HOUSTON Livestock Show & RODEO

Tuesday, Feb.28

Opening Day, presented by Texas Capital Bank Parker McCollum

Wednesday, March 1

Armed Forces Appreciation Day, presented by Crown Royal, Brooks & Dunn

Thursday, March 2: Lauren Daigle

Friday, March 3

Black Heritage Day, presented by Kroger

Bun B’s Southern Takeover

Saturday, March 4: Walker Hayes

Sunday, March 5: Zac Brown Band

Monday, March 6

First Responders Day, presented by BP

America Jason Aldean

Tuesday, March 7: New Kids on The Block

Wednesday, March 8

Community Day, presented by TC Energy

Jon Pardi

Thursday, March 9: Ashley McBryde

Friday, March 10: The Chainsmokers

Saturday, March 11: Turnpike Troubadours

Sunday, March 12

Go Tejano Day, presented by Fiesta

MartLa Fiera de Ojinaga

Monday, March 13: Cody Jinks

Tuesday, March 14: Machine Gun Kelly

Wednesday, March 15: Kenny Chesney

Thursday, March 16: Chris Stapleton

Friday, March 17: Cody Johnson

Saturday, March 18: Brad Paisley

Sunday, March 19: Luke Bryan

RODEOHOUSTON Finals

Recently I had a very, very good weekend. On Friday evening, 10 February I attended the opening night performance of Wagner’s “Das Rheingold” by the Dallas Opera. More on that at the conclusion of this article.

Houston Symphony Orchestra

On Sunday, 12 February, I was in Jones Hall as the Houston Symphony performed part of its “Song of the Earth Festival” with performances of “Itinerary of an Illusion” by Q. Chen and “Das Lied von der Erde” (the Song of the Earth) by Gustav Mahler.

“Itinerary of an Illusion” opened quietly with a trumpet solo and the music slowly grew in tonal intensity to a glorious atonal scream. Then followed a haunting five note theme that various soloists and sections of the orchestra played variations on the five notes until the work slowly unwinded to its quite conclusion. Music Director Juraj Valčuha conducted with his own sweeping intensity.

“Das Lied von der Erde” (The Song of the Earth) is a symphony composed by Gustav Mahler between 1908 and 1909. It is considered one of Mahler’s most important works and is notable for its incorporation of Chinese poetry into the text of the vocal movements. The work is scored for two vocal soloists (a tenor and an alto / mezzo-soprano), a large orchestra, and a contralto solo in the final movement although, as is the current norm, the final movement is sung by the mezzo.

The soloists were Sasha Cooke, mezzo-soprano, and Clay Holley, tenor.

The symphony is divided into six movements, each of which sets a different Chinese poem to music. The poems are all translations, and were chosen by Mahler himself. The first movement, “Das Trinklied vom Jammer der Erde” (The Drinking Song of Earth’s Sorrow), sets a poem about the fleeting nature of life and the solace that can be found in wine. The second movement, “Der Einsame im Herbst” (The Lonely One in Autumn), is a melancholic meditation on the passing of time. The third movement, “Von der Jugend” (Of Youth), is a joyful celebration of youth and the beauty of nature. The fourth movement, “Von der Schönheit” (Of Beauty), is a contemplative reflection on the fleeting nature of beauty. The fifth movement, “Der Trunkene im Frühling” (The Drunkard in Spring), is a lively and humorous portrayal of a drunken man stumbling through the springtime. The final movement, “Der Abschied” (The Farewell), is a poignant and emotional farewell to life, as the soloist sings of saying goodbye to the earth and all its beauty.

Mr. Hilly sang three of the six movements with gusto and with mild humorous swaggering gestures that represented the lighter aspects of his three movements. Ms. Cooke, however, had

Intown’s Classical Music Editor and Critic, the Hon. Philip Berquist, Honorary Consul for the Republic of Croatia for Texas

Review

much more serious responsibilities for her three movements. She sang with elegant vocal effects, especially in the long sixth movement, depicting the sad farewell to life, quietly singing, “ewig,” (farewell) seven times as the work concludes slowly, becoming quieter and quieter, which perfectly depicts, at least to me, a peaceful, yet sad, death and finality. Valčuha conducted with beautiful phrasing and attention to Mahler’s sometimes dense, sometimes sparse orchestrations. One gets the feeling that the orchestra is really enjoying playing under his leadership.

“Das Lied von der Erde” is considered a masterpiece of Mahler’s late period and is widely admired for its powerful emotional impact and its unique blending of Western classical music and Chinese poetry. The work has been interpreted as a reflection of Mahler’s own feelings of isolation and longing, and it is often considered a reflection of the composer’s own feelings of isolation and longing. Mahler himself men- tioned that this may have been his greatest work, although he never lived to hear it. Leonard Bernstein also has been quoted as saying that Das Lied was Mahler’s finest symphony. Das Lied was written after his Eighth Symphony and, being superstitious, Mahler did not call the work his Ninth Symphony, knowing that the number 9 had been the final symphonies of Beethoven, Bruckner, Schubert, Dvorak and others. Ironically, his final work was his very last completed symphony, “9” so it seems that fate intervened after all.

The first performance was on 20 November 1911 in Munich, conducted by Bruno Walter, some six months after Mahler’s death at age 51.

Dallas Opera

This was my first experience with Dallas Opera, and it was very satisfying. It was also the first time to see Wagner’s “Das Rheingold” (the opening opera of his four opera, “The Ring of the Nibelungen) with the singers wearing helmets as the production returned to more traditional settings. Once, in London, I saw a version of Das Rheingold that had Wotan stepping out of a bathtub and Houston Grand Opera had Loge riding around the stage on a Segway so perhaps you see how much happier I was with the Dallas staging. Also the singing and the playing of the orchestra was exceptional however some severe technical lighting glitches were particularly annoying. The Winspear Opera house was stunning as were its acoustics. Unfortunately, apparently there are no announced plans on a complete “Ring of the Nibelung” cycle as was recently done in Houston. The Dallas Symphony, however, has announced two complete Ring Cycles from the stage in 2024.

That’s it for this issue of Intown. Let me continue to hear from you at classicalmusicberquist@ gmail.com.

Struggling to hear each day, even when using powerful hearing aids?

Feeling frustrated and sometimes even exhausted from listening? Being unable to hear impacts your ability to communicate with your loved ones, hear in noisy environments and talk on the phone. It may force you to rely on others to help you communicate.

Cochlear implants work di erently than hearing aids. Instead of making sounds louder, they use state-of-the-art electronic components and software to help provide access to the sounds you’ve been missing. Houston area audiologist, Dr. Arun Joshi, answers the top 5 questions about cochlear implants.

Q How are cochlear implants di erent than hearing aids?

Hearing aids help many people by making the sounds they hear louder. Unfortunately, as hearing loss gets worse, sounds not only need to be made louder, they need to be made clearer. Cochlear implants can help give you that clarity, especially in noisy environments.1

Q How do I know a cochlear implant will work for me? Cochlear hearing implant technology is very reliable. 2 In fact, it has been around for 40 years and Cochlear has provided more than 650,000 implantable hearing devices.

Q Is it major surgery? No, not at all. The procedure is often done on an outpatient basis and typically takes just a couple of hours.

Q Am I too old to get a cochlear implant? No, it’s never too late to regain access to the sounds you’re missing.

Q Are cochlear implants covered by Medicare? Yes, Medicare and most private insurance plans typically cover cochlear implants.*

Are your hearing aids not enough? Do you:

□ Have di culty hearing conversations with your hearing aids?

□ Have trouble hearing on the telephone?

□ Feel people often mumble when they talk?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, consider speaking with local audiologist Dr. Joshi or a member of our team.

I worked very hard to speak and hear with hearing aids for so long, but I nally learned that with my profound hearing loss, the best hearing aid in the world was not going to give me the clarity in speech I needed at my level of loss. My cochlear implant has, so quickly, taken me to a new level of hearing. It’s like I’m reliving my life again.”

1. The Nucleus Freedom Cochlear Implant System: Adult Post-Market Surveillance Trial Results. 2008 June.

2. Cochlear Limited. D1932780 V1 2021-03. Cochlear™ Nucleus® Reliability Report Volume 20, December 2021.

Cochlear Hearing Center is owned and operated by Cochlear Clinical Services, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cochlear Americas.

Please seek advice from your health professional about treatments for hearing loss. Outcomes may vary, and your health professional will advise you about the factors which could a ect your outcome. Always read the instructions for use. Not all products are available in all countries. Please contact your local Cochlear representative for product information. The Incredible Hulk is a trademark of Marvel Characters, Inc. Lou Ferrigno is a paid brand advocate for Cochlear; however, medical treatment and health decisions were made independently by him and his hearing health provider. ©2023 Cochlear Limited. All rights reserved. Trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of Cochlear Limited.

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