Steinway piano. He continued to perform the arrangement throughout his New York years, taking it – and the piano – on Philharmonic tours to cities including New Haven, Springfield, Boston, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Buffalo, and Hartford. For Mahler, Bach was not simply music of the past, but a living tradition to be reimagined, performed, and shared with a new generation.

Registration

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